No they do not.
Ron

 

Now that I’ve had the Aston for a little while and been able to drive it a little aggressively on dry twisty roads, I thought I’d supplementmy initial impressions.

First, the engine. I’ve pulled fuse 22 and now this thing sounds awesome! Wow does that add to the experience. The engine itself has what I’d say is decent torque up to about 4500 RPM and then the motivation of the car gets very urgent. To the point of being a little scary if not paying attention. Quite exciting.

The steering has great feedback and feel. Much better than a car with this tire width and weight has any right to be. It’s truly one of the highlights of driving a Vantage. The sport suspension is tight and helps to provide almost immediate reaction to steering inputs. There’s no noticeable body roll but you can still feel the mass of the car when changing direction. It seems to take just a slight tick before everything has settled down. However, when hustling the car, it does have that sensation of shrinking around you much more than I had expected.

The more limited visibility and width of the car don’t have nearly as much of a pronounced effect on placing the car on the road as itinitially feels that they will. The rear suspension doesn’t always seem to be in complete sync with the front. There’s more movement going on back there than the front had when passing over the road. It’s subtle but still there.

My largest gripe is the shifter. While I like a little notchiness, this transmission is slow to get into it’s gates. Luckily the engine’s torque reduces the amount of shifting needed, but shifting is fun, so I want to enjoy doing it.

Overall though, this car can hustle with confidence. Much more rewarding to drive through twisty roads than even I had expected.

Having said that, I have to draw comparisons to my Elise. In which case, it comes up short as a driver’s car in every aspect that I can think of save for that awesome engine sound. The Elise has the luxury of being a very specialized tool for a singular purpose, so don’t misunderstand my comparison, I know it’s not exactly apples to apples and the Elise is a terrible “regular” car. There is virtually no effort in making the car comfortable for a longer trip from the quality to the amenities to the noise level. But as a tool for that specific purpose, the Elise has very few rivals and the Vantage is not one of them. The Elise is more direct, connected, immediate, and intimate. The Lotus has the natural advantages of size and weight, of course, which contribute immensely to the lively feel of the car. But beyond that, Lotus has done a fantastic job of tuning the car to operate as a whole unit. Every corner of the suspension, the steering, the engine, the brakes all work as if they are interconnected and cooperating together to get you exactly what you’re asking for. This also goes into the seating position and the design of the car around the driver. Lotus designed the windshield to provide clear sight lines around corners without the a-pillar interfering. The front fenders rise into view to provide the driver with a sense ofthe car’s corners. The driver sits as near to the centerline as possible both front to back and side to side to ensure accurate placement of the car. These are the things that people who love to drive think about when they design a car.

So while it comes up a bit short as a pure driver's car, for a complete driving tool, the Aston has shown to be a great choice. It’s not just the pretty face but also a real capable entertaining vehicle. The British are making cars with very vibrant "personality" as they always have which in my book puts them ahead of everyone else.

 

After owning my V8V 4.3 for 6 months, I am looking for ways to get more power (ECU, cats, etc). But it isn't about being the fastest on the road as I feel the Aston provides such an immersive driving experience. It also looks divine inside and out. I feel it is excellent up to 8.5/10ths and gets soft as you really push it. Would like to get it on the track this year and see how she performs.

I sat in my buddies Evora this weekend. Impressed with the all leather interior but couldn't stand the left foot wheel well cramping my foot. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to drive it, but I felt my left foot would get stuck under the brake pedal. At 6 ft, 1 in, I am also probably too tall to be comfortable in the Lotus. But I fit just fine in the Aston.

 

The Lotus' have very closely spaced pedals and the vertical space in the pedal box is small. I have to wear shoes with smaller soles to keep my feet from getting stuck. Driving shoes or wrestling type shoes with very thin souls work best from what I've found. I'm taller than you and fit fine in the Elise. Getting out with the top on is a specific process. The Evora shouldn't be a problem. The Evora also has the same attention to driver experience as the Elise, but without the frantic personality.


I haven't driven a V8V without the power pack, but the dyno sheets show just a small difference with really no change to the character of the torque curve. This is simply an engine that needs to be rev'd to make it's torque. Coming from small(er) engines, that's what I'm used to.

 

I have a 2007 Vantage that I bought used in 2014. It is a six speed, I have added the Power pack and Aston Martin Sport exhaust. It is true that you need to rev the 4.3 all the way to red line, so you can get the most out of it. The Power pack does make a slight difference at the top end. The sport exhaust does sound better with the flap discounted. I have a thread on this site about the Power pack. There are other ways to get more power out of these 4.3 motors. But I was worried about smog test and my extended warranty.
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ower-pack.html
Ron

 

Some of the little touches that make this car so special (and heavy in some cases) but things that most manufacturers don't do:

This highly polished finish. Not many manufacturers remove orange peel from the factory.



The black anodized aluminum hardware in the trunk, the real aluminum ***** in the cabin and that knurled, machined aluminum oil sump cap:











The twelve steel screws holding a non-structural piece of steel to the front of the car.



The magnetic snaps holding leather straps to keep the seatbelt against the seat.





The unpainted bonded aluminum chassis peaking through from the shock towers.




Everywhere you look, there's another little fine detail.

 

But also why the car weighs so much given its small size and lightweight construction - it's overbuilt in many areas (with bot good and bad effects).

I friggin hate those things.

 

My magnetic strap on the driver side doesnt have enough strength to hold the belt in place when I pull to buckle myself in, so annoying haha. I wish they went even more retro and just did it like a belt & buckle system, looks cool and no reliability issues

 

FYI, there is an earlier post on replacement rare earth magnets that perform better:
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...elt-strap.html

 

Thanks! +rep

I am so OCD that I have to turn around and clip the strap back in every time it comes off, whether or not I am driving or parking

 

The amazon linky is broken.

 

Yeah...unfortunately I noticed that fact after I posted the link-sorry.
I have spent some time looking around and found what appears to be a suitable replacement, also at a reasonable cost:

https://www.apexmagnets.com/1-2-x-1-8-x-1-8-inch-ring

 

Thanks for the tip on the magnets. That is one more complaint of the Vantage eliminated. These cars are going to end up perfect with the help of the forum members.

 

I too was a Lotus guy first, I just sold my AM V8V to Rugbyduck. Beautiful car and I still stare when I see him driving it. Look into the 200 cell cats, wow does it open up the sound if you like louder. The AM actually handles much better than I expected when I took it on track it only ran 1.5 seconds off my Lotus which brakes much harder and has the same 0-60 but less speed beyond 60. Build quality is amazing but there was not enough power even after the power pack and cats upgrade.

 

I love the way the Lotus looks and drives. When I test drove a Lotus a Chrysler 300 pulled up next to me at a stop light and top of his tire was about eye level. Makes you fell kind of vulnerable. At my age 68 if I took a drive of an hour or more I would definitely need help getting out of the car. So I bought a 911 instead and love it.