{"id":2081826,"date":"2026-08-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2081826"},"modified":"2026-08-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T21:00:00","slug":"aston-martin-vantage-s-review-should-be-pointless-actually-utterly-sublime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2081826","title":{"rendered":"Aston Martin Vantage S review: should be pointless, actually utterly sublime"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Why has Aston Martin made a Vantage \u2018S\u2019?<\/h3>\n

The real reason is \u2018because that\u2019s how the fast car industry works\u2019.<\/p>\n

Scenario: company releases new car. Trumpets it\u2019s the best possible thing they could ever make. Then 18 months later company announces tweaked, honed, improved version. Now this<\/em> is the one to have. You need to upgrade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The absolute gold standard master of this process is of course Porsche. Reveal a 911<\/a> as a Carrera and Carrera S, then introduce a GTS<\/a> just as it drops out of people\u2019s frontal cortex. Then sprinkle in a GT3<\/a>, Dakar<\/a> and a Carrera T<\/a>. A Turbo S<\/a> and a Touring<\/a>. All of a sudden you\u2019ve spun one niche model into an entire range of want-that-one obsession.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Mercedes sells AMG GTs with four cylinders, a V8, and a hybrid. It\u2019s why there\u2019s normal Ferraris, then Ferraris with Assetto Fiorano packs, then Ferrari Speciales. Get this process right and there are always customers hammering at the factory door. Get it wrong and you\u2019re probably McLaren.<\/p>\n

Is Aston Martin good at this game?<\/h3>\n

Traditionally, no. Aston Martin reveals a car then leaves it on sale. If you\u2019re lucky there\u2019s an \u2018S\u2019 version with more power and tweaks, but Aston\u2019s approach is usually more subtle than its rivals.<\/p>\n

Has the same thing happened again?<\/h3>\n

At first, it looks like it. The gorgeous Vantage<\/a> S sprouts a new front splitter, rear ducktail ridge and side skirts optionally hewn from glossy carbon fibre, with optional liveries daubed on top. Be careful \u2013 some of the spec possibilities are eye-meltingly tasteless.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The add-ons you see add 40kg of downforce. Apparently, unseen chances to the floor create another 111kg. Great, except you need to be doing the 202mph top speed to use it\u2026<\/p>\n

Is there more power?<\/h3>\n

Yes, but ignore the power. Seriously. I know it\u2019s hard to ignore 671bhp<\/a> in a car about the size of a BMW M2<\/a>. It\u2019s like opening up your locker at the swimming pool and trying to ignore a great white shark inside.<\/p>\n

\"Aston<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t get distracted by the insane power \u2013 it\u2019s only increased 15bhp and the torque has remained pegged at 590lb ft. The S has the same top speed as a standard Vantage, and because it\u2019s trying to channel all that fury through the rear tyres, it\u2019s only 0.1s faster from 0-62mph.<\/p>\n

Like I said \u2013 ignore the power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But if the power is insignificant and the bodywork only matters when I\u2019m at jail speed\u2026 what\u2019s the point?<\/h3>\n

You have to go looking for it. This is a car that reveals itself patiently. But it\u2019s a fabulously complete car now. Don\u2019t think of it as a Vantage \u2018S\u2019. It\u2019s the Vantage \u2018Finished.\u2019<\/p>\n

When we first drove this generation of \u2018baby\u2019 Aston with its wider tracks, unhinged power and dramatically improved cabin, there were still many foibles. The car would lose body control on a challenging road, and unstick its back tyres as the suspension heaved in protest.<\/p>\n

The steering has a meaty weight but lacked the clarity and crispness you\u2019d like in such a thuggish machine. And the gearbox simply wasn\u2019t a patch on Ferrari or Porsche\u2019s superior twin-clutch paddleshifters.<\/p>\n

Is it all sorted now?<\/h3>\n

Mostly. It\u2019s not perfect, but that might not matter for reasons we\u2019ll come back to. But first, the improvements.<\/p>\n

Aston Martin quietly acknowledges that the standard Vantage doesn\u2019t brim with the confidence you\u2019d want in such a muscular lil\u2019 hot rod, so it\u2019s recoded the Bilstein dampers with new software. Then they broke out the geometry set.<\/p>\n

