I drove the 09 Vantage and 07 XKR yesterday. Going to detail my experience and emotions about the cars for others and my own reference as the experiences fades with time...

The Vantage was at Lake Forest Sports Cars in Lake Bluff, IL, and the guy who helped me was Adam. He was probably the nicest and most helpful exotic salesman who's ever helped me. I am visting my grandparents here in Chicago, and I rolled up to the dealership in mom's soccer mom SUV, in jeans and a t shirt without shaving, and Adam never seemed to question my legitimacy or real interest, although we did talk car for awhile before I asked to drive it. He really was a great salesman, and if you are looking for an exotic in the area, you should check out thier inventory. They had about 25 Aston's (offered me an 09 new for $111k, which was $23k under sticker), 20 ferrari's, 10 Maseratis, Lotus, an SLR, a $2MM M12, and the list goes on. Hundreds of georgous exotics, the most I've seen in one location.

After talking cars with Adam, sitting in the F430 (I fit!), the Vanquish (don't fit, and would never buy b/c too expensive to maintain), DB9 (fit is exactly the same as Vantage, despite longer wheelbase), I finally asked him to test drive a Vantage and he was just "sure, let me get the keys for for this new 09."

The ride/suspension in the Vantage was perfect. Firm, very responsive, and light. At least comparing to any other cars I've driven, the Vantage's acceleration was absolutly stunning, with a combo of exquisite noise, power, and thrust slamming you into the back seat with the world becoming a blur. Aston cites this 4.7L version at 4.7s 0-60 I think, but testers claim its closer to 4.1 and Aston is being conservative to not **** off DB9 and DBS owners with slower more expensive cars. Really, the acceleration, from 0, from 40, or from 70, was fierce and powerful.

My only complaint, and a pretty serious one, was the gearbox in the Vantage. This was the auto/sportshift 09 model. I was expecting it to shift like my G35 or the XKR, but not at all. G35 and XKR are full auto's with torque converters that make the sport shift work very smoothly and quickly, but not the Vantage. The Aston Vantage is a manual, with some other wizardry to make sport shift work. The result is that when shifting up, you flip the right paddle, it takes a long time, what felt like upwards of a full second, and you could feel the car depressing the clutch, changing gear, and then accelerating. With the G35 and XKR, you do not need to let off the accelerator at all when upshifting, with upshifts fast and smooth, but with the Vantage you do, unless you want your head ripped off and your passenger pissed off. The auto/sport shift in the Vantage can most easily be compared to the feeling of riding in a regular manual when the driver is accellerating and shifting up hard...you are slammed in the back of the seat, back off gas and you fall forward, flip up paddle, feel car depress clutch and select next gear in about 1/2 second, then slam on the gas again and you rocket toward next gear. Physically, you can stay on the accelerator when shifting up in the Vantage, but the shift is even more violent and raccous, and it really does feel like I'm going to break the car doing that, although Adam assured me that was fine to do. In a way, this violence and inertia made driving the car that much more exciting, but it would really **** off your girlfriend in the passenger seat, or make her sick.

Driving the Vantage in full auto mode (no sport shift), had pretty much the same jerky results and gear shift delays. I really just don't see how this is acceptable on a car like this.

This same gearbox problem exists from stand still acceleration. The dash said you were in first gear, but hitting the acceleration didn't cause immediate launch. Slight touches of the accelerater with your foot off the break didn't make the car go forward at all, just rev like it was in neutral. You had to depress the pedal at least 10-15% to make the car realize you were ready to go, when again, you felt it let off the clutch and select first, then your off. This delay was really annoying. If you were light on the pedal, it was smoother, but you couldn't later depress it and get a proper launch b/c the computer judged your initial throttle pressure and thinks you want to go slow. If you just slamed the peddle to the ground from stop, the result is 1/2 second delay of nothing followed by slapping you neck and head back after it very unsmoothly switches gears to first and blasts off, rocking you severely on your next 2 upshifts if you remain flatout. It felt like I was breaking the car doing this, and I understand now what the car review mags mean by the feeling of "roasting the clutch" when just flooring the Vantage for 0-60 times.

