My dealer sent me an invitation to test drive the new Vanquish.

A few notes:

• The car looks a lot more modern than the previous generation. Still I wonder if it's worth the premium over the new DB9 which looks gorgeous.
• I'm not sure there are indeed a million stitches in the new interior as they claim. It sounds a bit far-fetched.
• There is no glovebox, so storage is limited to the center console and the space behind the seats.
• The test car had a 1-2mm gap in the airbag seam over the passenger-side window so you could see the bag inside. Not good QC for a $320K car.
• The nav screen has to be raised for most operations of the car and it ruins the design flow of the waterfall facia. I'm glad my V8V doesn't have nav.
• The plastic air-vents, column stalks, and some of the other hardware look a bit cheap inside the otherwise extremely nice interior.
• The exposed carbon details look very nice, but I would probably choose to keep the door handles body-colored.
• The sound is very nice with the windows down, but too quiet with the windows up.
• Switching gears with the automatic felt a bit sluggish to me. I still would prefer a manual and you can only get that in a Vantage.
• Rumors say a new Rapide will be available around April and a restyled Vantage will come out late in the year—possibly as a 2015MY.

 

Karl you lucky dog!
Nice details on your review, especially on the craftsmanship as you noted about the airbag and the stitching.
In the photo I still can't get used to that splitter - perhaps they should body paint match it.
How did the 565 HP feel?

 

^^^ I think paint-matching the splitter would make the front end look too chunky. It definitely looks better in person because you normally see the car from a higher angle. However, the new DB9 looks better, IMO.

I didn't get much of a chance to experience the full 565HP. I only did one brief acceleration run because there was too much traffic (glad I don't live in Orlando). The engine did feel like it had a lot of torque.

I'm probably an oddball in this regard, but it made me appreciate my V8V more. The Vanquish is undoubtedly an extremely nice car, but it didn't feel like a car that was worth almost 3 times more than mine. I think I'm biased by the fact that the Vanquish is an automatic—which seems a bit boring to me. I'm looking forward to a revised Vantage in a couple of years, or maybe I'll upgrade to a V12V which seems may suit me better.

 

Climbed over one in JCT before Xmas
Still not getting that front lip
Watch out for this engine in other models

 

Stunning design.

 

Thanks for providing this feedback. I have seen the Vanquish in person and it is a stunner.

 

The car is beautiful. I am not sure why Aston makes their models look too similar. But nonetheless, anyone would be lucky to own one of these.

 

3 words: Cayman, Boxter, and 911.

 

Comparing a Cayman and a Boxter to a 911 is just a terrible insult. It's like a slap in the face to a 911.

 

^^^^ I remember when the Boxter was first introduced,. If you saw one coming toward you on the road, you couldn't tell it wasn't a 911 because they shared the same nose and headlights. I'm sure 911 owners weren't too happy.

 

I too love rowing the gears in 6spd manual rear transaxle in the Aston, so few DB9 have manual trans so I enjoy driving mine, with the manual gearbox and sport pack totally transforms the car feels much more connected, involved, and reactive. Id like to test drive the new vanq w tt2 and see how it feels.

 

I agree. I thought I'd eventually warm to the design, but I haven't. I think Aston's other models are much better looking.

 

"The test car had a 1-2mm gap in the airbag seam over the passenger-side window so you could see the bag inside. Not good QC for a $320K car.

Switching gears with the automatic felt a bit sluggish to me. I still would prefer a manual and you can only get that in a Vantage."


The cars they are using for the ride & drive events are generally pre-production models. The fit and finish on the production cars should be better. I only drove the car briefly as well, but the upshifts with the Sport button engaged were just as aggressive, if not more so, as any other TT2-equipped car that I've driven, DBS included.

The CF elements on the exterior definitely look better in person than in photos. The CF door handles may be best reserved for dark color cars, though.

 

Haven't driven one but your comments re: the automatic gearbox highlight for me the biggest disappointment with this car. There is simply no comparison between a slushbox and the latest dual clutch transmissions - the DCT are light years ahead.

And what's with the orange lights? Ugh...

 

...
+
Thank you!!!

It is a gamble. I'm glad others design cars, because all of mine would look the same. This Aston is beautiful, like its predecessors.