Aston Martin Vantage

It’s high time Aston Martin had a winner on its hands. Last year it updated the DB12 with a smart new face, plenty of power, and the sort of infotainment you’d hope for from a luxury GT. The Vantage, the firm’s ‘entry-level’ car, has been given similar treatment in the hopes that it can peel a few more people away from Porsche dealerships.

Aston is looking not only to make better cars, but also to shift its image—it’s aiming to be seen as more luxurious than before, and is throwing as much power at the cars as possible. At first glance, it looks like Aston has cooked up something truly delightful.

The new car is more than 150 hp (112 kW) more powerful than the one it replaces, with 656 hp (490 kW) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm) from a wonderfully appointed turbocharged 4.0 L V8. Its 0 to 60 time is quoted at 3.4 seconds, and Aston reckons that if you have enough space (and no speed limits) you’ll see the far side of 200 mph (321 km/h). It is not slow.

Aston has never really had a problem with building good-looking cars, but the new Vantage is a huge leap over its immediate predecessor. With the old car, the idea was that each model in the lineup would look suitably different depending on what it did. It was supposed to look like an athletic, purposeful sports car. And it did—but it didn’t nail its Aston Martin-ness.

The new one very much does. From its new headlights to its grille, side vents, skirts, quad exhaust pipes, and one of the best rear ends on the market today, the new car looks like an Aston Martin through and through. Of course, some of the changes are necessary—the front grille is 38 percent bigger than before because having a V8 with quite so much power means it needs better cooling. In fact, look closely and you’ll spot a number of tricks Aston has used to improve cooling and airflow all over the car. Were I the type to wear my glasses at the tip of my nose, I’d start muttering something about “form and function working in harmony,” but I’m not, so I won’t.

Aston has made a point of saying there won’t be another V12 Vantage and that the last generation’s take on it was the end of the line. This meant the engineers didn’t have to worry about giving the V8 so much power. The old V8 Vantage could have been nearly as potent, but the need to differentiate with the V12 meant it would have been imprudent.

The outside will turn heads, the inside should make you smile. The direct predecessor’s seats and dash were pleasant, and comfortable, but the center console and infotainment? Not great. It was of the ‘slap a tablet to the dash’ generation, and it was run off a reskinned version of Merc’s COMAND system, which was definitely of its era and not a patch on current systems. Today’s Vantage gets the same setup you’ll find in the DB12—a 12.5-inch touchscreen paired with actual buttons that do actual things.