However, shifting down in the Vantage was an incredible experience, with the RPM/Rev matching and a aggressive pop out of the exhaust each downshift (whether done by me with paddles or done automatically by the car). These shifts were smooth, seemless, and fast, quite unlike shifting up. I had a massive smile driving along 45mph in 3rd, then flipping the down paddle to 2nd and listening to the engine rev and exhaust growl. This was very smoth, and the sound would absolutly turn heads.

Other than the upshifting, and launching roughness of the Vantage, the drive was really everything I had hoped it would be. Driving it really did feel like a special experience, the exhaust note was MARVELOUS in the cabin 100% of the time, not just under very heavy acceleration. The car felt aggressive, fast, sporty, and so elegant (when you are not hard on the peddal at least!). I just wish it had a better gearbox, and can see why so many people would prefer traditional manual over the automanual paddle option. I will double think whether I have space to work a clutch in there. I had just enough room and was comfortable enough driving the auto, but I still think getting my left leg involved will be a problem.

Last thing to add was that the test drive itself was very solid, about 10-12 minutes with highway driving and speeds up to 90mph. Adam encouraged "seeing what the car could do" and when we got back to the dealership, he hopped out and said, why don't you just take the the car around the block a time or two by yourself and see what you think....in a brand new 09 vantage with a sticker of $137k he drove right off the sales floor out the front door. I left with all the Aston's very fancy promo booklets (although the Vantage's was an actual book!). It was like a dream...

This post is getting long enough, so I'll discuss other aspects/cars in new posts....

 

After driving the Vantage, I drove the XKR at the Lake Bluff Jag Dealer. The pre-owned sales manager there was just as friendly and it was extremely easy to get a test drive. He was 6'7'', an inch taller than me, and somehow got the 07 Jag XKR's seats to give me more than enough room to drive it. I actually slide it forward a little.

He did the first part of the test drive, showing me what the car could do. He drove it very aggressively, and explained the sportshift and how it keeps the rmp's very high even after you let off the accelerator, judges wheel turning to see if you are entering a turn in order to keep it in proper gear or up/downshift, ect. The sport MODE (not shift) on the car really made a big perfromance difference, only at a 2mpg cost to the already great 18/26mpg.

I drove the car next, and it certainly was much better feeling than the regular XK I previously drove. Keeping in mind my XK testdrive was like pulling teeth with the salesman back in Columbus, and we only hit 40mph and no highway use, the XKR felt much more responsive, and as a byproduct of this, lighter. It was not as responsive as the Aston, but the ride was more refined. You didn't feel potholes or rough roads at all. Shifting, especially in sport mode, was SO FAST and smooth, a flip of the paddle in instantly you were in the next gear. The Jag did a very little of the rmp/rev matching the Vantage did, but you couldn't really hear it, and it was MUCH more subdued. As for acceleration, the Jag was probably even faster than the Vantage. There was no delay in launching, hit the peddal and you were instantly off, pushed to the back of your seat, but without the next snapping violence of the Vantage's rough clutch transition into first. In the XKR, it just didn't feel as fast, even though it was, becuase you didn't get the same noise and launch violence and neck jerking upshifting action in the Vantage. The exhaust was quite good, but still nothing like the Aston. The active exhaust really opened airflow and noise only around 5500+RPM on the JAG, where as in the aston, anything over 4000RPM and you had everyone around you looking up to find what deamon was making that wail.

The Jag was an execellent car, very reasonably priced used in the low 50's with certified 6 year/100k mile extended warranty, great reliability, and relatively low maintenance costs even for very high miles. It was beautiful, has a lot of cheap upgrades available, like a borla exhaust for $1300 or so that I'm told will make it always sound more aggressive like the Vantage. However, anything but exhaust, with a few exceptions, will void thier warranty. The slimmer supercharger pully belts or new computer chip wil void thier warranty, in the process of making the 420hp car 510hp+. I was told the borla open exhaust would add about 40hp alone, at least, up to 460hp, along with a much more impressive rumble.

