New Aston Martin Vanquish review

In a world dominated by downsized turbocharged engines and high-tech four-wheel drive systems, the Aston Martin Vanquish roars on to the scene as somewhat of a dinosaur.

You see, while the latest Vanquish does indeed feature a pair of turbochargers strapped to its engine, Aston Martin hasn’t gone down the route of downsizing. Instead, it has kept things gloriously excessive with a mighty V12 slung beneath the Vanquish’s endless bonnet, sending every one of its horses to the rear wheels.

The result is a 0-62mph time of less than 3.5 seconds, a top speed of more than 200mph and a soundtrack to wake the dead. Better still, the new underpinnings promise to make the Vanquish as agile through a set of corners as it is serene on a grand tour down to the South of France.

In many ways it’s an old-school grand tourer, but that leaves us with an important question to answer. How does the Vanquish stack up against the competition? Can it outclass the Bentley Continental GT, with its cutting-edge plug-in hybrid tech?

That’s exactly what we’re here to find out, as we put the Aston Martin Vanquish through its paces on performance, comfort, interior quality and running costs. Read on to find out how we rate it...

Power is something the Aston Martin Vanquish really isn’t lacking, with its twin-turbocharged 5.2-litre V12 engine producing a monstrous 824bhp – more than the Bentley Continental GT (771bhp) and the naturally aspirated Ferrari 12Cillindri (819bhp).

When you stamp on the accelerator the Vanquish surges forward with a force that pins you to the seat. Relentless doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Aston’s engineers have managed to marry twin-turbo grunt with an impeccably smooth power delivery – there’s no perceptible lag, just an unbroken torrent of acceleration. The quoted 0-62mph time of 3.3 seconds? We’ve no reason to doubt it.

And the soundtrack? Sublime and unapologetically raw. Where many turbocharged rivals have lost their voice, the Vanquish roars defiantly, retaining the spine-tingling howl of Aston’s V12 heritage (the lesser Aston Martin DB12 sounds muted in comparison). It’s a noise that not only commands attention but makes every moment behind the wheel utterly addictive.

You might think that commanding more than 800bhp with your right foot would be pretty daunting. But the thing is, this latest Vanquish is much more controllable than previous iterations, with a clever rear electronic differential that works tirelessly to manage grip, shuffling power to the rear wheel with the best traction.

Get on the power early out of a corner and the car rewards measured inputs with impeccable composure and confidence-inspiring grip. And while being too greedy with the accelerator will see the rear end step out, it does so in a progressive and predictable manner – never spiky, never snappy.

Our only slight niggle is that the Vanquish's eight-speed automatic gearbox could be a little punchier both on upshifts and downshifts. Waiting for the engine to drop down a gear as you hurtle towards a hairpin bend feels a little at odds with the car’s driver-focused nature. 

Speaking of being driver-focused, the steering is a real highlight. Quick, consistent and brimming with feel, it brings the Vanquish alive in your hands, allowing you to place its nose with millimetre precision.

It’s the kind of steering that makes a car feel smaller and more agile than its footprint suggests. It shrinks around you in a way that the heavier Bentley Continental GT can’t quite manage. 

Best of all, despite all the focus on performance, flicking the Aston into one of its more comfortable modes transforms it into the perfect long-distance companion. Sure, it remains on the firmer side of things, but that only serves to make it more controlled, keeping the car taut and composed over undulating roads without jarring over imperfections.

Refinement is impressive too, with next to no wind noise at 70mph and road noise that is noticeable but never bothersome.

"Even on my commute of over 140 miles, the Aston Martin Vanquish was the perfect companion – addictively fun to drive on the country portions and effortlessly composed during the motorway sections. The V12 soundtrack is the icing on the cake." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Stepping inside the Aston Martin Vanquish, you’re greeted by an excellent seating position. It's not quite as low slung as what you’ll find in the Aston Martin Vantage, helping to keep you more comfortable over long journeys while still feeling sporty.

Speaking of comfort, standard-fit 16-way electrically adjustable seats make it really easy to find your perfect driving position. Better still, the Vanquish's sports seats are very comfortable and offer plenty of support both on long journeys and when you’re exploring the limits of the car’s grip levels.

