The good news is that I just drove an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. The bad news is that it was raining the entire time. No matter when it rains in Southern California (which isn't very often) it never fails to screw something up. Often it's something pretty inconsequential, such as a major freeway being washed out or a landslide in millon-dollar neighborhoods. But this time it messed up my test drive. The nerve of Mother Nature!
I tried to console myself with the fact that at least the rain was authentic weather for the car's homeland. It also forced me to focus on the aspects of the car that didn't relate to performance, which is probably a good thing (I'm sure the majority of our upcoming Vantage road test will cover those elements). Like the DB9 I drove several months ago, this car has beautiful interior and exterior design features. My favorite exterior element continues to be the sleek taillights, and my favorite interior feature is the brushed aluminum gauge cluster (both of which are used on the DB9). The car has a seriously raked windshield and the short front and rear overhangs give it a somewhat bulldog-like profile compared to the sleeker DB9, but that isn't a bad thing. And while I couldn't really use its 380 horsepower, I did give it enough throttle to confirm that the sound of the V8 is appropriately meaty and authoritative. In fact, I think that along with stunning interior design elements (possibly the only company that consistently rivals VW/Audi Group cars), Aston Martin's abiilty to tune in an ideal exhaust note could be their signature strength. All of their models share this trait, and it's enough to almost make me forget the somewhat heavy steering feel (something I've also experienced in all three current cars).
I'm still not sure what Ford is doing with Jaguar, and Lincoln seems to be in a total freefall (and let's not discuss SVT...), but Aston Martin seems quite well sorted at the moment. What we really need is a comparison test with the V8 Vantage, Maserati Coupe and 911 to truly see how things stack up.
By ethanwest
on March 20, 2006
10:32 PM
Where did the test go down? I only ask because I aslo live in the L.A. area.
By editor_karl
on March 20, 2006
10:33 PM
It was up in Santa Barbara. When I was driving up it was sunny...until I got to Ventura, where it started to sprinkle. By the time I got to Santa Barbara it was coming down pretty hard. Major bummer.
By ethanwest
on March 21, 2006
12:39 AM
Well, you could have salvaged the day with some drifting action on the newly slick asphalt.
By editor_karl
on March 21, 2006
01:10 PM
I tried, but the crybaby journalist with me freaked out the one time I rotated the rear end about two feet. This was at a low speed in a wide-open intersection with dozens of yards of "cushion" space all around us. The car felt eminently controllable and predictable during that all-too brief, aborted move (the exact characteristics I was trying to confirm it possessed). That was the extent of my "performance" driving in the Vantage. Maybe next time...
By navigator89
on March 23, 2006
12:10 AM
I'm looking forward to that comparison test, should be an interesting read.
Was that "crybaby" journalist with Edmunds? What a wuss, I'd do anything to have that kind of fun with an exotic car.
By scottpolk
on March 23, 2006
09:38 AM
Yes Karl, ... whom was this "crybaby" journalist?
By editor_karl
on March 23, 2006
09:49 PM
The journalist will remain incognito -- unless he/she happens to read this and launch into a public counter response (something this person would surely do...).