2020 Aston Martin Vantage Coupe

Test Drive Notes Library

Pros
Exotic. If you played with Hot Wheels as a kid, this is probably what you were pretending to be driving. If you played with Matchbox cars, you probably dreamed of driving a bulldozer, and we’ll save your review for another day. But the Vantage is almost the epitome of the “sports car:” Fast, beautiful, low, sleek, and built to make other people jealous of you.
Beautiful.Even if you don’t care about cars, you have to admit this car is gorgeous. It’s basically a sculpture that moves. It looks good from pretty much every angle.
Fun to drive. OK, it’s not practical. But if you’re buying one of these, you’ve got the Mercedes GLS 580 for the nanny to use to get the kids to their polo lessons. You, on the other hand, will have a great deal of fun if you can find roads that are smooth enough, curvy enough, and devoid enough of other humans and vehicles. The Vantage is fast, it’s low to the ground, and it corners well. It’s video game like.
Useful driving modes. On a lot of cars, the electronically controlled driving modes that adjust shift points or suspension tuning are not terribly useful. Not the case in the Vantage. First of all, the shock settings and engine/transmission mapping settings are adjustable separately. So you can keep the shocks on “No Kidney Transplant, Please” while setting the engine/transmission to Track Mode for the most aggressive response. The options actually added to the fun of driving the car and could be used under a variety of driving conditions.
A bit of cargo room. For those times you want to just jump in the Aston and pick up some groceries, you’ll be glad to know that there is actually room for a few shopping bags in the back. The hatchback opens up to a reasonably deep well.

Cons
'Spensive, Lucy. The MSRP on our Vantage Coupe was $181,881. That included almost $30,000 worth of options, including $1,600 worth of black brake calipers, a blackened exterior package for $4,000, $750 embroidered headrests, and black hood mesh for $1,600. You get the idea.
Around town it’s beastly. On smooth, winding roads with no traffic, the Vantage is really a pleasure to drive. Around town, it’s just hard, low, and loud.
Some pre-modern touches. The touch screen system feels like it’s five years out of date. Technically, it does everything it needs to do, but the size of the screen and the graphics are circa 2015.
Signs of cheapness. The air vents are cheap plastic that wouldn’t be out of place in an entry level Kia. That may seem nit-picky. But when you charge $180,000 for a car, nothing you touch or see should be obviously cheap.
Overactive sonar. I suppose if you’re trying to back a $180,000 sports car out of your driveway, you sure as hell want to know if you’re getting anywhere near the neighbor’s garbage cans. So we can understand why the system is extra sensitive. But the result is a cacophony of beeps that are triggered so easily, and in such quantity, that they risk becoming meaningless rather than just annoying.