Reviewed- The 2021 Aston Martin Vantage V8

Introduction

The modernized Aston Martin Vantage styling is a great mixture of old-school gentleman charm (007) and modern-day performance. The 8-cylinder motor (sourced from the Mercedes AMG division) was very strong and the car handled decent enough for a front-engine GT-centric car. Outward visibility was not so great but in the driver’s seat, you could see everything you needed to.

Comfort and Controls

The car also had great seats and is more comfortable than any Porsche 911 I’ve driven. The infotainment system software was mediocre (last generation Mercedes sourced tech) but I liked the way the touch screen UI was laid out as well as the way the menus and options were layered on the digital screen. I do wish that it had a better backup camera but I know those things would have added to the cost of the UK-built car. 

TD Digital Overall

In all fairness, living with the Aston was not all that bad. It was a decent GT car and one that could definitely be driven daily if needed. It is super comfortable, handled well on public roads, and had a gentleman’s car element to the panache with a lot of audible bravado to make it fun to listen to. It didn’t attract too much attention in the wild and was kind of a sheep in wolf’s clothes kind of performance car if that is something you are going for.

The downsides, well… the main one is that Aston Martin as a company is very difficult to deal with. Poor customer experience, long delays in getting parts, and just an overall feeling of rudeness from the staff that I dealt with directly.

Would I buy another Aston? Probably not, the main reason was that it was really hard to put all that low-end muscle down to the ground with the high-torque power delivery. Definitely good for those who like drag racing or drifting but 5/10 away from being a decent driver’s car that you could take from the street to the track and back home.  

The Vantage v8 is fun to drive and the torque is supreme as long as the tires are at operating temperature but the sound of the deep exhaust note was the highlight of this car. Very Aggressive! Very Glorious!