Thinking Aston Martin
Discussion
Last week I had an Aston Martin V8V manual rental. It was built 2005 so a quite early model. Usually daily driving a Lotus Evora S (and a 370Z Roadster), here are my impressions:
- It's, as I expected, not a real pure sports car. Steering feel is similar to my 370Z, really not bad but not as great as in the Lotus.
- Overall performance is also not much better as with my 370Z, well it's the 4.3 engine, of course top speed is higher but when accellerating and in corners you can feel it's not the lightest car in the world.
- It wasn't a roadster.
Now let's talk about the things I loved:
+ Quality, fit and finish is just great. Only think is the seat is rubbing on the middle tunnel when adjusting seat position and direction indicator levers and the key look a bit cheap. But it's a really beautiful interiour.
+ Exterior is also beautiful, looks better in real than on photos. Just perfect. I like the exterior shape more than that of the DBS.
+ Engine sound above 4000RPM is really, really great.
+ Stereo is also great
+ I like the manual transmission very much. It's easy to change gears fast and it feels better than in my other cars.
+ I don't know the exact name of the painting, but it was grey metallic, and it looked great. However, this is one of very few cars I could also imagine being beautiful in white.
Something I noticed:
~ Speedo is quite a bit "behind" in time, about 2-3 seconds. Looks a bit strange and is sometimes irritating.
Overall, it's a great car and I am seriously thinking of taking an used Vantage N420 roadster as replacement for my 370Z. Only thing that annoys me is that I have to pay about 30000€ CO2 tax alone where I live, in addition to normal salex tax.
I also ordered "The Definitive Guide to Gaydon Era Aston Martin". But while waiting, I have a few questions ...
- It's, as I expected, not a real pure sports car. Steering feel is similar to my 370Z, really not bad but not as great as in the Lotus.
- Overall performance is also not much better as with my 370Z, well it's the 4.3 engine, of course top speed is higher but when accellerating and in corners you can feel it's not the lightest car in the world.
- It wasn't a roadster.
Now let's talk about the things I loved:
+ Quality, fit and finish is just great. Only think is the seat is rubbing on the middle tunnel when adjusting seat position and direction indicator levers and the key look a bit cheap. But it's a really beautiful interiour.
+ Exterior is also beautiful, looks better in real than on photos. Just perfect. I like the exterior shape more than that of the DBS.
+ Engine sound above 4000RPM is really, really great.
+ Stereo is also great
+ I like the manual transmission very much. It's easy to change gears fast and it feels better than in my other cars.
+ I don't know the exact name of the painting, but it was grey metallic, and it looked great. However, this is one of very few cars I could also imagine being beautiful in white.
Something I noticed:
~ Speedo is quite a bit "behind" in time, about 2-3 seconds. Looks a bit strange and is sometimes irritating.
Overall, it's a great car and I am seriously thinking of taking an used Vantage N420 roadster as replacement for my 370Z. Only thing that annoys me is that I have to pay about 30000€ CO2 tax alone where I live, in addition to normal salex tax.
I also ordered "The Definitive Guide to Gaydon Era Aston Martin". But while waiting, I have a few questions ...
- Is the N420 roadster available with sportshift only? At least the N420 second hand cars I found were all with sport shift.
- Does the sport shift transmission have an usable automatic mode? So it would at least make sense for my Girlfriend who doesn't like MT.
- My 370Z roadster has a seat cooling feature I really love, is that available with AM too?
- What's the actual technical difference between the 400HP 4.7 and the 420HP 4.7 engine?
- Is it possible to make the exhause flaps manually switchable instead of the open at 4000+RPM feature?
dmpriso said:
Last week I had an Aston Martin V8V manual rental. It was built 2005 so a quite early model. Usually daily driving a Lotus Evora S (and a 370Z Roadster), here are my impressions:
- It's, as I expected, not a real pure sports car. Steering feel is similar to my 370Z, really not bad but not as great as in the Lotus.
- Overall performance is also not much better as with my 370Z, well it's the 4.3 engine, of course top speed is higher but when accellerating and in corners you can feel it's not the lightest car in the world.
- It wasn't a roadster.
Now let's talk about the things I loved:
+ Quality, fit and finish is just great. Only think is the seat is rubbing on the middle tunnel when adjusting seat position and direction indicator levers and the key look a bit cheap. But it's a really beautiful interiour.
+ Exterior is also beautiful, looks better in real than on photos. Just perfect. I like the exterior shape more than that of the DBS.
+ Engine sound above 4000RPM is really, really great.
+ Stereo is also great
+ I like the manual transmission very much. It's easy to change gears fast and it feels better than in my other cars.
+ I don't know the exact name of the painting, but it was grey metallic, and it looked great. However, this is one of very few cars I could also imagine being beautiful in white.
Something I noticed:
~ Speedo is quite a bit "behind" in time, about 2-3 seconds. Looks a bit strange and is sometimes irritating.
Overall, it's a great car and I am seriously thinking of taking an used Vantage N420 roadster as replacement for my 370Z. Only thing that annoys me is that I have to pay about 30000€ CO2 tax alone where I live, in addition to normal salex tax.
I also ordered "The Definitive Guide to Gaydon Era Aston Martin". But while waiting, I have a few questions ...
Good idea hiring one rather than test driving - It's, as I expected, not a real pure sports car. Steering feel is similar to my 370Z, really not bad but not as great as in the Lotus.
- Overall performance is also not much better as with my 370Z, well it's the 4.3 engine, of course top speed is higher but when accellerating and in corners you can feel it's not the lightest car in the world.
- It wasn't a roadster.
Now let's talk about the things I loved:
+ Quality, fit and finish is just great. Only think is the seat is rubbing on the middle tunnel when adjusting seat position and direction indicator levers and the key look a bit cheap. But it's a really beautiful interiour.
+ Exterior is also beautiful, looks better in real than on photos. Just perfect. I like the exterior shape more than that of the DBS.
+ Engine sound above 4000RPM is really, really great.
+ Stereo is also great
+ I like the manual transmission very much. It's easy to change gears fast and it feels better than in my other cars.
+ I don't know the exact name of the painting, but it was grey metallic, and it looked great. However, this is one of very few cars I could also imagine being beautiful in white.
Something I noticed:
~ Speedo is quite a bit "behind" in time, about 2-3 seconds. Looks a bit strange and is sometimes irritating.
Overall, it's a great car and I am seriously thinking of taking an used Vantage N420 roadster as replacement for my 370Z. Only thing that annoys me is that I have to pay about 30000€ CO2 tax alone where I live, in addition to normal salex tax.
I also ordered "The Definitive Guide to Gaydon Era Aston Martin". But while waiting, I have a few questions ...
- Is the N420 roadster available with sportshift only? At least the N420 second hand cars I found were all with sport shift.
- Does the sport shift transmission have an usable automatic mode? So it would at least make sense for my Girlfriend who doesn't like MT.
- My 370Z roadster has a seat cooling feature I really love, is that available with AM too?
- What's the actual technical difference between the 400HP 4.7 and the 420HP 4.7 engine?
- Is it possible to make the exhause flaps manually switchable instead of the open at 4000+RPM feature?
Tunnel squeak - there is so much leather in these you do get a bit of this if it is not treated regularly.
The roadsters do amplify all the sensations
IMHO I would'y bother with an N420, go for a sport pack 4.7 with the options you want. The N420 is not different enough and not that rare
Or better still go for a Vantage S roadster The "grey" colour could be one of many - very popular colour with sooo many variations
White is "of the moment" and may look a bit dated quickly, though Morning Frost looks nice!
We never use the analogue speedo it only leads to speeding tickets
Scroll through to the digital one Many later cars do tend to be sportshift, it is actually easy to use, my wife drove my last one with no issues. Just make sure you do a "learn" regularly.
No seat cooling but the roof does come off
That will make you look cool There is no 400 BHP 4.7 they start at 420BHP. 400 BHP is the factory upgrade pack for the 4.3 as fitted to the N400's.
Yep fuse 22 can be replaced with a manual or remote switch to open/close the flaps.
Which country are you in?
Edit - Austria - some great roads for an Aston Roadster in the Alps!
dmpriso said:
- Is the N420 roadster available with sportshift only? At least the N420 second hand cars I found were all with sport shift.
dmpriso said:
- Does the sport shift transmission have an usable automatic mode? So it would at least make sense for my Girlfriend who doesn't like MT.
dmpriso said:
- My 370Z roadster has a seat cooling feature I really love, is that available with AM too?
dmpriso said:
- What's the actual technical difference between the 400HP 4.7 and the 420HP 4.7 engine?
