Tiptronic vs Manual?

[wokkadriver]

Hi all,

In my ongoing quest for a DB7 Vantage, my next question is about the 'box.

I am after a manual, but they don't seem to come up that frequently... So how do they stack-up against the tiptronic?

I've only test driven a manual and had an auto box in my XKR, thus is the limit of my experience.

Welcome your thoughts...

[AstonZagato]

I had a DB7 Vantage from new. I chose to go the touchtronic route (forget the straight auto, of which there are a few). My reasons were:

• I found the pedal box very tight for my size 11 feet. Driving in good solid english brogues was extremely difficult (though, when I borrowed a manual car for a couple of weeks, I mastered it) and just a bit nerve-wracking as wasn't quite sure that i could get the solely right pedal in an emergency.
• My wife is quite petite and found that the clutch pedal was difficult for her to reach/depress fully. Brake and accelerator were ok.

So, I felt I wanted a manual but had to go the TT route (a little like you).

How did I find it? Well surprisingly good, actually. No better than that - excellent. It suits the nature of the car - a long-legged GT rather than a racer. I drove it almost exclusively in TT mode. It is not lightening fast to change (press the button, count 1, count 2, change). The buttons are not ideally placed (on the front of the steering wheel) but I found that I generally could drive with the hands a little lower than the "10 to 2" position and, by squeezing, change gear with the heels of my thumbs. It is not nearly as good as the TT2 on my DB9 (no blips on downchange), so don't buy it on press praise for the DB9's gearbox.

In short, if I had to buy another DB7, I wouldn't hesitate on a TT car. If you are going for the GT, I'd stick to the manual but I think you will be happy witheither a manual or TT.