Forget for a moment the science of ergonomics or even objective analysis. The same handcrafted quality apparent outside the Aston Martin V8 Vantage applies inside, only more obviously. The cockpit impresses, not necessarily for its switch placement, but for the feeling it inspires. This car surrounds its driver and passenger with a sense of achievement, well-being, even wealth, and there's not a shred of trendy carbon fiber anywhere.
The upgrade full two-tone leather in our test car was marvelous. The headliner is alcantara; the balance of the soft panels, including the dash and doors, are thick, burnished, hand-stitched leather. The seat belt buckles are sheathed in leather, and the three climate control knobs are machined from solid aluminum. The decorative trim in this car, starting with details such as the polished aluminum ring around the shifter, no doubt costs more to produce than the full instrument panel in a typical compact car.
Not that the V8 Vantage is an ergonomic disaster. Indeed, in the scheme of the traditional British sports car, or even contemporary high-end sports cars, it's very good. The aluminum-backed gauges impress not only for their beauty, but for their legibility. The primary stereo controls could be a bit larger, but they are exactly where we like them, at the top of the center stack. Those expensive climate control knobs are big, and easy to find without distracting oneself from the task at hand. The same applies to switches underneath them controlling flashers, traction control and door locks. The biggest gripe falls on some too-small ancillary switches arrayed on either side of a gorgeous analog clock. In total, the dash is elegantly designed, exquisitely finished and straightforward in function.
The V8 Vantage's cockpit is intimate, certainly, but not cramped. There's enough room for the passenger to stretch legs and lower the seatback past 45 degrees. The seats are impressive: firm and supportive, with all the bolster needed anywhere but on a race track, and comfortable for the long haul. There's also a decent amount of space behind the seats, and it's easy for the driver to reach. A very large briefcase or good-sized shopping bags are no problem here. The V8 Vantage is about as practical as cars of this ilk get, and just sitting inside can make you feel like a millionaire.
The engine under the hood of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage is a gem: A high-revving 4.3-liter V8 with 305 pound-feet of acceleration-producing torque and the latest technology. This includes racecar style features such as dry-sump lubrication, which allows the engine to be installed much lower in the car for a lower center of gravity, and ensures proper oiling under very high g-loads.
There's a glass button resembling the face of a fine watch at the top of the center stack. In common parlance it's a start button, but it's also a one-touch ticket to a good time. Turn the ignition key and the start button glows red. Press the button for a second and the V8 burbles to life, idling in a low vroooom that sounds as sweet from the driver seat as it does standing outside the car. The low, rumbling sound beckons the driver to kick that gas pedal and send the tach needle up toward the redline.
Kick we did, burning through two 20.2-gallon tanks of gasoline on a trek through eastern England and Wales with no particular destination: On motorways, sometimes traveling twice the speed limit posted on American interstates, and following some amazing two lane roads amongst the sheep in rural Wales, free of traffic, narrower than some suburban driveways and glass smooth. When we were finished with the V8 Vantage, all we did was wish we could afford our own.
This Aston Martin exhilarates. As it is with one of our favorite sports cars, the Porsche 911, the V8 Vantage's engine is impressively tractable. Its 380 horsepower peaks at 7300 rpm, and while torque peaks at 5000 rpm, variable intake valve timing broadens the power curve nicely, so the torque flows freely almost from idle. This even power delivery allows a driver to be lazy with the shifting. Gear selection is almost inconsequential in a casual drive.
In a spirited drive, the Aston Martin V8 likes it best at the high end, where it delivers a more pronounced punch to the small of the back than the 911's horizontally opposed six-cylinder will. It's also smoother bouncing around near 8000 rpm. The V8 Vantage accelerates quickly, to be sure: This car will easily get to 60 mph in less than five seconds. Yet the acceleration is almost secondary to the pleasure of running the V8 to the rev limiter, gear after satisfying gear. And oh, the sound. It's intoxicating and addictive. We often found ourselves accelerating hard just to hear the sound and feel the thrust.
Aston Martin has also taken a page from Porsche with its traction- and skid- control electronics, which is to say that it has programmed them with room to drive. The V8 Vantage electronics have two modes: on or off, with no intermediate stage. But even with the stability control engaged, it allows enough latitude to work the tires and suspension. The electronics allow enthusiast drivers to snap the tail and turn the car a bit with a deliberate shot of power before the engine throttles back, or to slide the front tires a little before the inside wheel gets an application of brake.
