Aston Martin V8 Vantage (2005-) Review

Reliability and Quality

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There was a time when one of the most interesting aspects of any journey in an Aston Martin was whether it would actually get you where you needed to go without any roadside encounters with the man from the AA. No longer. From Astons current range just the flagship Vanquish is still built in the old Newport Pagnell factory by men with hammers in their hands and pencils behind their ears. The Vantage and DB9 (with which it shares 40 percent common componentry), are both built in a brand new facility in Gaydon and while a plaque under the bonnet proudly proclaims it is hand-built, it is done so using the very latest technology which should ensure a rather greater level of dependability than has often been the case with previous Astons. The only major mechanical items to be assembled abroad are the gearbox (which comes from Graziano in Italy) and the engine, which is built by Aston staff in a small corner of a very large Ford factory in Cologne, Germany.

From its bonded, extruded chassis to its elegant bodywork, the Vantage is built entirely from aluminium and, so far as the test car is a guide, is done so to a very high standard. The cabin is hard to distinguish from that of the DB9 as it uses the same basic shapes and gorgeous but sadly almost unreadable instruments. The quality of the materials used is entirely in keeping with a car carrying a list price of £79,995.