Aston Martin Vanquish (2012 – 2019) Review

The Aston Martin Vanquish was the firm’s range-topping GT car for almost a decade. It’s also one of its most beautiful designs – and as this is Aston Martin we’re talking about, that’s high praise indeed. A 2+2 GT with a great big 6.0-litre V12 up front, the layout was classical; unlike rival Bentley’s Continental GT, Aston Martin didn’t bother with all-wheel drive.

Some would argue the interior was a little too ‘classical’, mind, bearing a bit too much resemblance to lesser Aston Martins. The infotainment was particularly fiddly. The driving experience more than compensated though, particularly in the tuned-up Vanquish S, which saw the already ample power rise from 573PS to 595PS. Handling was even more focused, and it made a fine car even more enjoyable and satisfying. 

The Aston Martin Vanquish was the car that put chief designer Marek Reichman on the map. Long, cultured and curvaceous, it still looks the epitome of classic Aston Martin style even today. Whereas the earlier V8 Vantage and DB9 were a bit too similar for comfort, there were no such complaints here.

You couldn’t knock the output, either. Even at launch, this was one of the most powerful Aston Martins in history, thanks to that enormous 6.0-litre V12 engine up front. The 573PS version served up 0-62mph in just 4.1 seconds and a 183mph top speed.

And it would get faster still. Boosting power to almost 600PS meant the later Vanquish S could do the benchmark sprint in just 3.5 seconds. It was, and remains, colossally fast.

It’s worth highlighting a model-year change: the replacement of the earlier Touchtronic 2 gearbox with an improved Touchtronic 3 in summer 2014. This saw an aged six-speed ’box replaced by a much smoother, faster-shifting eight-speed auto. Aston gave it a nominal 3PS power boost too, but it was the gearbox that contributed to a 0.3-second cut in the 0-62mph time.

We won’t pretend the Vanquish is a genuine four-seater. Not even the Bentley can really claim to be a four-up GT, and the Aston is appreciably more cramped still in the back. It’s easy to see why the rear seats were optional, rather than standard. At least the boot is a decent size, as if by way of compensation.

Up front, the familiar Aston Martin look that was first introduced with the DB9 is present and correct. This includes watch-like dials with spidery markings, a too-small and dated infotainment system, plus a button-packed centre console.

Aston Martin tried to modernise it with ‘haptic’ buttons, but it didn’t work. Oh, and the handbrake is mounted to the right of the driver on the floor. It works like that on a 1970s Jaguar.

Hand-crafted luxury makes up for it. Aston Martin builds its interiors beautifully, with impossibly soft and rich leather, mirror-like veneers and hand-stitched character. The seats are supportive, the driving position very laid back and raffish. It feels every inch the classic GT car.

The drive is special, too. The all-aluminium construction was designed with precision and balance in mind, with near-perfect weight distribution and little filtering of the road from the driver’s hands or backside. It’s not uncomfortable, far from it – but the feeling of connection and confidence is extremely satisfying.

This is a big car that seems to shrink around you. OK, you’re always aware of its size, but the accuracy with which you can place it on winding roads is very rewarding, while the comfort it serves up when cruising also feels good.

The Vanquish is a very special car indeed – one that, because it’s an Aston Martin, you can forgive for not being perfect. It has character, and in the areas it does well, it excels. All this, and an achingly pretty shape that just gets better with age. It’s not hard to see the appeal, is it?

The Aston weighs considerably less than the Bentley and the drive is more involving and dynamic. There’s more feel and precision through the steering wheel, a greater feeling of agility and more of an ability to ‘shrink’ around the driver.

This doesn’t mean it’s raw and raucous, though. Ride quality is tauter, but it’s still supple, helped by adaptive dampers that can be altered via a button on the steering wheel (there’s also a sport button that sharpens the drive and makes the exhausts louder). The fine way it deals with grotty British B-roads is proof of where the design engineers did most of their work.

The Vanquish S is that bit sharper, but still doesn’t become aggressive or tiring. It feels like a connoisseur’s car, and one you’ll have no qualms driving for hour after hour.

The Aston Martin V12 is a charismatic engine. It makes a wonderful noise from the second you press the start button, with a rich and enveloping roar that’s always enjoyable. The woofle from the exhausts at low speed is fun and the sheer spectacle of the howl when you ease the rev counter past 7,000rpm is genuinely thrilling.

You have to rev it to release its full power. Without the support of turbochargers to give low-down shove, the 6.0-litre motor is one that likes to sing. Drivers therefore have to work at it a bit, something they’ll find more straightforward with the eight-speed gearbox rather than the six-speed – it’s simply easier to be in the right gear, more of the time.

