Looking back on the first year of ownership I’d like to share what the experience has been in my first exotic. Some call the Vantage a sports car, while others these days say anything under 600HP isn’t a real sports car. Some say it is a grand tourer, but it is a two-seater convertible with a stick. The higher end Astons nail that category. So it is a bit of both. It is enormously fun to drive, gets you from A to B as quickly as the laws of man and nature allow, and delivers you refreshed and happy at the end. Though so much about cars is subjective, I’ve had zero regrets about this as the perfect choice for me. Here’s why.

The looks never get old. Though it is so subjective I’ve never heard anyone deny that the Gaydon era Astons are stunningly beautiful. It is shocking to think that the signature Aston look dates back 20-ish years to the V12 Vanquish. When you hear a particular model or year described as dated it is always in comparison to another Aston. Enough has been written about the zealous application of the Golden Ratio of thirds to every composition of an Aston, from every angle. I can confirm that still, after parking mine, I have to look back. Irresistible.

The sound is intoxicating. Objectively noise is an odd thing to hold up as a vital virtue of a machine. Yet every review of every Aston calls out the glorious sound they make. The Vantage does not disappoint. Having a naturally aspirated 4.7L V8 helps. Legend has it that there is an engineer at Aston whose job it is to make them sound great. I hope he or she is well paid. It explains why the first thing many Vantage owners do is pull Fuse 22 that controls a baffle in the exhaust for civilizing the notes in the driveway or crawling around the neighborhood. That exhaust note is reason enough to get the Roadster. If you are not driving through rain, snow, or an Eat The Rich protest you will want the top down.

The handling is sublime. I’ve already mentioned the low center of gravity, making body roll in the bends a very subtle thing. Added to that is the near perfect front to rear weight distribution. That V8 is shoe-horned in next door to your three pedals and the gearbox is relegated to the back axle where it belongs. The effect is very pleasing. I’ve extolled elsewhere the beguiling charm of a seemingly analog car in the modern era. The hydraulic steering gives great road feel that matches beautifully what you just saw down that sloping hood. The six-speed manual is well mated to the power and torque curves of the engine. The sixth gear seems to be there for purely theoretical reasons. The car is capable of 180mph and you need that last gear after 160. In a year and 8000 miles I have never used it. That said, I have my navigation apps set to avoid freeways and I live in a land where straight and flat are very hard to find. The manual has a Sport button that perceptibly tunes the throttle response and steering a little more aggressively. The owner’s manual claims it also increases available torque. That would be clever if true. Finally, the brakes need to be able to undo all the work of that power and torque even more quickly. They do.  

The performance is sufficient. I am not a professional driver and I have spent less than half a day of my life driving over 100 mph. That said I have been lucky enough to drive a few European spec company cars at eight or nine tenths for many, many miles. (Following the adage that the fastest car is your father’s car, beaten by a rental car, beaten only by a company car.) To me the Vantage is thrills without drama. There are faster cars. There are more powerful cars. There are better handling cars. And out of all of those there are quite a few that will beat the Vantage around a track. But for real world spirited driving on great driving roads the Vantage is a beautifully conceived and executed package of the right stuff for driving pleasure. I haven’t yet turn the DSC off for outright hooliganism. Wherever I’ve gone on whatever kind of road the car has always done exactly what I asked it to do, even when that seemed unreasonable. Said differently, the car’s capabilities exceed my own and the car is quicker than I can drive. Some day I’ll try one of the current generation 600-700HP supercars. For now I can conceive how those wouldn’t push me over the hump from exhilarated to terrified. 420 HP is a lot. 350 lb-ft is good. I’m not growing old going from zero to sixty in the mid-4s. The car is quick, the car is fun, and everything feels beautifully balanced. Thrills without drama.

The cockpit is luxurious. To the driver the view on the inside is as important as view on the outside, and any Aston is a very pleasant place to be. Things that look like metal are hewn from metal. Things that look like carbon fiber are carbon fiber. Things that look and smell like (lots of) leather are Bridge of Weir leather. The craftsmanship and attention to detail are superb. It costs nothing to go sit in one at a friendly dealer. Try it.

The ethos is understated yet elegant.  Others have observed that “nobody hates on an Aston”. In my experience that is not 100% true. In 8,000 miles I was yelled at once rolling into a small rural town for having passed someone with excessive velocity and decibels. I’m pretty sure the ire was directed at the driver and not the car, though. Otherwise the car either goes under the radar or gets admiring comments. Everyone finds the car beautiful and special. Because they are so rare compared to Porsches and even Ferraris most people don’t know what they are seeing, but they like it. That feeling extends to the driver who is somehow made to feel special, like that magical date where things click and someone thinks you are the gifted person your mother told you you are. Without ever having to raise your voice over the crowd.

The costs are sobering. If I’ve waxed a little too poetic because of my infatuation with the car over all others it is ultimately tempered by the reality of feeding the beast. I’ve come clean in another chapter on what it is really, truly costing me to have this experience. Factoring in maintenance, depreciation, desirable updates and the like, my used Aston costs a fair bit more than the nicest new minivan or pickup truck. That represents the price of luxury, rarity and thrills. If you can put a price on that.