All this said, there is no way I could say the Jag felt as special as the Aston, nor as intense to drive. It was a different animal, but whereas the Aston carries a price of filet mignon, the XKR is priced at porterhouse levels.

 

I posted pics of the best looking factory Vantage I've ever seen here: https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-ive-seen.html

 

aston

 

Nice review. BTW, Adam is one of the owner's of LFSC. I will have to check out the 2010 in the showroom next time I drop off my car fro service. It looks amazing!

 

Sounds like you want the Vantage, good choice as you will not regret it. The XKr is very solid, but I feel you will always look over your shoulder wondering "what if".

Quit looking at the sport shift on the V8V and buy the three pedal version. Clutch is nice and heavy without the annoying issues of the sport shift. Also, several owners of sport shifts have had serious issues....

 

I totally disagree with the statement regarding reliability with the SS. I have not seen any posts on pistonheads or Amoc regarding SS issues. In fact I was at my am dealer 2 weeks ago and the were doing a clutch job on an '07 manual. I asked the tech specifically about the reliability and durability of the manual versus the SS. He said both last about the same when driven under normal conditions. I too still love 3 pedals but the SS is very reliable. Its not perfect but like anything once you drive it and get used to it, it is tough to go back.

 

I guess you hear different things from different shops. The service manager (a friend) at my local AM dealer said there have been some issues with the SS especially when the valet drives it alot. Something about them pulling out without engaging it correctly. I did not dig deeper as I never considered it given some of the performance complaints I had heard (relative to others). I will try to find out more when I see him this weekend.

It is well known the clutches on the manuals will go very quick if driven stop light to stop light (or if you do not know how to drive a stick). He mentioned some examples coming back with 5k miles!! Mine has 23k and still origional.

Did you happen to ask your service guy on the cost for the SS replacement as compared to the manual?

 

Yeah, I would be curious to hear what your buddy says but I have been pretty impressed with my SS. When I purchased my car I asked about clutch replacement for both manual and SS and my recollection is that the cost was within $500. I never considered purchasing a SS until I drove a Ferrari F1 360. After my test drive I looked at the F1 style trans with a ton more respect.

 

Yeah, it seems thats where everything is moving. The new PDK is outstanding and significantly faster than the manual. Hi performance marques are now moving away from manuals (Ferrari?)

I will let you know what I find. Happy to hear you have loved the SS.

 

This article says the Aston's manual clutch on the Vantage is $2.5k, and the auto version is $5k, but that is in regards to the DB9 I think.

http://www.secretconsulting.com/cost...an-exotic-car/

 

Yeah, the pdk really is great. I hope that is the direction where AM is moving as well.


Hmm, my recollection is that the difference in cost was not nearly that much between the SS and manual for the vantage. The SS in the vantage is a different trans than the db9.

 

Ya, I think the DB9 has a regular automatic tranny with a torque converter for shifting. I've never driver a DB9, but if this is like other cars with this system that I've driven that work great (XKR, G35, Lexus), then I have NO idea why they simply didn't take that system and put it in the Vantage instead of the harsh "vanquish transmission." I simply don't understand it at all, what is the advantage? It can't possibly be faster shifts, let alone smoother, or better mechanically for longevity?

On another note, its too bad this listing below is a scam (seller says car is in WA, he is in NY, area code on phone number is in Pennsylvania, phone number doesn't work in ad, english in response email is very poor, and seller wants 1/2 payment upfront with no ability to see the car..hahah). But, it was a black, 07 sportshift with 8k miles for $51k asking, of course I had to just make sure: http://autos.yahoo.com/used-cars/ast...n&distance=any

Any car priced over 5-10%+ under the lowest market price with less miles is about 99% guaranteed to be a scam. I keep hoping I'll find some grandpa or foreigner or mover who has more money than sense, or simply doesn't care, but so far, nothing but scam attempts.

