2020 Aston Martin Vantage Review
What is an Aston Martin? It's a brand with an undeniable pedigree, built over as many decades as other exotic marques like Ferrari and Lamborghini, but better known for its Grand Tourer class road cars than the mid-engined supercars of its Italian compatriots.
The new millennium saw the British brand at its best, save for the overly long lifespans of the previous DB and Vantage model families.
They were still painfully gorgeous when they were retired at over a decade old, but their mechanical and electrical components are long overdue, especially at this exotic end of the price scale.
The new millennium has been good for Aston Martin.
Enter a new technical partnership with Mercedes-AMG that has seen the technology platform of the new DB11 and Vantage models go straight to the minute, in line with their new styling direction, bolder than before but unmistakably Aston.
So they look like an Aston, but do they feel like just another AMG? I sincerely hope not, as a brand with the strength and heritage of Aston must retain its identity.
With a full three years in the production reality of this relationship, it was my first chance to find out by living with the new Vantage over the weekend.
Friday evening
Our Vantage turned out to be an already sold-out version of the Lunar Eclipse Designer Spec with a host of options that increased its list price to $367,579 from the Vantage's base $299,950 list price.
The pack includes 13 specific exterior parts and 15 interior parts, proving that Aston has mastered the art of personalization just like the rest of the exotic car world.
Essentially, the Lunar Eclipse Designer Spec stands for the deepest blue metallic paint in living memory, with color-coded side gills, door handles, side mirrors and roof. Gloss black also replaces any chrome except for the exhaust tips and badges and also applies to the brake calipers and also applies to the 20" 10 spoke forged alloy wheels.
Inside, the package includes upgraded heated and ventilated seats (yes, in a $300K car), a Sport Plus steering wheel, matching black and blue partially perforated leather trim, color-coded contrast stitching, carbon fiber piping in the center. console controls and door inserts, as well as splashes of satin silver.
It also offers a Tech Pack that includes regular cruise control, keyless entry and blind spot monitoring (yes, $300k again), as well as automatic parking and a Mercedes-based touchpad for the infotainment system.
Like most at this end of the price scale, there is no official safety rating from ANCAP or Euro NCAP, and no mention of other active safety features like AEB in the spec sheet.
So it's a tough argument in terms of traditional cost, but it's not likely to turn off many in this world, and to be honest, the average Vantage buyer has about $40 more options than usual.
Waiting for me in the parking lot on Friday night, he looked sinister but suave against the Camry, CX-5, and Rangers that surrounded him.
Dark yet sophisticated and modern at first glance.
Surprised by the swan doors that have graced every road-going Aston since the DB9, I recalled the new Vantage's unconventional, almost square-shaped steering wheel.
I have yet to grasp the current trend towards square handlebars in performance cars. I'm not even a fan of flat-bottomed wheels, unless they're in an open-wheel race car where the steering wheel turns less than one turn from lock to lock. Can this weekend open my eyes?
The start button and gearbox controls are also unconventional, but actually quite logical: the start button is located right in the middle of the Ferrari-style P, R, N and D selector buttons.
Pressing a button in the middle, AMG's 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine comes to life before stalling at the faster-than-necessary warm-up idle that's used in today's supercars. But who cares, the Yaris isn't.
The AMG 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine delivers 375 kW/685 Nm.
My Friday night stroll out of town on Parramatta Road and the roadwork-infested M4 en route to the Blue Mountains never produced more than some of the claimed Vantage 375kW/685Nm, 314km/h top speed, or even the 3.6s 0-100 boasted but it was still a satisfying way to end the workweek.
Sitting in a cabin where the only non-leather surfaces seem to be the glass, turn signal stalk, carbon fiber and aluminum buttons and inserts may sound like an expensive evening with Max Mosley, but it's a different experience altogether. One with a Mercedes-based multimedia interface, which is the opposite of secret infamy.
Ride is solid but not harsh, the exhaust sound is distinctly V8 but not throaty like the same engine in C63 guise, and despite using a race car-like gearbox layout, the torque converter eight-speed ZF car stops just as smoothly. – the start of city driving, as we have come to expect from almost every rear-wheel drive car these days.
The only thing that can be described as an NVH compromise is the occasional creak of leather surfaces interacting like when your buns meet a Chesterfield saloon. Mark number one to save a unique character.
Saturday
Saturday morning was greeted with demand to head to the local shops for some essentials.
Luckily, I live between two of the most interesting routes up and down the western edge of the Blue Mountains, as do my local shops.
So, logically, I went down before going up again and absolutely enjoyed it.
Forget Aston, get the first generation Plymouth Barracuda!
It's understandable that the Vantage development team spent a lot of time on the 991 911, as it does a very similar job of balancing the comfort of a grand tourer with the harshness of a true sports car.
Except this one is rear-wheel drive with a V8 under the nose and a 50:50 weight distribution. If Porsche built a new 928 it might look like this, but it doesn't seem to, and it certainly wouldn't look like this Aston.
Hopefully it will have a round handlebar as the Vantage's racing GT3-like handlebar makes even less sense to me in fast use than in traffic. I have used the "how to spin a 50 cent" analogy several times, and it has never been more applicable.
Speaking of coins, my side shopping does nothing to showcase the Vantage's roominess, but my still-stuffed duffel bag proved to have more than enough room for two standing side by side with your choice of tuxedo/tuxedo combo. the evening dress is neatly folded over them.
Sunday
The last day of the weekend began with the best excuse I knew to get out of bed at 6:30 on a Sunday, ahead of even my two little ones: Cars in the Mountains and Coffee at the Medlow Bath.
Away from the exotic C&C events that surround the city, the Blue Mountains event, held every third Sunday of every month, is always a mainstay of the "come one, come all" philosophy that promotes good car and coffee picking. Take a look at my Instagram, there is enough evidence.
So why rock around in a new Aston Martin that belongs to someone else? Because it's certainly covered by the "everyone comes" part of the equation, and there's something much more special from time to time.
To be honest, in my eyes the Mazda 1300 station wagon fits the bill, but I mean the special Italian V12.
Understandably, the first time I noticed the two cupholders on the center console was at the start of my hill journey. Not everything in the Aston orbit takes into account such important details, but I still have to name the door pockets, which hardly fit into the narrowest bottles.
Following the path that thousands of Sydney residents take on Sunday commutes every week, the Vantage has struggled to maintain near-constant 80-60-80km/h zones, but that's not the car's fault. It traveled with comfort and ease, but it was hinted the day before that it would swallow up the journey like an early 90s video game, possibly twice the legal price. Ah, living in a video game from the early 90s...
Monday
If heading home on a Friday in the new Aston Vantage is a joy, then the fear of a Monday at the office is alleviated even more, even if the morning commute is interrupted by a trip to the servo to refuel.
Its official combined figure is 10.3L/100km, but despite squeezing out a decent performance streak over our weekend, we only used 12.1L/100km of 95RON for 400km.
It's as cool as Idris Elba in the Savile Row suit, which somehow allows him to outdo his Lycra-clad opponents.
If only Aston had built one with a round steering wheel.
