Aston Martin Vantage 2024 Review – International

A new face, a totally revised drivetrain, better suspension, brakes and more, the 2024 version of the Aston Martin Vantage is as good as all-new. It’s a more refined and significantly more athletic version of its old self, and thanks to an upgraded interior it’s not only faster but also finer, in the luxury sense of the word.

This rebirth of what was once simply Aston’s entry-level model does not come cheap, however. Whereas the price tag previously started in the 3’s, Vantage is now firmly a 400-something car – $410,000 to be exact – and that’s before any options or on-road costs are factored in.

While well equipped (see below), key options such as the many carbon-fibre cabin and exterior flourishes, wheel and audio options and functional upgrades such as sports seats and carbon-ceramic brakes (almost a must-have given this generation’s added performance) will quickly compound the price tag…

The Vantage is very much a half-million-dollar exercise for most buyers. Perhaps that’s understandable given Aston now sees the Vantage as a destination in its own right, rather than a stepping stone.

Also understandable given the sort of cars the refreshed British marque believes the Vantage will challenge, namely high-ticket GTS and Turbo versions of Porsche’s 911 series, high-output variants of the Mercedes-AMG GT line-up and even some mid-engined models from the likes of McLaren.

When researching your purchase of the 2024 Aston Martin Vantage you’ll almost certainly be directed to the online configurator of which Aston’s so proud. A quick look will immediately impress upon you the myriad performance, personalisation and appearance tweaks you can make to YOUR Vantage.

It’s a little harder to actually determine what’s included in that $410K ‘base’ car, but the glib answer is plenty – and arguably more than any previous generation of the car.

In this new version, there’s very little you NEED to option to make the car complete. Wants are a different manner.

Starting at the pointy end, there’s high-spec Matrix LED auto headlights with daytime running lights (DRLs), larger redesigned Aston wing badging and the sort of styling, dare we say sculpture, for which this brand is legend.

Two-zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, beautiful Aston logos (and projected puddle lights) are all on the standard equipment list.

The Vantage rolls on 21-inch wheels with bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 5 S tyres. Steel brakes with six/four-piston callipers and 410/360mm discs (fr/rr) are standard.

As noted above, 400/360mm carbon-ceramics are an option. We can’t tell you how much more you’ll need to budget. At this stage, Aston Martin does not have an Australian-market option price list.

Same goes for the myriad other tweaks you can make. As noted above, try the configurator and see just how many things you can change – I can hear the EFTPOS machine trilling from here…

Safer in this generation than previous, for sure. Indeed, this is the first generation of Aston Martin Vantage that you can, hand on heart, say misses out on zero must-haves from the modern automotive safety suite.

We’ll spare you all of the acronyms but consider it all as standard – even down to speed sign recognition and the various lane, parking and driver assistance tools.

AEB (autonomous emergency braking) is a given, so is adaptive cruise which can be configured for speed limit adaption. There’s drowsy driver sensors (what about an ‘Oh shit I overcooked that corner’ sensor next, Aston?) and a 360-degree Surround View System, door open assist (cyclists thank you), auto high beam, etc, etc…

The airbag count at four is decent too – remembering it’s only a two-seater.

No longer is this a car brand that chooses to ignore benchmark safety tech. Another indicator of the fact Aston very much sees its role is to play with the big boys… It wasn’t so long ago that it used aesthetics and the fact its owners were “drivers” as reasons to sidestep key tech such as AEB.

As is the case in most sports cars, there’s no NCAP or ANCAP score to report.

Given the step-change in customer offering that modern Astons deliver, you’d expect the 2024 Aston Martin Vantage to tick more boxes in this department. It does…

Clever ambient lighting (and headlights), a full 360W, 11-speaker infotainment suite with DAB+, wireless CarPlay and charging, voice control and high-res widescreens for both centre stack and instrument panel, car alarm and immobiliser are all standard.

There’s been a decent upgrade in tech in the chassis area too. Three key systems have been redeveloped in this generation of Vantage: the traction and stability control system, adaptive damper set-up and the torque vectoring transaxle.

The TCS benefits almost directly from Aston Martin’s parallel development (with the road car) of both GT3 and GT4 racing versions of the Vantage. Like the racers, the road car has a tuneable traction control system that allows a variation of slip angles from mild to wild.

In addition, there’s a track setting which still delivers a safety net, or, if you’re brave or actually possessed of the skill necessary, the choice of OFF… And that means off!

The multi-function drive modes (default is Sport – no Comfort here) interact with the above as well as the new electronically controlled mechanical torque-vectoring rear differential. This adds to the Vantage’s dynamic abilities on both road and track.

The other step-changer in terms of chassis performance is the new Bilstein ADS electronically controlled adaptive dampers. In concert with substantial increases in stiffness of the extruded, bonded aluminium structure and wider track front and rear, the Vantage now boasts a sports car platform that’s the envy of many…

The benefits of the 2024 Aston Martin Vantage’s eminently more capable foundations (see above) are capitalised upon too – thanks to the powered-up AMG-sourced, but Aston-tuned, 4.0-litre biturbo V8 and optimised eight-speed ZF auto.

This is the most powerful Aston Martin Vantage ever, with 489kW and 800Nm on tap. They are 30 and 15 per cent power and torque increases respectively over the previous generation. Think about that for a minute – the entry-level Aston now packs over 660hp…

These higher outputs have been wrought via new camshafts, optimised compression ratios, bigger turbos and increased cooling via both bigger and new extra radiators, oil and charge coolers. The engine is delivered more cold air to boot…

The Aston’s handsome new ‘face’ is in large part a result of the need to shove around 50 per cent more air into the front-end of the car. Function vents on the fender sides and in the bonnet help remove and control this extra air.