Not 100% sure. Probably a slight ECU/exhaust/inlet tweak if like the N400.dmpriso said:
- Is it possible to make the exhause flaps manually switchable instead of the open at 4000+RPM feature?
mikey k said:
<snip…>
We never use the analogue speedo it only leads to speeding tickets Scroll through to the digital one
Mikey, I think the OP did mean that the digital speedo is the one that lags behind. I notice that quite a bit on my Vantage and it is quite irritating. I'm sure the problem is that the circuit isn't sampled frequently enough or is dampened so that it doesn't fluctuate as quickly, but the result is that the digital speedo takes a second or two to "catch up" to the actual speed of the car. Most of the time, when I'm accelerating quite briskly, I look at the speedo and let off when I see the speed that I want to cruise at. What invariably happens is that the speedo is still catching up and a couple of seconds later it is indicating that my speed is about 10MPH or more than when I eased off the throttle pedal. I thought I could attribute this to the forward momentum of the car, but I'm convinced that this is not the cause. If you look as you accelerate, the digital speedo only updates in very large increments. I wish AM would issue a software update that would alter/correct this behavior.We never use the analogue speedo it only leads to speeding tickets
Scroll through to the digital one Thanks a lot!
Sports pack is a good hint. Also Vantage S roadster is really beautiful in morning frost white ... improved sportshift also sounds very interesting. Perhaps there will be some interesting offers by the end of this year. (When is the best time to buy a roadster?)
I was in error about the 400HP 4.7, it's a 4.3 of course.
Digital Speedometer: This is exactly what I experienced. When I stopped accelerating, the digital speedo was still indicating acceleration for a few seconds. Also, I noticed that the RPM gauge is a bit behind in time but not as much as the speedometer.
Sports pack is a good hint. Also Vantage S roadster is really beautiful in morning frost white ... improved sportshift also sounds very interesting. Perhaps there will be some interesting offers by the end of this year. (When is the best time to buy a roadster?)
I was in error about the 400HP 4.7, it's a 4.3 of course.
Digital Speedometer: This is exactly what I experienced. When I stopped accelerating, the digital speedo was still indicating acceleration for a few seconds. Also, I noticed that the RPM gauge is a bit behind in time but not as much as the speedometer.
Here are two pictures I took of my rental:
http://imageshack.us/g/109/aston2s.jpg/
If possible, I prefer renting a car for a few days instead of a short test drive because you get a better impression. Besides, I was interested in driving a few cars without true ownership interest in advance.
http://imageshack.us/g/109/aston2s.jpg/
If possible, I prefer renting a car for a few days instead of a short test drive because you get a better impression. Besides, I was interested in driving a few cars without true ownership interest in advance.
Edited by dmpriso on Monday 22 August 09:46
Nice.
The "slow" digital speedo annoys me too. Although its also kind of fun seeing it climb and climb so you can giggle knowing that you were actually doing "a+x", with a being the speed you thought you should slow down at...
Just for your info, it looks to me like the silver colour on your rental is the one termed "meteorite silver".
The "slow" digital speedo annoys me too. Although its also kind of fun seeing it climb and climb so you can giggle knowing that you were actually doing "a+x", with a being the speed you thought you should slow down at...
Just for your info, it looks to me like the silver colour on your rental is the one termed "meteorite silver".
dmpriso said:
Here are two pictures I took of my rental:
http://imageshack.us/g/109/aston2s.jpg/
If possible, I prefer renting a car for a few days instead of a short test drive because you get a better impression. Besides, I was interested in driving a few cars without true ownership interest in advance.
Did you give it a good shake down over the Viennese cobbles? Servushttp://imageshack.us/g/109/aston2s.jpg/
If possible, I prefer renting a car for a few days instead of a short test drive because you get a better impression. Besides, I was interested in driving a few cars without true ownership interest in advance.
Edited by dmpriso on Monday 22 August 09:46
dmpriso said:
Here are two pictures I took of my rental:
http://imageshack.us/g/109/aston2s.jpg/
If possible, I prefer renting a car for a few days instead of a short test drive because you get a better impression. Besides, I was interested in driving a few cars without true ownership interest in advance.
Looks like Tungsten Silverhttp://imageshack.us/g/109/aston2s.jpg/
If possible, I prefer renting a car for a few days instead of a short test drive because you get a better impression. Besides, I was interested in driving a few cars without true ownership interest in advance.
Edited by dmpriso on Monday 22 August 09:46
Roadster price do drop over the winter.
January is often best as every one is all spent up after xmas and the temperatures are lowest
Jockman said:
That's what I thought but then I compared the picture to my car and it looks slightly darker.
Meteorite could be a better call
Edited to say take a peek at my profile pic.
I did consider MeteoriteMeteorite could be a better call
Edited to say take a peek at my profile pic.
Edited by Jockman on Monday 22 August 11:55
I refuse to look at your pictures I was warned at an early age about things like that!
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