Vantage grille design: 6-bar vs. 8-bar - Poll.

[KarlFranz]

It's a subtle difference, but I like the newer 6-bar grille. It looks more aggressive to me. What are your thoughts?

[JohnG1]

So subtle that, although I have had both, I never noticed!

[mikey k]

voted - You missed the other option of bright vs standard though

[George H]

6 bar bright grill is my favourite.

[KarlFranz]

mikey k said:

voted - You missed the other option of bright vs standard though

Maybe that should be a different poll

[tonyhall38]

mines 5.....

[LordBretSinclair]

tonyhall38 said:

mines 5.....

and the other car has 7.

[KarlFranz]

tonyhall38 said:

mines 5.....

That looks even better. Of course, we don't have that option on the Vantage and the "mouth" of the Vantage is wider (taller?) than the DB9's—so it might not look so good in real life. Funny how Aston's "signature" grill can have 5, 6, 7, or even 8 bars.

[yeti]

I thought the fewer the better, but have come to love my 7 bars now!

It's probably colour dependent...

[Molly GT]

Thats a 6 for me please

[Highrisedrifter]

I can honestly say that I prefer more bars, although I'm not overly bothered either way.

[Murph7355]

Own an earlier car. Think the 6 is better. Shame they pooped the interior.

[KarlFranz]

Murph7355 said:

Own an earlier car. Think the 6 is better. Shame they pooped the interior.

You can buy the 6-bar grille as a replacement option for the earlier cars which is what I might do if money permits.

What makes you think they "pooped the interior"?

[peterr96]

Think I'd prefer the 6.
If only cos the 8 is a bh to dry properly after you've washed the car and there's 33% more of it.
Must buy a compressor and blow gun.....

[Murph7355]

KarlFranz said:

...
What makes you think they "pooped the interior"?

I'm not keen on the revised layout. Few areas:

- the larger knobs don't feel anywhere near as nice as the three metal ones on the earlier cars.
- the smaller buttons weren't great on the earlier cars, but the revised ones to me just replace one poor layout with another poor layout. They actually seem less logically placed to me.
- I dislike the new font. It looks like it's been pilfered from something low rent.
- I dislike the coloured segments on things like the temperature gauge. Ditto the above.

The older, grey plastic buttons weren't the best part of the interior. However I think the root cause of the problem was more likely the nature of the entertainment system itself - it didn't lend itself to a better control layout. So they've fiddled with the buttons to have a stab at improving the look, but IMO have far from succeeded.

The issue for Aston on all areas of the V8V is that the original design was very, very good. They've been fiddling with it markedly both inside and out since 2008, and I don't think the changes are improving things (this is obviously subjective!). This often happens when you go back and fiddle with what is a good base design.

[Rex Racer]

I like the 6. It looks more aggressive to me.

[Adam2S]

6 slot is slightly easier to clean also!

[Speedraser]

I prefer the 8 bar grille -- you see less of the not-so-pretty stuff behind it, like hood latches and brackets, which are more visible through the bigger gaps between each bar in the 6-bar grille. Not a big preference, though.

[flinder]

Have an 07 8 bar...prefer the newer 6 bar. Unlike many cost reductions this change improved an already fantastic exterior. It toughened an overall softness. I like the look of that mechanical stuff, especially the relatively unique high performance hardware, i.e., oil coolers.

[KarlFranz]

It's done. Installation took about 15 minutes. Sorry for the crappy cell phone camera quality.