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I've been staying out of the new model debate because it's pretty much subjective opinion. There are people on here that will be buying the new car and it's not very neighborly to bash someone's brand new car. So this will be my only post on the subject. Here's my thoughts.
Exterior:
- I don't mind the front. Yeah, it looks like a catfish mouth, but it does kind of have that race car look and will be very functional.
- I hate the clamshell hood and don't understand why they went that direction. The lines at the front of the car would be so much better with a traditional style hood. With the clamshell you have that horizontal line where the hood meets the quarter panel and it breaks up the lines of the car. Not to mention you can almost put your finger in the gap as one of the reviewers did.
- Which leads to the panel gaps. You'd think they would spend a lot of time on preview cars making everything perfect, but the gaps are horrible. If the production cars are like that it would be bad.
- The uptick at the rear of the doors makes no sense to me. It again breaks up the flow of the car and seems completely random. It just looks weird.
- The rear of the car is way to busy for me. It's like they tried to copy the new Civic Type-R with all the angles. I think they could have smoothed out the lines and it would look much better.
- I like the wheels and the stance. The profile looks great except for that hood line and door uptick.
Interior:
- Looks like a 13 year old with ADD designed the center console and stack. They didn't seem to learn much from the current gen car. Buttons and switches everywhere is not good. They could have integrated the screen much better.
- The rest of the interior looks good.
Drivetrain:
- I think the motor was a good choice if they weren't going to make their own. You'll see 600+ HP cars in short order.
- I don't like that they put in an automatic transmission. Yeah, it's a really good one, but if they were truly going for performance then a DCT was the way to go.
- Lack of a dry sump seems odd considering the motor in the Merc GT has one. I can only presume they had packaging issues. Again, if the goal was performance then a dry sump adds just that little bit more.
Overall I think the car is good, but some of the design decisions just seem random. It's obviously a huge step up in performance, but I don't think most people buy an Aston based on performance and looks play a huge part. Aston is obviously trying to attract a younger crowd and I do think they needed to evolve the design, but the execution is a bit off IMO. I hope they tweak the styling some over the next few years. There's a guy over at PH named Simon who seems to work for Aston. He compared buying an Aston to having a bespoke suit made. If they don't fix the horrendous panel gaps and some of the other issues seen on the press cars then it'll be more like owning a suit where the sleeves and pants are too short and the jacket is two sizes too big. The first batch of cars is selling fast, but the truth will be in whether they continue to sell after the initial mania has worn off. For Aston's sake I hope they do.
No matter how many time i look at new vantage, still not growing on me. maybe I'm too old fashioned, but to me new vantage looks like boys car...
I came very close selling my 2013, but I couldn't do it. I was sitting in my patio & had view of the my car & was thinking to my self, if i sell this car, what can I get in the price range of Vantage, I couldn't find anything out there,, I just couldn't do it. There are 100 of cars out there, but IMHO nothing comes close to Vantage elegance & design proportions..
Felt the same way but after seeing a few times, but after driving twice, I really liked it. AML is trying to reach new audiences, and seems they are with this one. But we are fortunate to have choices with the former and now this new design.
For the other thought about the Vantage becoming too large, feedback I hear, is what most customers/prospects want, then there is safety, regulations and customers are getting bigger too. Maybe it is generational. Personally, I really like the size of air cooled Porsches, but as we know they became GT sized too.
Drivetrain:
- I think the motor was a good choice if they weren't going to make their own. You'll see 600+ HP cars in short order.
This is genuinely the only thing that excites me about the car. I had a 300ZX Twin Turbo as my first car, and it made 470rwhp (~550bhp) before I had to let it go... that's a 3.0L V6. Turbos are amazing.
- I don't like that they put in an automatic transmission. Yeah, it's a really good one, but if they were truly going for performance then a DCT was the way to go.
This is starting to **** me off, too. I watched one of the reviews where they gave Aston's justification for using the auto transmission instead of a dual clutch, and it just sounded to me like excuses. All of my cars are manual, but if I were ever going to buy something that wasn't, it would be a dual clutch. Period.
- Lack of a dry sump seems odd considering the motor in the Merc GT has one. I can only presume they had packaging issues. Again, if the goal was performance then a dry sump adds just that little bit more.
The first batch of cars is selling fast, but the truth will be in whether they continue to sell after the initial mania has worn off. For Aston's sake I hope they do.
Years 2 & 3 into the new Vantage will be telling on the design.
Aston also has marketing and growing name recognition world wide with their new partnership and initiatives. I really think they are executing things well so far.
Shame about the effect on throttle response and exhaust noise.
Originally Posted by Mathman85
I watched one of the reviews where they gave Aston's justification for using the auto transmission instead of a dual clutch, and it just sounded to me like excuses. All of my cars are manual, but if I were ever going to buy something that wasn't, it would be a dual clutch.
No worries, they will make a manual version soon.
BTW have you driven a ZF 8 speed auto with good software? Example: new M5. Honestly, it's pretty tough to tell the difference between one of those and a dual clutch. Torque converter automatics have come a long way in the last few years: they are fast to shift, they can be lighter than a dual clutch unit and they generally handle high torque outputs (turbos!) more easily.
Torque converter automatics have come a long way in the last few years: they are fast to shift, they can be lighter than a dual clutch unit and they generally handle high torque outputs (turbos!) more easily.
The whole Maserati line up does a great job on the shifting response. Jaguar should take some instruction from them on this.
Shame about the effect on throttle response and exhaust noise.
Lag is not insurmountable... you just have to change your driving behaviors so that you keep the revs where they need to be. And my Z32 sounded pretty badass, even with turbos... but yeah, this Vantage is not even in the ballpark as the previous model, as far as sound goes.
No worries, they will make a manual version soon.
BTW have you driven a ZF 8 speed auto with good software? Example: new M5. Honestly, it's pretty tough to tell the difference between one of those and a dual clutch. Torque converter automatics have come a long way in the last few years: they are fast to shift, they can be lighter than a dual clutch unit and they generally handle high torque outputs (turbos!) more easily.
I have not. But I look at where the industry (McLaren, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc.) is going, and I don't believe Aston knows something the rest don't. All of those produce cars more powerful than the Vantage with dual clutch transmissions.
Very nice, I'd maybe not do the splitter so yellow but it might be boring without the yellow accents?
That China grey is an awesome color, loved it on the V12S and love it on that one.
Interestingly it looks a lot like the one that he showed at the Geneva motor show, glad to see he also got the Quad exhaust, that is a must have option as the single pipes on the rear looks so weak!
Lucky me... My local Aston Martin dealership had the new Vantage on hand to drive. While I was impressed with the ride and the handling I couldn't get over the horrible exhaust note and subsequently I was underwhelmed by the new Vantage... perhaps with a manual transmission plus the quad sports exhaust I’ll warm to it. It made me appreciate my manual “analogue” 2013 Vantage S so much more.
04-12-2018, 12:02 PM
