This Vantage Roadster is beautiful in all its leather-clad glory. My tester wears the beautiful colour mixture of Lightning Silver on the surface and Aurora Blue over Ivory Gold Metallic (a flowery manner of claiming tan) on the within. New for this yr is an non-compulsory and far improved entrance bumper and grille design. It’s a lot prettier than final yr’s look, though I really feel just like the headlights are only a bit too small to make the brand new entrance finish a real residence run. However, I really like how the doorways tilt barely upward on opening, a quirk that lends a singular contact to the Roadster with out being excessive.Speaking of the highest, the Vantage Roadster’s fabric roof is fast. It will be lowered in 6.7 seconds and raised in 6.8 seconds at speeds as much as 31 mph. The better part is that it would not intrude an excessive amount of into the trunk space. Don’t get me incorrect, there may be nonetheless solely about 7 cubic toes of house, however that is sufficient for my hard-sided suitcase and backpack with a little bit of house left over. The inside can be low on storage. There isn’t any glove field, however there’s a small storage cubby between the seats. The door pockets are sufficiently big for a water bottle, and two cup holders are hidden within the heart armrest. You’ll doubtless preserve your telephone and your keys in your pocket or purse, and your purse will in all probability simply find yourself on the ground.Driven in its default Sport mode, the Mercedes-Benz-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 is pleased to toddle alongside, the eight-speed automated transmission upshifting early and infrequently to save lots of a little bit of gas. There is a stop-start system that might be smoother, nevertheless it helps the Vantage obtain an EPA-estimated gas economic system of 20 mpg mixed, which is simply so-so.As I method correct canyon roads, it is time to swap it as much as my alternative of Sport Plus or Track mode. The Aston has separate buttons for chassis management and powertrain settings, so I can put the powertrain into Track whereas holding the chassis in Sport to maintain issues from feeling too stiff, however putting every little thing in Sport Plus produces essentially the most pleasurable driving expertise. Track mode, because the identify rightfully suggests, is manner too bonkers for road driving. With 503 horsepower and 505 pound-feet of torque headed straight to the rear wheels, I’ve to earn the proper to drive the Vantage Roadster. I take my first canyon-road cross fairly simple, reveling within the pops and bangs each time the transmission shifts. The automotive will downshift routinely upon braking in Sport Plus however I may use the enormous, fixed-position paddle shifters if I need a bit extra management.
Enlarge Image
Hard to dislike a blue inside. Emme Hall/CNETI push it a bit extra developing the hill, and that is the place the Vantage Roadster exhibits its true colours: It behaves extra like a muscle automotive than a nimble sports activities automotive in all its oversteer-friendly glory. Sure, the soundness management system ensures I by no means get too out of kinds, however this automotive is a handful. Thankfully, I’ve received some sticky Pirelli P Zero tires (255/40 entrance, 295/35 rear) wrapped round 20-inch wheels. The brakes, that are powerful to modulate at slower speeds, are great right here, slowing me down earlier than hairpins with a assured, linear really feel. I’m additionally 100% right here for the electrical energy steering, which on this automotive feels surprisingly near a chatty, old-school hydraulic setup. It’s refreshing to be in a doozy of a automotive the place I get all of the suggestions I would like, with a pleasant weight underhand and correct on-center really feel.The Vantage Roadster weighs 132 kilos greater than the fixed-roof coupe due to the folding high mechanism and a few further chassis-stiffening measures. As such, the great people at Aston tweaked the rear dampers and the soundness management system to accommodate these further kilos. In most conditions, you would be hard-pressed to inform the distinction between the 2. With the canyons behind me, it is time to head to the freeway, and lengthy straights are very pleasant to the Vantage Roadster, too. Accelerating to 60 mph takes simply 3.7 seconds, and it will high out at 190, however staying inside the letter of the regulation continues to be a blast. Unlike different convertibles, the Vantage would not want an unpleasant wind deflector to maintain the bluster out of the cabin. I’m nonetheless carrying a hat, however I really feel like I can have a traditional shout-free dialog at velocity.
Enlarge Image
You’ll undoubtedly flip heads in one in all these. Emme Hall/CNETHowever, as a lot enjoyable because the Aston Martin is to drive, anticipate the inverse in the case of in-car expertise. The solely fashionable security system I’ve is blind-spot monitoring — there is no lane-keeping help, no lane-departure warning, no adaptive cruise management. The Vantage Roadster’s infotainment system can be woefully behind the instances. Like the engine, it is sourced from Mercedes-Benz, nevertheless it’s the outdated COMAND system on an 8-inch display with a rotary dial and clunky handwriting recognition. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are nowhere to be discovered, and whereas Aston Martin guarantees a USB port, it takes a shocking quantity of effort to seek out it. Throw in an awesome quantity of buttons — transmission buttons, infotainment buttons, local weather management buttons, you identify it — and the entire thing is sort of a sizzling mess.Aston Martin will allow you to customise the Vantage Roadster to your coronary heart’s content material with a formidable number of paint colours, inside designs, trim inlays, steering wheel supplies and “interior jewelry,” however with a beginning worth of $158,186 together with $3,086 for supply, you may be spending loads to show your temper board into actuality. My tester’s upgrades embody a premium audio system, metallic paint, an non-compulsory vaned grille, a two-tone inside and smoked purple taillights, sending the sticker to $185,786. While the Vantage Roadster prides itself on exclusivity, it isn’t the one droptop efficiency sport on the town. If you need an agile sports activities automotive that is just a little bit simpler to deal with, get your self a Porsche 911 Cabriolet. If you are searching for screaming-high revs, go for the Audi R8 Spyder. But if you wish to stand out in a crowd with the solar in your face however the wind barely blowing your hair, the 2022 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster needs to be proper up your alley.