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Had a chance to see the new 2025 Vantage yesterday
If you've read any of my posts, I've been very critical of Aston Martin since Andy Palmer took it over, especially the re-packaged Mercedes AMG GT, but with older tech, known as the 2018-2024 Vantages and less so for the DB11. Aston Martin had a monopoly on the most beautiful and elegant sportscars with an experience just sitting in the things without moving. Add the sound and involvement (even on a Sportshift if driven manually), and there was nothing in the automotive world like it. Then Palmer hired a bunch of young designers to revamp the product line while making a pact with the devil Mercedes which mandated that all shared electronics were to be the previous generation. Who else would think that was a smart move? The resulting Vantage had less performance than a Mercedes AMG GT at a more than AMG price, and in many opinions - less attractive inside and out than the AMG. Then Ferrari came out with the Roma to take over the 'most beautiful and elegant sportscar' lead. I drove a Roma and while it's an incredible car, and far more powerful feeling than the C8 Corvette I had at the time, like the C8, I felt disconnected and bored - too refined. I found the interior of the Roma super nice, but yearned for that elegance of the 2009-2015 Vantage interiors. This is why I bought my 2011 V8 Vantage to supplement the C8. When I saw the DB12, I knew Aston was at a turning point - finally.
The new Vantage has presence - bold and muscular. Elegant? Maybe with the right colors. The car appears massive and very powerful. It does have the WOW factor. The interior while miles ahead of it's previous rendition and more simple, almost Porsche-like is not as exciting as my 2011. Still, a massive leap above the past. They started it - not as good sounding as my 2011, but not bad either. The one I saw had a China Grey (maybe a bit lighter) finish and black trim. I really like the wheels and the tires look massive.
After the car started, I had my first WTF moment. I could not believe that Aston after doing such an incredible job refining what they had, but the instrument cluster looked cheap , as if they ran out of budget or effort and replaced one of the best cluster gauge setups of all time (2006-2016) with, well, I can't even describe the cheapness of the panel.
If price was no object I think I'd still be looking for a V12S over the new Vantage. If the V12S did not exist, I think I would buy the new Vantage over the Roma. In 2006 I ordered a well optioned with Aston Martin Works upgrades (wood door caps) new 2007 V8 Vantage. With an extended 5 year AM warranty (they used to offer that), tax and title, it cost about $150K. That's about $227K in 2024 dollars. So the $195K or so base of the new Vantage is about right. I think this new Vantage will be very successful. It looks like a $200K+ car. It has more presence than the Roma. Now if someone would just make an analog set of instruments that can plug & play into the dash...
Concur with several points you made. Though I still think the collab with AMG isn't necessary a bad one (plus they are doing quite good with the GT3s using 177s).It's how AM should have negotiated with AMG to carry over the tech and how the engine could have been tuned. I had thought at least with Tobias could move the needle more, which he did with the new V12S. Still probably not enough.
Your post captured the exact essence of why I sold my C8....waay too refined. And I felt sublimely 'disconnected' (and thus bored?) with the car....but UNTIL your post, was never able to accurately describe this sense I had about it. Many Thanks my friend!
Below are a few pics at the launch I went to a few weeks back. Overall I was really impressed with the design inside/out. Much more presence and I felt similar connection sitting in the drivers seat to the VH car I used to own. Quality of interior materials are ok but do feel a little lower class given the price point. I had a spec priced out at $260k and wasn't even all in so $300k is doable. The press reviews are pretty good but no GT mode so harsh ride was an issue for some reviewers, also some mentioned the gearbox is just "ok". I think it will sell well initially vs the competition but AM is taking a risk with their new Ferrari like pricing structure so we'll see how that plays out longer term.
The dealer said demo cars in a couple months so hope to go for a spin then.
On a side note, I see the 2025 DB12 now has pano roof option so if they put that in the vantage it would be great and make the interior feel bigger...
@Prefurbia a great explanation of the VH platforms. Elegance and style that will never be repeated. The new generation of AM scream look at me, I’m trying too hard to look sporty. Lost the classy vibe of the past. Although I will still say, if I ever sell my v8 vantage, it will be for a 2010-2012 manual DBS. Although I have never driven one, perhaps the v8v still is a funner vehicle to carve in the canyons.
Also had the chance to see the new Vantage in Tampa last month. It's impressive and a massive step forward performance wise. Unfortunately along with the amazing improvements the price has also massively increased.
On paper it looks great. Got to see it here a couple of weeks ago and it looks good.But there's three concerns:
- How does it drive? Until I get to drive it I won't really know how good or bad a job they did.
- Price (or more specifically, the depreciation at that price). Its tough to justify buying one new at that price with the expected amount of depreciation that's going to occur. Experience so far with the DB12 doesn't seem to indicate that these cars will be any different because even though the DB12 seems great and has only been out for about a year, many dealers have a few sitting in stock. That's a clue that demand isn't that high and the normal massive depreciation will apply.
- Interior electronics. I have heard way to many people complain about the DB12 interior electronics, both in terms of actual problems and just that it isn't very good even when it works as intended. So that is a real concern since the same will be in the Vantage. In this case, it seems to me that this is just a matter of Aston putting the proper amount of effort, with a properly talented group of developers (money alone doesn't make it "good"), to improve this system. But I'm not sure that's going to happen.
Right now its just tough for me to say that this new Vantage is worth 3x my current 2020 Vantage.
Had a chance to see the new vantage yesterday and the DB12's at a Hagery sponsored event at AM dealer. I agree with everyone about how they just lost that classic elegant design spirit of the Gaydon cars. The only thing I found attractive about the vantage was the rear trunk lip. The DB12 volante is massive, beautiful interiors, but reminds me of something a Bentley or Rolls Royce would make, nothing like the earlier DB range. I still would rather keep my v8v roadster.
Knowing AM's history of electronic bugs I wouldn't touch one of these until they sorted out all the gremlins, which might be in 4 or 5 years. Considering how much the company has changed to the new, sorry, you bought it, it's your problem now attitude, it has a good possibility of ending up as really expensive sculpture for your garage.
That said, really like the new front ends, finally!
Definitely a HUGE step forward compared to the pre-facelift, but sadly this car still looks overstyled in my opinion. There is just no replacement to the absolute beauty of the previous generation of cars *sigh*
I'm not a potential buyer though, so they're not really targeting me as the target market anyway :P
I had one of those 2015 Vantage GT's - it was a price leader - stripped down in some ways, but essentially a Vantage S running gear for $60K less. It was the only of many V8 Vantages I owned that was constantly in the shop. This was due to multiple oil leaks on the engine and transaxle as well as switches failing and a few computers going out. No other V8 Vantage I owed had large warranty issues. My take is that they may have cut too many corners on the $98K GT, and one reason I traded it before warranty was up on a 2015 V12S. If you look at the 2016's, they were supposed to continue the GT pricing, but in the end there was a fancy GTS (with chrome trim and B/O stereo) and the more performance GTS (Black trim) with a large price tab for both. So if you compare a 2016 GTS with about a $135K price, then apply an inflation calculator that brings you to a $178K Base in 2024$. So given the 'on paper' improvements the $195K base reported it had is not unreasonable. My issue is that you are still buying a repackaged AMG GT that can be serviced at a Mercedes dealer, vs a Mercedes that an Aston Martin tech needs to fix. The other issue (to me) is open the bonnet of a Vantage (any Vantage prior to 2017) and you see a beautiful AM hand crafted engine, no plastic. Open the bonnet of any Mercedes Aston Martin and you see a sea of the cheapest looking plastic, That's at least for me a big issue when purchasing an Aston.
I had one of those 2015 Vantage GT's - it was a price leader - stripped down in some ways, but essentially a Vantage S running gear for $60K less. It was the only of many V8 Vantages I owned that was constantly in the shop. This was due to multiple oil leaks on the engine and transaxle as well as switches failing and a few computers going out. No other V8 Vantage I owed had large warranty issues. My take is that they may have cut too many corners on the $98K GT
Or maybe you just bought a "lemon". A friend bought a Mercedes S Class AMG that ended up being replaced under the lemon law. It does happen, and doesn't disparage every other S Class AMG out there. I am sure had you pursued the issue you would have gotten your money back.
I have a new Alfa Romeo Tonale - it's been in the shop constantly for consistent bugs (same issues) in the first 8 months of ownership - I was about to return the car, but the last visit seemed to fix most things. It's lease so only 16 more months. The 2015 Vantage GT was not technically a Lemon Law car as every glitch was fixed under warranty, so no repeat issues. The Aston dealer is walking distance (within 45 minutes) from both home and office, so no huge inconvenience. Don't get me wrong - I loved the 2015 GT and had the chance to upgrade to a 2015 V12S including tax and shipping with an extended two year warranty for $20K difference!! I would have extended the 2015 GT warranty another two years, so the actual difference was far less. It's past history, but if you search this forum, the 22K mile 'timeless certified V12S' was some sort of tracked experimental car that spent it's life in England, and was driven hard. When I found out about that, Aston quickly settled out of court and replaced the 22K mile car with a locally owned, one owner, almost identical 8K mile V12S. They took care of everything, the transfer of license, all fees, redid the loan at a better rate, and all I did was hand over the keys and picked up the new car after signing a few documents.
06-22-2024, 08:38 AM