The excellent ZF auto has a shorter final drive ratio (3.083:1) and shift calibration has been adjusted to make changes faster and sharper – especially in the performance-orientated drive modes.

How good is this gearbox? Aston sees no need to replace it in the GT4 racing version of the Vantage. Instead, it locks it in manual mode and simply rejigs the ratio spread (and removes eighth gear).

Do you really care? Okay, 12.1L/100km on the combined cycle… unless you’re doing skids.

Or getting your jollies using the 2024 Aston Martin Vantage’s new launch control system to its full potential.

To hell with fuel economy, how’s 0-100km/h in 3.5sec and a top speed of 325km/h sound? Better than 12.1L/100km, I reckon.

At least the Aston’s 73-litre fuel tank will give you plenty of kilometres to hone your cornering and/or drifting skills.

We drove on both road and track in the new Vantage and neither venue was prompting any form of fuel economy. It’s far from the point of this car after all…

The team behind the 2024 Aston Martin Vantage say the new car is not about the numbers – instead it’s ‘Engineered for Real Drivers’…

But it’s hard to get away from the numbers that represent the sheer grunt the tweaked 4.0-litre V8 delivers. To say this car is powerful is an understatement. To say it’s prodigiously fast is to state the bleeding obvious.

As civilised as this sports car is, you’re never an ankle flex away from triple-digit (imperial) pace and then some. It builds speed in a similar way to the likes of the 911 Turbo S, albeit accompanied by an at-times raucous V8 soundtrack. Is it addictive? You betcha.

But it also is possessed of a subtlety of handling that previous Vantages have lacked. On the road in Sport drive mode, the ride is more refined than many two-seaters and markedly improved on the last generation of Aston.

The steering is more precise, and while it has plenty of feel, the car also seems to require less correction, and this means you can bowl down narrow (in this case, Spanish) mountain roads relaxed despite the surprisingly broad footprint.

Sport+ is a bit sharp in terms of throttle response and the gearbox’s propensity to hold lower gears. Dial up Individual mode and tune the settings to suit or leave it in Sport and just crank open the bimodal exhaust for the perfect middle ground.

Describing the V8 as raucous is probably overstating the case 95 per cent of the time. I do, however, need to mention one other aspect of noise. Like its 911 competition, the Vantage is hellishly noisy on coarse surfaces. Sure, it’s not a limo and Aston insiders claim it measures as less than the Porsche, but don’t say I didn’t warn you… I SAID DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU!

On the Monteblanco private racetrack layout, the Vantage was heroically quick and competent and the carbon brakes super-strong and fade-free.

There’s much more mechanical grip than the last generation, thanks to a combination of wider track, better suspension tech, e-diff and the Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 rubber, which means even at high levels of commitment there’s only modest and infrequent application of traction or stability control.

The overall handling balance is also impressive. The moment you transition to even a modest amount of positive throttle you can feel the e-diff working. Very skilled drivers will perhaps want a little more pointiness (there’s a modicum of ‘settling’ understeer), but that could well arrive in more track-focused versions in the future.

Natural power down out of corners is approaching Porsche levels and certainly would shade an AMG GT. Of course, choose to dial in some slip via the adjustable TC and you can toast tyres with ease. But this is arguably an easier car to the non-expert driver to punt fast (very fast) than either of the cars noted above.

In the two-seat-only cabin, the 2024 Aston Martin Vantage’s excellent electric heated seats get high-quality leather surfacing and are accessed via keyless-entry frameless ‘swan wing’ doors.

The multi-function steering wheel is also electrically adjusted but gets disappointingly cheap-feeling gear shift paddles. (These need to be alloy and have a more firearm-like feel, please Gaydon.)

Fortunately, the paddles are the single point of failure in what is an exquisite cabin. When Aston debuted the DB12 last year, it delivered a step-change in its interior execution. The latest Aston switchgear and driver interface generally are beautiful in both their tactility and function.

Now the Vantage, too, feels bespoke, not parts-bin.

Option up the carbon race buckets and you’ll lose the electric adjustment but the seats work exceptionally well on the track and look the business…

If luggage is a practical concern, then you may need to look elsewhere. There’s room for a couple of overnight bags or your helmets and Nomex gear… More’s when the DBX707 – now for MY25 with the upgraded DB12-style interior – comes in…

Purchasing a half-million-dollar sports car is far from a rational decision.

Want your track fun? A solid, used 911 Cup Car will better the new 2024 Aston Martin Vantage and you’ll have at least $300K change.

Want to go fast on the road and love Aston’s undeniably handsome styling? Good luck keeping a licence, but the very, very capable DB12 is probably a smarter choice.

That said, there’s no doubt the Vantage is a very attractive combination of the above two use cases – and an appreciable step up in performance and refinement from the car it replaces.

Better than the AMG GT? A match for the benchmark 911?

It’s about this time in a launch review where we say we must get the competitive set together and drive them back-to-back. In this case we simply need to make that happen – for the first time, hand on heart, I can’t pick a winner in isolation.

2024 Aston Martin Vantage at a glance:
Price: $410,000 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Final quarter 2024
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol
Output: 489kW/800Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 12.1L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 274g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested