Aston Martin Vantage Review 2024

The current Aston Martin Vantage arrived in 2018, the all-new car replacing the popular, good-selling – with over 16,000 sold - Vantage before it, which Aston Martin had produced for over 11 years. The Vantage is built alongside the DB11 in the Aston Martin’s Gaydon factory, the Vantage considered the entry-level model in the company’s line-up.

That’s relative, of course, as before you’ve ticked a single option, you’ll be transferring nearly £125,000 into your Aston Martin dealer’s account. The smaller, more sporting model in the range, available from launch as a coupe and from 2020 as an open-topped Roadster, its radical, more technical styling is something of a departure from the elegant beauty of its predecessor, however that more assertive, and divisive, look has unquestionably softened a good bit with familiarity.

More than any other sports, super, or GT car manufacturer, Aston Martin seems to have universal appeal, and the Vantage is the model you’re most likely to see as it’s the biggest selling car in the line up. Aston Martin’s sports car, it’s powered by a twin-turbo V8 engine, which drives the rear wheels via either a paddle-shifted automatic transmission, or a seven-speed manual gearbox. 

The Vantage’s shapely body is built largely out of aluminium and the interior an indulgent mix of luxury and sporting style, this Vantage more overt and bold in its look than the car it replaced. That jarred initially, particularly the large, wide front grille, but time has softened the impact. While previous Aston Martins mightn’t have been so assertive in their looks, neither did they deliver quite the driving experience you might expect. 

That’s different here, the Vantage competes on a far more level footing than its predecessor, it able to keep up with its rivals not just in regard to its straight line performance, but its dynamism in the bends. The Vantage rides on an accomplished, agile chassis that makes it hugely entertaining to drive. 

Power always grabs all the attention though, and the Vantage isn’t short of that, either. A 510PS 4.0-litre twin turbocharged V8 engine nestles under the bonnet, Aston Martin sources that engine Mercedes-Benz’s performance division AMG. It’s a superb engine, driving through a similarly impressive eight-speed paddle-shifted automatic transmission. 

Admirably, Aston Martin underlined its commitment to drivers who like the old-school appeal of a manual transmission, too, by also joining that glorious V8 to a seven-speed manual gearbox and clutch pedal – no mean engineering feat, and something that AMG itself doesn’t do. That manual transmission was introduced in a limited build, numbered AMR special edition model, but it’s subsequently been added to the rest of the Vantage range. 

That range is fairly simple, the Vantage offered in a choice of coupe, Roadster (convertible) and AMR models, with special editions adding interest to the line-up occasionally; these usually celebrating motorsport successes, or significant dates/models in Aston Martin’s history. The coupe and Roadster share the same specifications, though Aston Martin does offer model choice ‘Designer Specification’ suggestions based around colour and trim packages on its configurator as a starting point. Regardless, the expectation is you’ll specify you Vantage exactly how you want it, the level of choice being incredible. 

That AMR is a more focussed choice based on the coupe only (presently), it featuring some weight saving measures to trim off 95kg, as well as chassis revisions to increase its focus, the engine retaining the same 510PS output of the regular Vantage. 

A two-seater, the Vantage’s cabin is spacious enough, and among its contemporaries it’s quite practical, at least in regards to its boot size. Rivals for Aston’s biggest-selling model include the Porsche 911, Audi R8, Honda NSX, Mercedes-AMG GT and Lamborghini Huracan.  

Sport, Sport+ and Track, that tells you everything you need to know about Aston Martin’s positioning of the Vantage. Those relate to the suspension settings, or, more correctly the dampers. Sport is the softest, Aston Martin’s chassis people suggest that it’s used in the wet, with Sport+ being the best in the dry, on the road. Track tightens things up to the point where it’ll aid progress on, you’ve guessed it, a circuit, but sends tremors through the suspension that upsets its balance and shakes you unnecessarily on poor road surfaces. Given its focus, the Vantage does ride commendably in Sport and Sport+ modes.

Dynamically it’s in a different league to the car it replaces, the control it delivers, and the fine weighting and feel on offer from the steering, allied to the short wheelbase makes it agile, engaging and hugely fun to drive. The electronic stability and traction controls are well judged, not intrusive, and if you like, can be switched off. The standard brakes are very strong, but if you’re after the ultimate, repeatable stopping power for the odd track driving session, then the optional carbon ceramic brake discs are worth considering.    

If you’re going engine shopping you really couldn’t pick much better than AMG for a V8. The 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 is sensational, with loads of low rev torque giving any gear, any speed pace, that huge flexibility backed with a soundtrack that’s brilliantly rousing, and having its own character, thanks to Aston’s own exhaust tuning. It’s mated to a slick eight-speed paddle-shifted automatic, but to really enjoy it the manual is hugely appealing, even if its shift isn’t exactly a byword in accuracy. That difficult shift is, arguably, part of its allure, as if you’re going to go out and enjoy driving it, perhaps it should be a little bit of a challenge. 

The previous Vantage was offered with a V12 engine, and while Aston Martin hasn’t announced any plans for a bigger engine, the V12 Speedster, a limited-run special, is largely a Vantage underneath its dramatic skin, so we at least know a V12 will fit in it…  

No independent crash tests for Aston Martin, but the Vantage is a stiff, strong structure, with huge brakes, ABS, stability and traction control systems as well as a suite of airbags including driver, passenger front and side, should an accident be unavoidable. Optionally there’s blind-spot monitoring, and there’s the availability of a 360 round view camera for parking, too.