Given such a nature, it goes without saying that the step-up of the Vanquish S, with its near-600PS output, is even more invigorating.

Aston Martin engineers like to protect their well-heeled customers, so you’ll find a full set of airbags, stability control and dual-stage seatbelt pretensioners.

All UK cars are fitted with a standard alarm and engine immobiliser, while all-round parking sensors are useful – although you might prefer to look out for the rear parking camera, which was only an option, not standard.

Aston Martin has now launched an SUV for those who want to tow, called the DBX. Nobody would ever think of towing anything with the Vanquish, which is why a maximum towing weight is simply not quoted.

The Aston Martin Vanquish is a long, wide car – and one honed for two people, not four. Looking at it from the side is the giveaway – the bonnet stretches far ahead of the driver, necessarily so given the size of the engine beneath it.

The designers chose not to compromise, though, rather than trying to call it a full four-seater. This is a 2+2, with two wonderfully practical seats up front, plus an extra two tiny pews behind. These are best reserved for children only – or left off the spec sheet entirely if, like most Vanquish customers, you have a posh SUV or limo for family-focused motoring.

That this enabled Aston to maximise the boot space also shows the logic of the decision. At 368 litres, it’s almost as big as a Volkswagen Golf – no, it’s not as practical or as easy to load, but with some creative packing, you can get a surprising amount in there. More still if you chuck a few extra bags behind the front seats.

Some find the flip-out exterior door handles fiddly at first, but the way the doors open out and upwards is special, revealing an extremely well-finished interior indeed. It’s a cabin you can’t keep your hands off, so nice is it to the touch.

It’s impressive how Aston Martin achieves this despite some of the obvious downsides – the dated infotainment, buttons shared with Volvos and column stalks also seen on Fords. The rest is of such quality, it’s easy to overlook these details, just as it’s simple to pass over the Fiat bits in a Ferrari.

A tiny 6.5-inch screen that whirrs up out of the dashboard each time you start up, like in a 20-year old Volvo, isn’t good enough at this level. The resolution is poor and it’s painfully fiddly to operate as well – it’s not touchscreen, relying instead on a rotary dial mounted high up on the centre console (you get arm-ache entering sat nav addresses).

The navigation itself is a Garmin system, rather than a proprietary setup, and later cars were only saved by the inclusion of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which at least made things easier to operate. Otherwise, connecting your smartphone is tedious.

The range-topping Aston Martin of the 2010s had a suitably range-topping price. Nearly every car sold cost upwards of £200,000, which shows that when we’re talking prices and value here, everything is relative.

Early cars are now on the market from around £80,000, although it’s only once you get above £100,000 that ample choice really opens up. These are the cars you’ll find at Aston Martin approved retailers, so they’ll be beautifully prepared and of impeccable provenance.

We’d prefer to go for a 2015-on car, with the better gearbox. And if we were spending this much, we’d probably hold out for a Vanquish S, for its more focused nature and even greater speed.

There are some rather distinctive trims and colour combinations out there, from people who made full use of the Aston Martin ‘Q’ bespoke service, but it’s best to err on the side of caution unless it’s your dream car – the heady prices aren’t always worth it.

In contrast, a more classical spec and colour combination will always do well, and we can’t imagine it will be long before Vanquish prices follow the Aston Martin trend of plateauing, then creeping slowly upwards again.

If you see 20mpg, it will only be when cruising gently down the motorway: the reality is economy rooted in the teens. It will cost a fortune to fill the fuel tank, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly it empties.

Insurance costs will be high too – naturally, it’s rated in group 50 (out of 50) – and CO2 emissions of 335g/km mean VED (road tax) costs a fortune. As will servicing, because the sort of custom-crafted customer care you get from an Aston Martin dealer doesn’t come cheap. Nor do basics such as buying enough oil to fill the gigantic engine.

Tyres are expensive, brakes are expensive, and you can’t skimp on things because you’ll spoil the retained values and pay for any savings when you come to sell it. Be prepared for the sobering running costs that come with the privilege of owning a Vanquish.

The comprehensive standard specification when new saw all Vanquish models fitted with at least 20-inch alloys, full-grain leather upholstery covering virtually the entire interior, a powerful B&O premium sound system, climate control, electric seats and a rich Alcantara roof lining.

Customers spent extra on bespoke finishes, such as carbon fibre inlays, even softer leather, a second glass key (this slots into the top of the centre console, meaning even starting a Vanquish is an event).

The Vanquish S broadly had the same core equipment: the differences were in wheels, brakes, performance components and other details.