I had a Lotus Elise with an aftermarket supercharger for nine years before buying my 2015 Vantage GT. There is no comparison in terms of handling, agility, and sheer connection to the road. I sometimes miss the manual, but if you keep the ASM in sport mode, it's pretty good. The main thing is more of a balance between pure performance and comfort. The Aston is 85-90% of the performance of the Lotus with 3x the comfort and convenience. Things like proper working a/c, a radio that you can actually hear, adjustable seats, a glovebox...you get the idea. Plus the V8 is pure music.

If you're going to track a car, the Lotus wins hands down--it was amazing on the track. But if you're going to mainly be enjoying the car on the road, the Aston wins hands down IMO. My Lotus had a good long run with me, and I do miss the sheer fun of it sometimes, but overall I'm glad I made the switch.

 

Certainly true with Exige and Elise, but I think you'd be amazed how comfortable the Evora and especially the 400 are. Easier over the bumps than the Vantage. The V6 in the Evora is really nice sounding as well. The Evora is a different animal, but closely related IMO. If someone is not dead set on only a Vantage, the Evora is something that needs to be driven if not for just "****s and giggles". I never knew they made cars that handled like that today until I drove one. Just feels like a rock star.


Owning an Evora on the other hand; wouldn't do it unless I was handy or live in an acceptable distance to a good Lotus dealership.

 

While I believe the Elise is the best sports car to have been built by a (somewhat) legitimate manufacturer in decades, maybe ever, the Evora is a very different animal, as @brightoncorgi notes. Much of the connection to the car of the Elise but with livability.

 

Agree with both of you--although I've only driven the original Evora, not the 400, it's clearly far more civilized than the Elise, and yet retains a good portion of its handling chops. I found the original Evora underpowered compared to its competition price-wise. With the 400 crowding $100k, it's up against pretty stiff competition, but I would assume it can hold its own, and appeal to people who don't want to be another Porsche driver. I would view it as a nice alternative to a new Vantage at half the price. If they made a roadster version of the 400, I probably would have bought one instead of my GT.

 

I wouldn't call it a sporty GT personally. That's a term that refers to a Jag XK8 or XKR, the DB9 or maybe a 991 Turbo in my mind. It's more of a sports car with GT features to me.

The Vantage has 50/50 weight distribution and a very adjustable, stiff chassis. The steering feel is excellent. It's got the essentials of an enjoyable sports car, especially with the sport suspension. It has alot more personality and feels like the work of craftsman rather than robots compared to the german cars.

 

A lot of enthusiasts are waiting for an Evora roadster version.

When is the new Vantage going to be offered in a roadster?

 

I think the conjecture is about a year from now. I was in the market two years ago, and it was clear that waiting for an Evora roadster was an exercise in futility. Along came an opportunity to pick up the GT at a very attractive price, and that was that. When the new Vantage roadster comes out is a moot point for me, as, even if they fix the front of the thing by then, it will be well past what I'm willing to pay for my "fun" car.

 

I agree, I owned a 2005 Elise, and a 2011 Evora. Great cars, not a lot of problems.
Ron

 

The Evora 400 and the R8 were the only other cars i considered at the time of my recent purchase. I almost ordered a 400 about 6 months ago, then started looking heavily at the Vantage. For me, the Evora was a little too "in your face" with styling where as the Aston was a little more laid back and classy, and it has a great presence about it. I bought a 2011 V8V and never looked back, no regrets. I love everything about it, and can't think of one complaint so far. Performance and sound are great (with secondary cat deletes from redpants) but I dont think you can go doing with any of those cars... good luck!