Recent comments |
• Anonymous: Mass,
gearing,
aerodynami
cs. Power
to weight
ratio is
far more
important
than
absolute
horsepower
.... • Anonymous: how the
hell does
this car
with
478bhp do
0-186mph
in 31
seconds???... • Anonymous: yeah,
definetly
not no
damn
street
car, it
cant be
compared
with
anything
else but
race cars
really.... • Anonymous: ide love
too see
that too i
would
guess for
them all,
A10-7:18,
DBS-7:54-,
Caparo??,
F40-7:48,
F50-7... • minimac93: What I
would like
to see
is:
Ascari
A10
Aston
Martin
DBS
Caparo T1
Ferrari
F40
Ferrari
F50
G... • minimac93: Weight of
1280
kilograms.
Site:
Koenigsegg
website.... • Anonymous: I like the
top gear
test, it's
gotta go
over a
speed
bump. Fare
point
really.
Think the
ascari has
g... • Anonymous: Dude Ryo
whats you
point???
you after
him
again?
... • Georg: it is my
new
helmet, I
wear it
during
Kart
driving... • Ryo: do you
know georg
changed
his
picture
before he
had a blue
Audi TT
now a star... • Ryo: the
picture is
a toy car... • Ryo: its the
ford gt
everyone
but some
changes
made...
|
|
Wads on Sportscars: Aston Martin DB9 Volante |
15.03.2008 |
 I
recently managed to convince my local Aston Martin dealer to lend me one of their cars for the
weekend, by a very lucky coincidence I managed to arrange for a DB9 Volante to be delivered on my
40th birthday!
Turning 40 is not something that most people look forward to but I have to say the thought of a
DB9 arriving made the start of my birthday better than I expected! A few hours later I heard the
distinctive sound of a V12 burbling away in the road outside my house and I headed straight out
to greet the delivery driver. The car I had for the weekend was a fully loaded drab metallic
green drop top fitted with the Speedtouch paddle shift automatic transmission.
The first thing that struck me about the car is that it was huge on the outside but quite cramped
on the inside, as we live in a narrow street I was paranoid that somebody would squeeze past and
damage it..... so the sooner we got on the road the better! Unfortunately trying to fit a wife
and baby into a DB9 is not that easy, even with my wifes seat as far forward as possible and in
an uncomfortable bolt upright position we only just managed to get the baby seat in the back,
then I opened the boot/trunk to find that it was also tiny (golfers would be able to fit their
golf bag but not much else)... anyway to cut a long story short we just about managed to fit the
essentials for a weekend away but it was clear that the DB9 is not a very practical car!
"The first thing that struck me about the car is that it was huge on the outside but quite cramped
on the inside, as we live in a narrow street I was paranoid that somebody would squeeze past and
damage it."
The interior of the car was superbly put together with every surface and control having a quality
feel, hand stitched leather covered most of the main areas with quality aluminium/metal trim in
the important control sections, the central dash area contains the stereo and wood trim finished
flip up screened sat nav. Personally the colours and trim were not to my tastes as I would prefer
a metallic black exterior with brick red leather interior and polished piano black fascia but who
am I to complain!
To start the car you turn the key followed by a press of the clear glass starter button in the
centre of the dash, doing so results in a subtle burst of revs before the car settles into a
gentle burbling. With the windows and roof up the engine and exhaust are actually very quiet at
tick over but to fully appreciate the V12 you need to drop the roof and windows as often as
possible to hear the faintly aggressive noises the car makes even when sitting still. I should
mention at this point that the main dials are fantastic looking with their cut out aluminium and
gently illuminated hands giving a very expensive/exclusive feel to the car.
One area of the interior that felt a little cheap is the chunky black plastic buttons on the dash
used to change modes for the gearbox, these would have been much better looking if made out of
aluminium or glass like the starter button, on the other hand the gear paddles were nicely made
and easy to operate.
"The smoothness of the power actually tends to disguise
how quick this car is however the roar of the engine and exhaust quickly reminds you that you are
driving a supercar."
On the move the fully automatic mode gives very smooth gear changes however as I've never been a
fan of automatics I spent most of my time using the paddles in manual mode, flipping from auto to
manual simply involves using one of the paddles..... from then on you are in manual and the car
will only change up for you if you rev to the red line, on the upshift there is a slight delay
from pulling the paddle and then the shift comes in nice and smooth, even though there is a minor
delay every shift seemed consistently fast and super smooth. Downshifts were equally smooth but
there is no throttle blip (at least I don't remember there being one!) as you would get with a
Ferrari sequential box. For an automatic this has to be one of the best I've driven only being
bettered by the new Jaguar XKR (review of that will follow) and the latest breed of double clutch
gearboxes.
