Thought I'd share my experience over the past six months.
Having swapped from an E92 M3 there was a mix of feelings for the first couple of weeks whilst I was making the adjustment into V8V ownership. First thing was the power - whilst on paper there was only 30 bhp difference between the V8V and the M3 it certainly felt noticeably slower, I think this was in part because it did not have that urge between 6,000 and 8,200 rpm the M3 was so great at doing, the throttle response was considerably lazy compared to the instantaneous sharpness that you get with the M3, and it also lacked the low down surge of power the M3 had, despite having nearly the same torque figures, which required dropping gears more than I was used to. I can safely say though, after a few weeks any initial remorse I had soon disappeared.
The first thing I did was remove fuse 22. This stops the vacuum solenoid from operating flaps in the exhaust which close between 1,500 and 4,000 rpm, to keep the exhaust note the same. By taking it out you get treated to wonderful V8 noise at full chat across the rev range, but more importantly there is no drone at all, so is certainly worth doing. Compared to the M3 the noise this thing makes is incredible, I found with the stock exhaust in the M3 was far too quiet.
The interior is a pleasant place to be. Lots of aluminium, nearly everything is leather with some nice hand stitching. The seats are very comfortable yet supportive. It does seem prone to rattles and have spent considerable time trying to eliminate these - although having come from the E92 it was something I had got pretty good at doing. I do miss the iDrive from the BMW and the DVD based Volvo sat nav unit they have put into this car is terrible. Visibility out of the car takes some getting used to and the aluminium dash is impossible to read in direct sunlight – but then again it does look pretty.
It does feel a very manly car to drive – brakes require more pressure than the heavily assisted brakes from the M3, steeling feels perfectly weighted and has plenty of feedback, the clutch is very heavy and the gearbox has a mechanical feel that needs some effort to get right, however you get used to it all I find it very enjoyable to drive and gives a sense of occasion to each journey.
I think the suspension setup is great on the car. Whilst the ride is very firm the dampening is setup well for UK roads and it doesn’t crash over roads which is something I noticed when test driving some if it’s competitors. Grip in the dry is very good, and whilst the Vantage is never going to be a razor sharp handling machine, it's wonderfully balanced, very predictable and inspires confidence to push on through the twisties, more so than the M3 I would say.
Looks wise I think the car is amazing. Nothing more to add about that one except to say it's wonderfully proportioned and doesn't really look as though its nearly 7 years old now.
Cost wise, with the exception of consumables (replaced the rear tyres and pads all round), the only thing that needed replacing was the centre rear brake light as some of the LEDs went out - cost £30. I've covered 3,000 miles and averaged 17 MPG. If you're driving enthusiastically it's very easy for the MPG to drop below 12 MPG though. Looking at used prices for similar cars to mine, depreciation over the last 6 months appears to be minimal, certainly a lot less than I experienced with the M3.
Obligatory pictures below.
Having swapped from an E92 M3 there was a mix of feelings for the first couple of weeks whilst I was making the adjustment into V8V ownership. First thing was the power - whilst on paper there was only 30 bhp difference between the V8V and the M3 it certainly felt noticeably slower, I think this was in part because it did not have that urge between 6,000 and 8,200 rpm the M3 was so great at doing, the throttle response was considerably lazy compared to the instantaneous sharpness that you get with the M3, and it also lacked the low down surge of power the M3 had, despite having nearly the same torque figures, which required dropping gears more than I was used to. I can safely say though, after a few weeks any initial remorse I had soon disappeared.
The first thing I did was remove fuse 22. This stops the vacuum solenoid from operating flaps in the exhaust which close between 1,500 and 4,000 rpm, to keep the exhaust note the same. By taking it out you get treated to wonderful V8 noise at full chat across the rev range, but more importantly there is no drone at all, so is certainly worth doing. Compared to the M3 the noise this thing makes is incredible, I found with the stock exhaust in the M3 was far too quiet.
The interior is a pleasant place to be. Lots of aluminium, nearly everything is leather with some nice hand stitching. The seats are very comfortable yet supportive. It does seem prone to rattles and have spent considerable time trying to eliminate these - although having come from the E92 it was something I had got pretty good at doing. I do miss the iDrive from the BMW and the DVD based Volvo sat nav unit they have put into this car is terrible. Visibility out of the car takes some getting used to and the aluminium dash is impossible to read in direct sunlight – but then again it does look pretty.
It does feel a very manly car to drive – brakes require more pressure than the heavily assisted brakes from the M3, steeling feels perfectly weighted and has plenty of feedback, the clutch is very heavy and the gearbox has a mechanical feel that needs some effort to get right, however you get used to it all I find it very enjoyable to drive and gives a sense of occasion to each journey.
I think the suspension setup is great on the car. Whilst the ride is very firm the dampening is setup well for UK roads and it doesn’t crash over roads which is something I noticed when test driving some if it’s competitors. Grip in the dry is very good, and whilst the Vantage is never going to be a razor sharp handling machine, it's wonderfully balanced, very predictable and inspires confidence to push on through the twisties, more so than the M3 I would say.
Looks wise I think the car is amazing. Nothing more to add about that one except to say it's wonderfully proportioned and doesn't really look as though its nearly 7 years old now.
Cost wise, with the exception of consumables (replaced the rear tyres and pads all round), the only thing that needed replacing was the centre rear brake light as some of the LEDs went out - cost £30. I've covered 3,000 miles and averaged 17 MPG. If you're driving enthusiastically it's very easy for the MPG to drop below 12 MPG though. Looking at used prices for similar cars to mine, depreciation over the last 6 months appears to be minimal, certainly a lot less than I experienced with the M3.
Obligatory pictures below.
LOVE