The V8 Vantage is supposed to be an Aston Martin that can be driven everyday, from Beverly Hills to New York or anywhere in between. To that end it should be comfortable, easy to drive at less than breakneck pace and neither intimidating nor finicky.
It is, and it isn't. Visibility from the driver's seat is good. The A-pillars are constructed so the driver looks through the narrowest section. The rear glass is expansive, with no obstruction. The blind spots lie over the shoulders through the rear roof pillars, and they're an issue more when turning left or right, as from a parking lot onto the roadway. When changing lanes, large side mirrors compensate well.
In some situations the V8 Vantage was a bit more intimidating than a Nissan 350Z or even a 911, but the intimidation might have been a lack of familiarity, or a function of hustling a left-drive version around right-drive Britain. Yet even with the seat back nearly straight up, none of the Vantage's long hood is visible from the wheel. On narrow Welsh roads it felt very wide, and that's a double edge sword. This Aston Martin never feels less than planted, but at least through a significant learning period, placing the front tires demands some degree of faith.
The V8 Vantage suspension applies a classic racecar design: aluminum double wishbones and coil-over-shocks front and rear. Yet the key to its fine handling is near perfect weight balance, front to rear. That allows engineers to achieve the desired handling characteristics without wickedly hard springs.
As a result, the V8 Vantage shares at least one more 911 trait, in that its ride is hardly stiff. It's firm, but in our estimation, quite comfortable. Its steering is also exceptionally communicative. The V8 Vantage may actually turn into a corner more crisply than a 911, and its steering feels more linear, in that the angle of the front wheels remains more consistent to the amount of steering wheel input lock-to-lock. It is a more neutral car than a 911, which means that it is less inclined to understeer (or to push) turning into a corner and less prone to loose grip in the back when powering out.
Even at triple-digit speeds, interior noise won't disturb V8 Vantage occupants. That said, a Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7 Series this isn't, and not because the Aston Martin is rough. It's just a bit more taxing to drive for long distances, perhaps more demanding, which is presumably what a sports car buyer wants, and why sports car buyers don't buy an S-Class or a 7 series.
Give Aston Martin credit for backing its claim that the V8 Vantage is an everyday sports car with the chance to prove it. Manufacturers tend to introduce cars to the press (particularly high performance sports cars) in as controlled a fashion as they can manage. That can mean a limited number of laps on a race track, a prescribed road route or even convoys. Aston Martin had enough faith in its handiwork to hand over the keys on the promise of returning the V8 in a few days.
Those few days included some side excursions most self-respecting sports car owners would never think of subjecting their cars to: namely, treks down (and back up) dirt trails, across rocky sheep pasture and between rock formations in search of unusual photo locations. These were marked by long periods of idling, repeated starts and stops, reverse, forward, reverse, forward, inches at a time, positioning between boulders. The temperature gauge never moved past center, idle speed never wavered and the clutch never overheated. We'd like ours in silver, please.
The two-seat, rear-drive 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage ($110,000) is available in one model, with one 380-horsepower engine and one transmission. The price generously includes destination charge and gas guzzler tax. Drivers who want an automatic should click on another report, because the V8 Vantage's transmission is a conventional six-speed manual with a foot-operated clutch.
Standard equipment includes a leather interior with Alcantara headliner and real aluminum trim, 10-way power adjustable seats, automatic climate control, AM/FM/6CD stereo, trip computer, halogen projector headlights, LED taillights, an alarm, and seven-spoke 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels.
Options include a satellite navigation system ($2,655), a truly gorgeous full leather duo-tone interior ($1,900), 19-inch alloy wheels ($1,595), a premium audio system ($1,595), high-intensity discharge headlights ($795), cruise control ($450), and heated seats ($450). Some two dozen more options allow a high degree of personalization. Start with platinum interior hardware ($475) and personalized door sill plaques ($295). Match the steely hazel of your true love's eyes with "out of range" exterior paint ($1,595).
There's no dearth of safety equipment, either. The V8 Vantage starts with an extruded aluminum frame that is one of the sturdiest in serial production. It has front and side-impact airbags, traction control, the latest-generation ABS and a sophisticated electronic stability system to help manage skids. However, it does not have the head protection airbags installed in the Porsche 911, which is its key competitor.