03 Jan 07
Sit inside the V8 Sportshift, though, and the controls are almost exactly the same as an automatic Aston DB9's. Same paddleshifters (attached to steering column, not steering wheel), same fascia buttons to select Drive, Reverse and - what's this? In place of the DB9's Sport button is a Comfort button. In a V8 Vantage, then, you're coming from the standpoint of sportiness, not cruising. It's a vital difference.
Aston Martin went the 'robotised manual' route for the V8, rather than the auto-with-manual-mode route, because this smaller, harder-edged car should offer a crisper, keener drive.
That said, the way a Jaguar XKR's ZF autobox is programmed (a 'box mechanically the same as a DB9's) is itself pretty sporty, with gearshifts as quick as a robo-manual's according to Jaguar engineers. Well, maybe; they certainly have the potential to be smoother.
Has Aston Martin gone down the wrong road with the Sportshift, then? After all, even Porsche has stayed faithful to the autobox idea with its Tiptronic system, even though it's nowhere near as good as the Jaguar transmission.