Camber, caster and toe angles have been back to the drawing board. You can feel this on Britain\u2019s more crowned, worn roads as the Vantage sniffs out truck grooves and tramlines hungrily. But you also notice the steering\u2019s less numb, and you feel like you can lean on the S without it doing something that\u2019ll have you inventing new swear-words in real time.<\/p>\n

Did they stop there?<\/h3>\n

Nope. The eight-speed gearbox \u2013 which lives at the back to balance the Vantage\u2019s 1,745kg kerbweight \u2013 is now anchored to slightly softer mounts. Sounds weird, but that extra flex is there to balance out the effects of rear subframe now being bolted to the aluminium body instead of fixed to rubber bushings. It\u2019s all about give-and-take, y\u2019see.<\/p>\n

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You might presume an \u2018S\u2019 model is simply going to be harder, stiffer, angrier, more tiring\u2026 but this is a Vantage that\u2019s learned to tame its superpowers<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Aston says \u201crear spring aid stiffness has been reduced to balance compression and rebound for improved low speed ride quality.\u201d And they\u2019re right. You might presume an \u2018S\u2019 model is simply going to be harder, stiffer, angrier, more tiring, as Daft Punk once sang. Maybe.<\/p>\n

But it isn\u2019t. This is a Vantage that\u2019s learned to tame its superpowers and use them for good.<\/p>\n

All of this is quite nerdy\u2026<\/h3>\n

It is. No-one talks about their Aston Martin\u2019s new camber and gearbox mounts down the pub. They talk about it having more power than a Ferrari Enzo<\/a>. But this Vantage S is a very clever car, because it makes sense of all that oomph. And the result is a hugely entertaining machine \u2013 one to savour.<\/p>\n

How so?<\/h3>\n

Because in the cars we mentioned up top \u2013 the Porsche, AMG and Ferrari hierarchy \u2013 there\u2019s invariably some trick AWD system, a hybrid boost, or e-turbos. The Vantage has\u2026 none of these. For a new sports car in 2026 it\u2019s actually incredibly simple.<\/p>\n

A thunderous V8 up front, rear-wheel drive, and such a friendly balance you feel completely empowered to mess about with the eight-stage traction control. Even that\u2019s simple. Hold down the ESP-off button, then twizzle the collar around the expensive glass starter button to select where the guardian angel intervenes. It\u2019s subtle when it does so too \u2013 crucial for massaging the ego.<\/p>\n

What else does Aston Martin need to improve?<\/h3>\n

Annoyances remain \u2013 mostly inside the Vantage. You can\u2019t see out of the front as well as a Ferrari Amalfi<\/a> or Porsche 911 \u2013 the bonnet line is too high and there\u2019s no bodywork features to help you position the nose.<\/p>\n

Behind you, its hips are simply too wide to enjoy the car on a B-road without slapping the cats-eyes and rubbing your paintwork off on nearby brambles.<\/p>\n

Plus, Aston\u2019s in-house touchscreen is already ageing \u2013 the sub-menus are fiddly, the responses slow, and the backlighting on the centre console is too dim. Picture the scene. It\u2019s a sunny day. You think \u2018let\u2019s take the Aston\u2019. But you can\u2019t see if it\u2019s in manual mode, or what setting you\u2019ve chosen for the exhaust or suspension.<\/p>\n

And we could complain about the unintuitive steering wheel controls or the naff dials, but we shan\u2019t.<\/p>\n

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The Vantage S is glorious\u2026 it\u2019s engaging and characterful but more involving than its rivals<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Because overall, the Vantage S is glorious. It feels together and sorted \u2013 properly finished. It\u2019s engaging and characterful but more involving than its rivals. And priced at around \u00a3170,000 before options, it\u2019s cheaper than all its blue-blooded opposition.<\/p>\n

It feels thoroughly modern and yet it\u2019s somehow a throwback. Yes, the Valhalla hypercar<\/a> will grab more headlines in 2026, but this S is Aston Martin\u2019s best sports car for generations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why has Aston Martin made a Vantage \u2018S\u2019? The real reason is \u2018because that\u2019s how the fast car industry works\u2019. Scenario: company releases new car. Trumpets it\u2019s the best possible thing they could ever make. Then 18 months later company announces tweaked, honed, improved version. Now this is the one to have. You need to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-2081826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2081826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2081826\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2081826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2081826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2081826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}