 

I would look for a local car if possible. It may also be worth more for the piece of mind in buying a used example from the dealer. You will pay more, but you get the experience and (hopefully) all of the paperwork/service records intact.

 

For ****s and giggles, I took a test drive in a 2010 Infiniti G37x coupe AWD to see how it compared to my 2004 G35 coupe today.

First impression was that they toned it down way too much. The exhaust note, what I love so much about the G35 coupe, was cut in half for the G37. I also don't like the look of the revision as much; what happened to the spoiler, and what is that little blip on the back? The rim design makes the rims look smaller too, as the new 18'' look smaller than the 18'' on my car. However, the 19'' with the sportpack look pretty good. Stereo was not quite as good as what I have either; mine is a premium bose upgrade option that sounds deep and filling, and normally you don't want bass on level 5. The new stereo (I'm not sure if the premium option or not) sounded pretty weak, not as encompassing as the 8 speaker Bose in the G35 at least. I was ambivilent about the rest of the interior. It was fine, I'm not sure if I like it better or worse than the G35. The big lcd screen was kinda distracting and annoying to navigate in comparison.

One thing that was much better in the G37 was the suspension/handeling. I think the G35 is fine at handling, but the G37 was much tighter and straight to the point in steering, somewhere in the middle between my G35 and the Vantage. It also seemed to absorbe bumps and road imperfections much better than my G35 at the same time. Still, this is comparing a 6 year old chassis vs a brand new one, and I haven't replaced shocks or anything. The AWD delivering the 330 HP to all four tires in the G37 was also MUCH more reassuring when applying throttle when cornering or exiting corners. I'm always quite afraid to apply much throttle when cornering in the G35 (RWD) unless the roads are dry and perfect shape, otherwise a quick spinout or massive drift can be expected, usually when there isn't room for such.

The sportshift option (done with gear lever) is solid, smooth and quick, similarily performing to what the G35 has. The G37 claims to do rev matching on downshifts, but I really didn't notice this at all, especially after seeing how well the Aston Vantage does it. The XKR is 10x better than the G37 at rev matching on downshifts, and the Vantage is 10x better than the XKR. Would love to try a Ferrari someday!

One of my biggest complaints is the G37 (starting in 09) was it's 7 speed automatic transmission. In regular automatic mode on the highway or at speeds above 55mph, applying 30% throttle pressure does absolutely nothing, as there is no torque to be found in sixth and seven gear. You need to really slam the pedal to get it to downshift a couple gears in order to overtake someone. Using the sportshift option, I was similiarly depressed. Gears felt way to short, too much shifting overall, and not enough torque when I wanted it without dropping as low as I could go, despite the HP increase. Infiniti says they did this to smooth things out and improve gas mileage, but I don't see much MPG increase and the G35 was plenty smooth without the added nuisance of consantly shifting up and down through 7 gears. Five gears is plenty, they need to go back to that in thier automatic transmissions.

As for the engine, the G37 is bored out from 3.5L to 3.7L and gets a HP increase from 285-96 hp in the G35 to about 330 hp in the G37. I think the car is faster because of this, but it really doesn't feel that way, or, at least it is much less theatrical about achieving its speed. The hushed exhaust and tepid and ever changing transmission seems to kill the raw feel of acceleration and speed. It feels like what the XKR does when compared to the Vantage. The XKR is faster, but it isn't as exciting to gain speed in when compared to the Vantage. The experience is likewise in the G37 vs the G35.

So, a new G37 is around $45k new, or $28k used. I'd take the suspension, AWD, and increase in engine displacement, but otherwise leave everything the same as in the G35. Considering I don't have this option, there is no way I'm "upgrading" to a G37.