Driver ReviewNow this is real class. Step into this vehicle, and the James Bond factor is immediate. The hand-stitched leather and the brushed aluminium details on the dashboard exude understated elegance coupled with suave sophistication, offset by the big fat “Engine Start” button glowing red in the middle of the dash. Hitting that button causes the engine to burst into life – and with the fuse from the exhaust-bypass-valve removed (a common thing to do amongst Vantage owners) there is no suppression of the big-cat purr that emanates from the rear. This car means business. The wild roar as you accelerate beautifully contrasts with that elegance inside the cockpit … I love this car! Driving across London Bridge on a cool winter’s evening with the roof down is a memorable experience – in my mind something I will remember far more vividly than taking the Gallardo out. The noise you hear as this engine comes under load is unique – the purr turns into a deep wild growl – almost American in nature, but something tells you this is a British thoroughbred. As special as it is, this car isn’t actually as sporty as you might expect. 380 bhp from a 4.3 litre V8 is very respectable, but it is delivered through a somewhat ponderous automatic clutch and paddle-shift-driven sequential gearbox. And don’t forget that this is one and a half tonnes of British machinery. The end result is a normally-aspirated engine that feels a bit like a smaller engine with a turbo and the lag that comes with that … put your foot down and there’s probably half a second before any real action happens. So it’s not as immediate as something like a Ferrari F355 or even the BMW M3 V8, although handling for a car of this weight is pretty taut. I’d love to try the manual-gearbox version (update: see new review here). But, despite the outright performance shortcomings, you feel SO special driving this car. And any passenger feels almost as special.
Paul Williams
DRIVER RATINGS: Exterior: 8/10 Interior: 9/10 Cool Factor: 9/10 Driveability: 7/10 Fear Factor: 5/10 TOTAL: 28 (Fear Factor Scores are subtracted) |
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Passenger ReviewThis is a LOT calmer than the Gallardo. My first memory of this car is pressing the big red ENGINE START button placed dominantly on top of the centre console. A small rasp of the engine turns into a quiet murmur as the Aston sits nicely on your driveway humming to itself like a fridge. As mentioned above you really do feel like you’re in a Bond Movie. I haven’t seen many Bond movies but I know the Aston is the main car Bond drives. Fortunately we weren’t going to be flipping this one 9 times! On the road this car is a very controlled piece of machinery. It looks like it’s been crafted in heaven and sticks to the road like nothing before. At no point did the back end try to escape or the car try and put us in a tree. You can tell before looking at the name tag that it is a V8.The noise is brilliant. It isn’t barky like the Gallardo but it isn’t a shy car. It will shout when provoked but for a quiet jaunt in the countryside at 9pm it will behave like an servant catering to your every whim. This is one of the best cars I’ve ever been in
Ryan Williams
PASSENGER RATINGS: Exterior: 8/10 Interior: 10/10 Cool Factor: 10/10 Passenger Experience: 9/10 Fear Factor: 3/10 TOTAL: 34 (Fear Factor Scores are subtracted) |
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