2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Article at Automotive.com

»Locate a Dealer»Find a Used Car»Get Financing

Most Popular: Hybrid Cars|Lexus IS350|Dodge Charger

HOME

All-Star: Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Below is an enthusiast article written by the automotive experts at Automobile. Ever since interest in front-engine, exotic sports cars revived, we've been waiting for a truly memorable automobile, something that would capture the spirit of our time, just as the Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona did in its time. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage is that

2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Safety Features

2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Costs of Ownership

2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Lease Payments

QUICK PRICE QUOTE

DEALER LOCATOR

User Rating

4.5

Rating:

Value Rating

N/A

LEARN WHY

IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

Change Submodel

CHANGE VEHICLE

Article From Automobile Magazine

All-Star: 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage

By Michael Jordan / Photography by Andrew Yeadon / Article provided by: Automobile Magazine

Ever since interest in front-engine, exotic sports cars revived, we've been waiting for a truly memorable automobile, something that would capture the spirit of our time, just as the Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona did in its time. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage is that car.

Ironically, the V8 Vantage comes from a company that has reinvented itself expressly in Ferrari's image. Sometimes we all forget that Aston Martin skittered on the brink of bankruptcy for much of the last sixty years and survived only thanks to the support of wealthy enthusiasts such as David Brown and Victor Gauntlett. But when Ford took full ownership of Aston Martin in the early 1990s, things began to change.

Like Ferrari, Aston Martin embraced its heritage and cherished the cars of its past. Like Ferrari, Aston Martin developed a V-12 engine and a bold styling philosophy. And like Ferrari, Aston Martin proved itself through racing.

All of this might seem like nothing more than a cynical marketing plan, but it has been perfectly executed in virtually every detail. The reward is reflected in the skyrocketing values of Astons on the classic-car market.

Yet the real success of the marque is best measured in the V8 Vantage. It takes the Aston Martin design vocabulary and strips it down to a taut, athletic core. When you take a seat behind the wheel, you find yourself in the kind of sensible, relaxed driving position that only front-engine cars seem to have, and even Aston's characteristic slitlike windshield and fussy, wristwatchlike instrument display can't annoy you. You spin the Vantage's 4.3-liter V-8 to 7300 rpm to reach its comparatively modest peak of 380 hp, yet this engine has both a sharp exhaust bark and a crisp bite of throttle response that together deliver far more soul than you'll find in the DB9's elaborate, 450-hp V-12. Meanwhile, the high-tech aluminum skin and spaceframe make the car rigid but not too heavy, and the position of the dry-sump V-8 behind the front axle line combined with the rear-mounted transaxle helps deliver a package that has both delicious balance and quick responses.

Truth to tell, most exotic sports cars such as the Vantage are terrifying on the kinds of roads we drove in southeastern Ohio, so large and overpowered that they're best suited only to short, top-speed blasts on deserted freeways. In contrast, this Aston Martin is a real car meant for real driving by real people. It carves through corners with such precision and confidence that you become a more precise, confident driver.Although Aston Martin is about to find new ownership because of Ford's financial difficulties, Ford deserves credit for transforming Aston into a brand that is capable of designing and building a car like the V8 Vantage.