Aston Martin Vantage Review: Just what you were expecting, Mr Bond

I’m going to shoot from the hip and say there are some reading this review for whom it will be suffice to just have one question answered – does driving the Aston Martin Vantage make you feel like 007?

The answer is a definitive yes, it’s just how you were expecting, Mr Bond.

For those that are still reading then, let me tell you more about this magnificent beast.

Some Aston Martin (and Bond fans) were disappointed when it was revealed that the DB10 our hero drove in the last movie, Spectre, wouldn’t be put into production.

It soon became clear, however, the DB10 that featured in the film was heavily ‘inspired’ by the soon to be released V8 Vantage.

There’s no question the Vantage, with its panther-ready-to-pounce-like expression, is a sleekly-designed sports car fit for any respecting secret agent. High-end materials including leather seats and carbon fibre make up in its interior; it’s no wonder Bond is always happy to leave his woman in bed to climb into this beauty.

With the car’s four-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission, it can shift from 0-60mph in just 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 195mph; fast enough to get you out of any tricky situation.

And while it may not feature an ejector seat or any of the kind of James Bond-like gadgets you’d hope would come as standard with its £121,000 price tag, there’s plenty to make you the envy of any Spectre assassin.

The first thing you notice immediately is that the car is low, very low, and, while longer and wider than your average car, feels small.

You learn however that this is something of an optical illusion and that in fact actually, you fit perfectly with no iota of space having been wasted in its design – this is all about the driving experience.

There may be no glovebox but we fitted a couple of cases in the boot easily for a weekend trip away out of the city to Whitstable in Kent.

The low driving position is indeed, as perfect as you could hope for and there is a beguiling choice of three driving modes to play with: Sport, Sport Plus and Track.

The driving experience out on the open road, with the way the car grips the tarmac, is nothing short of addictively thrilling.

In the city, the car is an unsurprising joy.

I’ve driven more expensive vehicles but never have I seen one bring so many smiles to people who stop and point and wave; and other drivers are also noticeably keener than usual to make way for you than when you are at the wheel of other cars.

Before I said farewell to the car, there was just one other place I wanted to drive it.

I grew up near the leafy Buckinghamshire village of Aston Clinton, from where it’s a little-known fact Aston Martin’s co-founder Lionel Martin took part of his firm’s name.

I took advantage of the fact it was my father’s 75th birthday to meet him for lunch at The Bell restaurant in Aston Clinton and then for a spin up Aston Hill, where its predecessors were put through their paces 100 years ago.

For someone whose more accustomed to travelling at a more sedate pace, it gave him something to boast about to his friends at his model engineering club the following week.

He’d need a few days to gather his thoughts as the ease with which the car tackled the extremely steep Aston Hill with ease had him temporarily lost for words.

When he eventually caught his breath, he said: “You don’t half feel the potholes!”

Well, you can’t have everything I suppose; that it feels every bit of the drive is something I relished.

If I had any criticisms it would be that (weirdly for James Bond’s choice of travel), the gadgets inside the interior felt a little dated – the park assist sensors/camera were up to scratch but the 8ins LCD screen wasn’t touchscreen (I kept hitting it with my fingers and then remembering) and the built-in sat nav wasn’t as good as your average TomTom.

Visibility out of the rear is poor, especially with no rear windscreen wiper, and the brakes screeched so much that, in the city, I had to wind the windows up at times ( Google suggests this is a common issue with the Vantage, which can easily be fixed).

But if I could afford one, I would buy one like a bullet.