Clarkson on the Vanquish

englebert said:

Strange, because on the Top Gear review he didn't mention any real problems with the car, he seemed to like it a lot. The gearbox is terrible though, he is right there.

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But isn't there a factory option to swap the paddle shift for a manual shift (On any Vanquish) available? This definitely completes the car .

Jeremy Clarkson and his mates are not serious reviewers of cars, they just want to attract as much people as possible currently to their show ( which explains why it got progressively less and less automotive and more "monkeying" with time, while attracting a larger and larger crowd). He really wants to create drama for the audience, and would rather do that than be truthful about a car. Even his silly challenges stopped leading to any conclusion about a car recently, while reviews absolutely disappeared from the show.

Although the Vanquish does seem much older and much less complete than say, a DBS, it was a phenomenal move by the company at the time being- Aston was Ford's laboratory to develop the most exquisite and high performance vehicles at the time and the Vanquish was a collection of THE BEST that Ford motor company had to offer at the time. Most later renown high performance vehicles form the Ford division (Like the Ford GT) had the Vanquish as some sort of "example". The engine used in the Prototype Vanquish, the Project Vantage (I wished so much they would make THAT ONE) , as you know is still in use today. I believe this has to be appreciated.

As far as I remember, the Vanquish did not do bad in comparison tests; in one Russian magazine I read (Avtomobilniye izvestia) it was placed higher than the Ferrari 550 M coupe for being "more modern and practical". Combined with the design of the car, I simply do not understand how this could be "seventh worst".
Remember, there could be a big problem with two things here, either the car or the reviewer, and it is not with the car.