2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage San Diego CA

November 18, 2009   By Royal Ford



2009 Aston Martin Vantage
DriverSide Overview
The Aston Martin, of course, is favored by the suave spy who demanded his martinis shaken not stirred, and always fell into the company of exotic, often dangerous women. In a move to distance itself from the high ether prices of Lamborghini and Ferrari and go head-to-head with the likes of Porsche 911s and Audi R8s , mostly by significant boosts in horsepower and torque, up to 420 and 347 respectively, Aston Martin has priced the new Vantage in the “affordable” range of high performance, world class cars running from around $120,000 to $137,000. And in a move more common these days, options are not myriad. This is a single model that can be had with hardtop or convertible top, a manual or automatic transmission and $4,000 sport packages that focus mainly on shifting and suspension. And yet, uncomplicated as this may seem, you should not buy one version without trying the other, as each of those few decisions can radically transform this Aston Martin.








What's to Like
First, its beautiful design will likely need only minor tweaks (think of the Porsche ethos) throughout time. We like the upgrade in power; the 4.7-liter engine in both models produces 420 horsepower (up by about 40 romping ponies) and a 15 percent hike in reach-down-deep torque band. And the burbling exhaust note gets more basso as the rpms climb, which we like a lot.

What's not to like
The Sport trim excels on the track and on incredibly smooth roads, but on normal surfaces you’ll be feeling every accent of every road from bridge expansion joints to simple undulations of pavement. It’s too bad there is not comfort/sport selection with the Sport Suspension package.

DriverSide Driving Impressions
The regular suspension was noticeably softer on the twists and climbs over hills and through valleys in Marin County in California. Where the kickback of road with the sport suspension could be felt in the wheel and the seat of the pants, the regular suspension had a stable yet softer sense. There was, of course, a bit more body roll in the softer setup, but our suspicion is that folks who want the more gentle ride will not be pushing the car hard often, thus body roll becomes a moot issue. Other than the suspension feedback to the wheel, steering in each model was concise, with higher speeds in particular requiring little work of the wheel and, even when pushed intentionally to a bad line on a corner, was a gentle fix, not a rapid sawing affair. The increase in horsepower and torque - which bumps this car up in performance class - proves important when you realize you've jetted up on that slogging 18-wheeler just before the merge left sign and you need oomph to avoid his drift left. The bulk of the torque kicks in at around 1,700 rpm and climbs to peak at about 5,700 rpm. Plenty of shift/options and wiggle room there to flash past that big rig or e...

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