New guy here. 6’6” tall and looking for my first

After waiting ~six months for delivery, in July 2021, I took ownership of a brand spanking new 2021 convertible Vantage with substantially all of the options available (& I mean just about all of them). Damn options added---can't recall with certainty---but something like an additional 70% to the base price of the car. Well worth it though.

Articles like (1) 2021 Aston Martin Vantage Review, Pricing, and Specs and (2) What Do You Want To Know About the 2021 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster? became common reading...

And, overall, it definitely meets/exceeds expectations. I knew going in that the car wasn't a performance monster and, for the first time in my life, I opted to sacrifice performance for looks and it pays off here. It's fun to drive, remains one of the most beautiful cars I've ever seen and has enough performance to make you feel good. I have a few friends that own supercars (e.g., Aventador, McClaren, etc) and, despite what those articles claim, the Vantage isn't THAT much of a head-turner, but it holds its own (i.e. it may turn some heads, but it isn't like people start recording you on their phone or having like 50% of people look at you, etc. which happens in the aforementioned cars)

I have a few (minor?) gripes though.

First of all---and this goes to help their unit sales too--- I have no idea/there is no damn reason why the M177 engine in the Vantage needs to be detuned to 503 hp. It's insane. Aston wants to move more vehicles, say, Vantages? Easy. Turn that motor up to 600+ HP. I'd strongly recommend something like 650, or likely even more, as the new Vette coming out is dialed-in at 670 and that will be in supercar territory with that power/weight ratio. Far too many high-performance car guys will not necessarily favor a car that isn't competitive in that arena/price range. Further, the guys I run into (week after week) at various Cars and Coffee just gush over cars that really haul ass. Unfortunately, this car isn't one of them. It's solid, make no mistake about it, but it's not supercar territory. If Aston changes that mindset (or is it agreement based???), that will likely go a long, long way.

I almost, almost, almost went with a new 911 Turbo S convertible Porsche, but stayed with the Vantage because it's more exclusive and beautiful. That said, I did have my Vantage tuned and added ~80 more HP (a very disappointing process, as apparently it is NOT easy to remove the CPU and program it on the dyno...joke), so that helped, but it still isn't enough. At ~3,700 lbs, you need something like 650 HP to REALLY be fun. Like I said above though, the existing performance is still enough to put a smile on your face.

Along those lines---why, why, why did Aston insist on not only putting 295s in the rear, but also on rims that I feel are too damn small for 295s? I don't understand the logic. I would put no less than 315s in the rear and rock it. The car handles like a dream, don't get me wrong, but not only can you get better straight line performance with a different tire stagger, but I'm quite certain you'd see much better skid-pad numbers as well.

Minor nit: Why on earth they don't have a glove box is beyond me. Even the Lambo and McClaren my friends own have one! Good grief. While the Vantage actually has some decent storage room in the trunk, interior storage remains a premium and an item as simple as a glove box would go a long way. Related to that is the cup holders. I love coffee and/or tea and large versions of those barely fit. LOL

As those articles mention, the out-of-date infotainment unit is a facepalm, but nothing too egregious.

I also wish there was an elegant spot to place your phone. I find myself using the cup holders, as nothing else really works, but that's far from ideal. Since I listen to YouTube for my music, the phone is important even when driving at times.

In any case, don't let the above taint your impression of my view of the car too much.

The single most important question one can ask would be: "Would you buy it again?"

At this time, the answer is yes. It's awesome, a car that, if you wanted, you could drive every day, but still hobnob with the "elite" crowd if you so wanted. It sounds great in Track mode, looks beautiful and is overall very pleasing