Lets see what happens when Aston releases the Vanquish S (you know it's coming)

 

I'm not sure I agree that the Vanquish "gets a pass" regarding its gearbox. It's not quick enough, and everyone has said so -- they're not saying that the 'box is good enough anyway. But that doesn't mean it's not a great car -- just that the gearbox needs to be improved.

 

The Vanquish name is revived and maintains its reputation for less-than-stellar transmissions!

 

Depends on the reviewer. As I mentioned, Matt Farah and Fifth Gear pretty much did give it a pass. This review was the first one I've seen where the overall conclusion was not very positive.

 

Well, during my test drive of the Vanquish, I found the shifting performance when in 'drive' was perfectly normal/acceptable for an automatic transmission...very smooth and jerk free. When in 'manual' mode using the paddles, shifting was crisp (up and down) for an automatic transmission (at least when in 'Sport' mode).

I don't know what people expect from a torque converter automatic trans, but you can't (and wouldn't) want it to behave like sportshift, with jerky shifts in auto, or neck snapping shifts when using the paddles.

And DCTs, while much better than SCTs in that regard, are still not nearly as smooth as a torque converter auto, which suits the Vanquish perfectly well. IMO, either you get a stick shifted manual or a torque converter auto. I don't like the 'compromise' version (DCT or SCT).

 

Nice, thanks for sharing OP

 

Well, that is a disappointing video in certain ways.

I guess I need to drive the car and actually experience it. This may be the case (for me) of salivating over an actress only to discover (in reality) that she is not a very nice person. While she may be stunningly beautiful, it would be impossible to live with her given the opportunity.

-OR-

It may be a question of what you are willing to sacrifice in order to experience the beauty, prestige, and other "things".

However, I think that if you are making a choice between an AM Vanquish and a Bentley GT Speed, neither choice is a "bad" one, and you are definitely a blessed individual.

Also, when you reach this level of automobile, I'd bet that you aren't "shopping" for a car given specs. At this level individuals already know what they want and whether a Bentley produces more torque is not really the main point. These cars are purchased largely based on how they make us feel.

So, I understand that owning a Vanquish means that it may not even outperform my 5L XKR...but that's not why I want to own one.

 

Very interesting video. The performance results surprised me.