Aston Martin Vantage Review 2024
Aston Martin says this new Vantage is designed to put the brand back where it belongs.
And by that, it means in the same conversation as Lamborghini, McLaren, and Ferrari, when it comes to delivering the ultimate in performance-focused supercars, which is why everything, and I mean everything on this new Vantage, has been tightened, tuned, or turned way the hell up in the pursuit of that performance.
And the result, the brand says, is a vehicle that delivers a near telepathic connection between car and driver, or at least that’s the promise. So how does the 2024 Vantage stack up in this battle for supercar supremacy.
New Vantage Pricing
Let’s start with the big number, and that is the 410 grand you’ll need to park the new Vantage on your driveway.
Interestingly, on the launch of the last Gen Vantage way back in 2018, and that one was just under 300 grand, so that’s quite the jump.
Anyway, for that spend, you get a whole bunch of improved performance, obviously, but also quite a bit in terms of cabin tech and comfort.
This isn’t a stripped-back supercar, and that’s a good thing, I reckon.
New Vantage Features
It starts outside 21-inch five-spoke Forge wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport rubber.
There’s matrix LED headlights and LED tail lights, too.
In the cabin, there’s a 10.25-inch central screen with Apple Car plate, a second 10.25-inch screen in front of the driver, and 11-speaker stereo and wireless phone charging.
Design Of New Vantage
The first thing you’ll notice at the front is this very big grill, which I now know is exactly 38% bigger than the one on the previous generation car.
It sucks in these great big lungfuls of air to keep the engine humming. That air has got to go somewhere, so that’s where these bonnet vents come into play.
The headlight clusters there, new too, by the way.
The 21-inch Alloy wheels are wrapped in performance rubber, now critically in this interior, there’s no Mercedes Benz Hand me Down bits and bobs, which there were in the previous generation Vantage.
This is all Aston Martin, and I got to say, it all feels really nice.
These are the optional race seats, and actually, they’re surprisingly comfortable, and all the tech functions pretty as well.
They’ve kept manual dials for things like temperature and volume control and even the fan speed on the aircon, which is always a plus in my book.
Elsewhere, though, it does feel driver-focused and really well put together.
Practicality
You’ll be shocked to hear that Aston Martin didn’t dedicate too much of its limited track time to extolling the practicality perks of its new Vantage, mostly because there simply aren’t that many of them.
But the most obvious one, I think, is that most of the people in the market for a 400K plus vehicle in this category are likely to be, well, of a certain vintage.
It’s for these people that the more traditional layout of the Vantage will no doubt appeal.
See if the engine is up front and the doors open in the usual fashion, making getting in and out of the cabin easy and free of the human origami antics sometimes required to climb out of a scissor door supercar.
New Vantage Engine Specs
But there have been practical improvements made to the performance here, too.
There’s 30% more power, 15% more torque, new cooling, better aerodynamics, retuned suspension and anti-roll tech, new break booster tuning, more body stiffness.
The 4-litre twin turbo Charge V8 is still borrowed from Mercedes AMG, but this is the new gen unit making 489 kilowatts and 800 Newton meters.
It’s fed through an eight-speed ZF automatic and sent to the rear tires. Now, 100 km/h, that takes 3.5 seconds, and the flying top speed is around 325 km/h.
Efficiency
There’s the official figure, which is 12.1 liters per 100 km on the combined cycle, and then there’s the real-world figure.
It’s not really fair to judge fuel use when you’ve just stepped off a racetrack, but rest assured, it was a large number, which is to be expected, really. The Aston 73 liter fuel tank requires 98 RON fuel.
Road Performance
We know all the headline numbers there’s 489 kilowatts, 800 Newton meters, sprint to 100 in 3.5 seconds, and a top speed of around 325 kilometers an hour.
But Aston Martin makes the point that this car needs to go way beyond those headline numbers.
They’re trying to capture something a little bit harder to quantify. They’re looking for engagement, excitement, emotion.
I can tell you that the Vantage delivers on all three of those.
Basically, everything in this vehicle has been stiffened, tuned, or dialed right up to deliver more power, better cornering, better braking, improved the overall package, with that mission of trying to be considered among the greats of driver’s cars, with Ferrari and McLaren and brands like that.
This does feel like a significant step in that direction because it is plenty fun. So yeah, the power is immense, the acceleration is tremendous, but because of your connection with the car, it doesn’t feel intimidating it feels manageable.
There are nine distinct levels of traction control in this car, nine being the maximum, and one being described as Aston Martin as be prepared to buy new tires.
But there is magic in the theater of this car. It’s exciting, it’s engaging, it’s everything that a driver-focused supercar should be.
If this is the new direction for Aston Martin to produce better and better driver cars, I can tell you the Vantage feels like a very big step in the right direction.
Safety Feature In New Vantage
You’ll never see a Vantage crash tested by NCAP, but it does arrive with a solid safety package.
There are front and side airbags, plus a heap of active safety stuff like AEB, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, lane change assist with centering, and front and cross traffic alert.
Ownership
Aston Martins in Australia are covered by a three-year, under-minute, kilometer warranty, but you can extend that for one or two years at a price, and you’ll be visiting the service center annually.
I can’t quite figure I’m proud if it’s a surprisingly comfortable race car or a bonkers grand tourer, but actually it’s that best of both worlds positioning that makes a car like the Vantage so appealing.
Think of it as a supercar for proper grownups and one that you don’t need to grunt and groan to extract yourself from.