It’s improbable that practicality will be high up on the Aston Martin Vantage shopper’s wish list, as sports cars are somewhat singular in their purpose, and that’s not carrying luggage. It’s a two-seater, not offering the rear ‘seats’ of one of its key rivals, the Porsche 911, so you’re limited to putting your luggage into the boot.

The 350 litre capacity actually pretty generous in this class, and, featuring a hatchback opening you’ve good, if high, access to that space. Even so, think a number of soft sports bags rather than a large hard-shelled suitcase in the boot. Indeed, if you really loading obsessed, and loaded, at £4,674, you can have a set of seven, leather, tailored bags from Aston Martin that’ll fit perfectly into the rear of your Vantage. Q by Aston Martin will even match the leather if you want to spend even more... 

The interior is spacious enough for two, tall, adults, though you’ll be searching for oddment stowage in there, with Aston Martin not bothering to offer a glovebox, there’s a ‘closed stowage armrest’ between the seats but it’s on the options list. There are small door bins, but they’ll be filled by keys, a wallet/purse or phone, and the space behind the seats is limited to stuffing coats in there, or wedging in a slim laptop sleeve/bag.      

Being largely hand-built, to the exact wishes of its first owner for a not inconsiderable outlay, the build quality should be exemplary, and for the most part so it proves. There’s some evidence of parts sharing inside, you might spot the odd Mercedes-Benz derived button or stalk, and for all obvious luxury some of that lessens the overall impact of the dramatic, somewhat haphazardly, laid out interior.

Low volume sports cars have long been like this though, and while the Vantage feels special and different inside, it does trail rivals like the Audi R8 and Porsche 911 for overall fit and finish, and ease of use, too.

Developing your own infotainment is problematic, as the people at McLaren discovered, so Aston Martin, along with most other premium, small volume manufacturers, rather wisely buy in its infotainment from another company. In Aston Martin’s case it’s from Mercedes-Benz, and while it’s leagues ahead of the clunky, low-rent system it used to offer, it’s still a generation behind the best systems out there. 

Compared to that in a Porsche 911 or Audi A8 the Aston Martin’s system is fairly dim-witted and unintuitive, while it lacks now common touchscreen interaction on its smallish 8-inch screen. What’s more unforgivable is that while there’s DAB, AM/FM radio, USB and Bluetooth connectivity and sat nav, there’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity – even optionally.   

The Vantage might be the entry-level point to the Aston Martin line-up but it’s still a hand-built, 510PS sports car built by an upmarket luxury car brand, so it’s not cheap. Before you’ve browsed a single option you’ll need nearly £125,000 for a Vantage coupe. The expectation is that if you’re even considering buying a Vantage you’ll have fairly deep pockets to pay for it. You can get lost for hours on the online configurator picking your perfect combination of colours, finishes and materials inside and out, though, tellingly, there’s no prices online letting you know how wild you’re being with the budget. That’s a conversation you’ll need to have with your dealer. 

Figure on spending around 10% more than that list price on options, though it could be many multiples of that if you go crazy with things like carbon fibre finishes, Aston Martin even offering you the choice of the never cheap, racy material on elements under the bonnet. Which, really, is a bit silly. 

The Roadster offers the same breadth of configurability as its coupe relation, with the additional option of picking the colour of the hood. It, surprisingly, doesn’t command too high a premium over its closed, coupe relation, with prices starting at £50 shy of £127,000. 

The AMR, with its limited build status, and more sporting focus loses some weight and has that manual transmission as standard. That does mean it comes with a less sophisticated mechanical limited slip differential over the paddle-shifted cars’ electronically controlled one. The AMR, if there are any still left, will cost from £150,000. 

Not cheap then, but it’s comparable to Audi’s R8, though the biggest selling car in this segment, Porsche’s 911 Carrera has a list price under £100,000, and even adding a lot of options you’ll be doing well to get a 911 sales invoice to the starting price of a Vantage. Aston Martin offers finance deals, it is possible to get into a Vantage for £795 a month, with a £25,000 deposit. 

Aston Martin, got it? Anyone buying a Vantage just isn’t going to care. It’s powered by a petrol, 4.0-litre turbocharged V8, can manage 195mph and reach 62mph from standstill in just 3.6 seconds. Those are the numbers that matter to owners and not the 27.3mpg combined consumption it recorded on the (old NEDC) official tests. When it’s WLTP tested expect it to be a good few mpg off that, and in real world use it’ll likely be around the 20mpg mark. Drive it really hard, like at a track, and you’ll be into single figures. Emissions are 236g/km. Those figures will be slightly different for the manual model, the AMR’s economy rated at 25.7mpg and CO2 emissions of 285g/km. 

Insurance won’t be inexpensive, but servicing is covered by Aston Martin for the first five years of ownership. After that, you’ll be able to save a decent amount on servicing by seeking out a specialist independent Aston Martin servicing garage. Aston Martin is a little bit niche to feature on satisfaction indexes, but if you’ve one in your garage, it’s safe to bet you’re pretty satisfied with yourself… 

There are no models as such, the Vantage coupe and Roadster coming in a standard specification which you build to your hearts (if not bank accounts) desire. The AMR is as close as you’ll get to a different model with the Vantage, it gaining suspension revisions, some weight loss and the standard manual transmission. Look out for occasional special editions, these usually numbered, limited build series, if you want a Vantage that’ll be a little bit more collectable in the future.