If you intend to test those limits on a track, you might also want to consider the optional carbon-fibre performance seats, which add even more support.

As you might expect from a low-slung sports car, visibility is a bit of a mixed bag. Despite the relatively chunky and sharply angled windscreen pillars, you have a good view out of the front window. You'll have no issues judging where the vast bonnet ends or looking out for cars at roundabouts. 

Rear visibility, meanwhile, isn’t as good. The chunky and heavily raked rear pillars create a hefty blind-spot. Luckily, blind-spot detection is standard on every Vanquish, and parking is made really easy by standard-fit front and rear parking sensors, and a 360-degree camera. 

The feed from that camera is shown on a new 10.25in infotainment touchscreen, which sits neatly within the dashboard. The system itself is pretty good, responding to your inputs promptly and with decent screen resolution, but it’s fairly basic in comparison with the Bentley Continental GT system.  

One thing the Vanquish and the Continental GT have in common is that while their infotainment systems are mostly controlled using the touchscreen, both have physical controls for pretty much every other function. In a world where so many cars require you to prod a screen to do even small things like changing the temperature, it’s a real breath of fresh air.

It’s fair to say that the Continental GT just edges things when it comes to interior quality. Don't get us wrong – the interior of the Vanquish is an absolutely lovely place to be, with swathes of carbon-fibre and luxurious leathers, and is a definite step up from the Mercedes-AMG GT.

It’s just that the Continental GT is a masterclass of luxury, taking things one step further, with even plusher materials and flawless build quality. Arguably the best example is the rotating panel that houses the infotainment screen, which rotates with such incredible precision.

"You expect a sports car like the Aston Martin Vanquish to be uncomfortable after long jaunts, but it’s quite the opposite. The stunning interior materials and driving position make long drives a pleasure." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

You get loads of space in the front of the Aston Martin Vanquish, with even tall adults having lots of head and leg room. It’s wide, too, so you won’t find that you’re rubbing shoulders with your passenger.

There’s a decent amount of front storage, with the Vanquish offering a pair of cupholders, a cubby within the armrest, a good-sized glovebox and a space beneath the infotainment screen for your phone. You get a door bin on each door, but they’re only really big enough for odds and ends.

Where previous generations of the Vanquish were 2+2, this latest version does without rear seats and instead uses that space as extra storage. If you want a grand tourer with enough space for more people, you’ll want to look at the Bentley Continental GT. 

The Continental GT also gives you more boot space. Even so, the Vanquish’s 248-litre boot will be sufficient for most sports car buyers, swallowing a couple of golf sets or enough luggage to make your grand touring adventures comfortable.

"While the Aston Martin Vanquish's small boot might be a bit limiting if you’re away for longer than a weekend, I found it really useful that you get loads of luggage space behind the front seats." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

With a price tag that eclipses some houses before you’ve even turned to the options page, the Aston Martin Vanquish isn’t exactly what you’d call affordable. Indeed, while it costs about the same as the Ferrari 12Cillindri, it makes the Mercedes-AMG GT look cheap and costs a fair chunk more than even the range-topping Bentley Continental GT. 

Better news is that the Vanquish is predicted to hold its value better than most of those rivals over three years. It also comes with loads of standard equipment, including electrically adjustable heated leather seats, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, climate control and a 1,170-watt, 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins stereo.

Now, efficiency. As you might expect, the Vanquish’s huge engine means running costs will be pretty high, but those turbos do help to increase efficiency somewhat. Indeed, you can expect the Vanquish to manage up to 20.7mpg – quite impressive when you consider that the V8-wielding Aston Martin Vantage manages 23mpg.

Neither Aston Martin nor the Vanquish were included in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey but it does at least come with a three-year standard warranty with no mileage limit. On top of that, you also get a 10-year anti-perforation corrosion warranty. 

As for safety, Euro NCAP hasn’t tested the Vanquish, but you do get plenty of standard safety tech, including blind-spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking (AEB), forward and rear-cross traffic alert, and the usual array of airbags.

"While fuel economy likely isn’t a concern to anyone buying an Aston Martin Vanquish, it’s worth noting that you can have the Bentley Continental GT as a plug-in hybrid, increasing its efficiency." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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