In a straight line the DB9 delivers its huge reserves of power in a very linear manner, being an
auto all you have to do for a super quick get away is mash your foot to the floor and hang on,
with very little to get wrong the car was very easy to repeatedly push below 5 seconds in a
0-60mph drag, the best time my measuring gear registered was a 0-60mph in 4.6sec (0-62 in 4.8).
On the move throttle response is very sharp and above 2000rpm the masses of torque available from
the six litre V12 pushes you firmly back in your seat when needed. The torque helps to make the
DB9 engine very flexible with acceleration coming on strong in most gears, the benchmark 30-70mph
run takes only 4.2 seconds which is quick in my book! The smoothness of the power actually tends
to disguise how quick this car is however the roar of the engine and exhaust quickly reminds you
that you are driving a supercar. The car gives you two different noises.... while cruising at low
speeds you are treated to a low bass rich throb which sounds great with the top down, I actually
found I drove in a higher gear than needed to because the car sounded good at low revs. When
pushing the car hard the engine and exhaust note builds up to to loud growl before erupting
around 5000rpm into a full on roar (I think a valve in the exhaust opens at this point that
results in the extra noise). The video clip features a long tunnel that really makes the car
sound amazing... so good that I went back through it three or four times..... unfortunately the
video doesn't pick up the incredible sounds very well so apologies for that!
"The video clip features a long tunnel that really makes
the car sound amazing... so good that I went back through it three or four times."
On to handling... for a large two ton car I wasn't expecting much as reviews I've seen of the
Volante suggest that it is nowhere near as good as the lighter coupe. However I was pleasantly
surprised as the car takes corners very well with the roof up or down, I couldn't feel much sign
of the scuttle shake that many early reviews of the car highlight in fact it was very well sorted
even when cornering at speed. I later discovered that the later versions of the Volante are
beefed up to improve the handling, I suspect things like the strut brace over the engine are
responsible for the improvement in performance. Grip even in the wet seemed good and the brakes
stop the car very well. Obviously the DB9 is a big car and it doesn't handle as well as its
little brother the V8 Vantage but for a Super GT I was generally quite impressed!
Overall the DB9 is a fantastic car but at £125,000 it is NOT worth the money, IF I had that sort
of money to spend I would buy a modified Focus ST for the daily commute, an E93 M3 Convertible
for family outings AND a Lotus Exige S for trackdays... and still have £20,000 in my pocket!
|
Comments (7) |
| PhantomPorsche |
16.03.2008 |
 |
Yet another great review, brilliant actually. Have a nice 40th B-Day... kind of
late sorry. How do car manufactures lend you cars?...Communication skills? Not
to be rude but when is your next review as your reviews always made my day :D???
|
|
| Wads |
17.03.2008 |
 |
Thanks for the compliments! I work for a big company which helps when asking for
test drives but I guess its also the way I ask as most of the time I get loans
for 3 or 4 days.... the longest loan I had was from Merc who lent me an SL500
for two weeks :-) ..... I'll do another review soon as you seem keen which of
the following would you like next? BMW M3, Jag XKR, Golf R32 DSG or BMW M5 |
|
| FastestLaps |
17.03.2008 |
 |
This is probably my favourite of your reviews. It is always exiting to read
about exclusive stuff that I am never going experience myself (at least not in
near future). As for the next review - I would love to read what you have say
about the new E92 M3. It has received quite mixed reviews and not everyone's
happy about it but I certainly think it's an awesome machine. |
|
| PhantomPorsche |
17.03.2008 |
|
When you have time, the M5 would be great its a good car from what i heard but
no need to rush. But like fastestlaps had said the M3, i had trouble choosing
between the two, but do the M3 since fastestlaps wants it and i do too. |
|
| Wads |
18.03.2008 |
|
OK M3 will be next |
|
| Anonymous |
28.04.2008 |
| a good review, but in my humble opinion, only let down by the conclusion. I
don't think the people who buy Astons would appreciate the exclusivity of buying
a focus or a 3 series. At the end of the day, what price exclusivity? Astons
martin suggest £125,000
PS I hope your birthday went well. |
|
| Wads |
28.04.2008 |
|
Fair comment and there are still plenty of people willing to pay the price for
that exclusivity but I'm not one of them (at the moment) |
|
| |
Add your comment |
|
|
Which is faster? |
| Click here to compare two cars using the fastestlaps.com database! |
|
