Summary
The Aston Martin Vantage is a luxury two-seater sports car available as both a coupé and a roadster. It is the entry-level sports car in the Aston Martin range, although any car with a six-figure price tag is hardly ‘entry-level’.
The Vantage has a twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine supplied by Mercedes-AMG, and there is a higher-performance model called the Vantage AMR that is currently the only model available with a manual gearbox (although it will be available on regular models from mid-2020). All models are built in Gaydon, Warwickshire.
The Aston Martin Vantage has received unanimously positive reviews from the UK motoring media, although not to the same rapturous degree as the latest 992-generation Porsche 911. It is considered to be a huge step forward dynamically from the previous-generation Vantage, and performance is excellent.
The styling has received mixed reviews, while the only real objective criticism has been that it’s not quite as good as the Porsche 911 in most areas. As of June 2022, it has an Expert Rating of 76%, based on 37 UK reviews.

Key specifications
Body style: coupe / convertible
Engine: petrol V8
Price: From £123,500 on-road
Launched: Summer 2018
Last updated: Spring 2020
Replacement due: TBA
Image gallery
Media reviews
Reviews, road test and comparisons from across the UK automotive media. Click any of the boxes to view.
The Car Expert
“In the latest Vantage, Aston Martin has a sports car to be proud of. It performs as such a beast should, behaves itself when the need arises and oozes quality outside and in.”
Read review
Auto Express
Model reviewed: F1 Edition
Score: 8 / 10
“The Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition is an extreme and expensive new version of a car we already know and mostly love, with improved performance, steering and handling, and tweaks to the interior that make it feel more special than before.”
Read review
Model reviewed: Roadster
Score: 8 / 10
“Qualities that make the fixed-roof Aston Martin Vantage a fine grand tourer are still in abundance in the Roadster – combined with the ability to drop the top in just seven seconds.”
Read review
Model reviewed: Roadster
Score: 8 / 10
“This highly engaging new Aston Martin Vantage Roadster takes the fight right to the front door of German rivals Porsche, Mercedes-AMG and Audi in the high-end convertible sports car stakes. True, this is an expensive car, but the latest open-top Aston is also quick, capable and extremely desirable.”
Read review
Model reviewed: AMR
Score: 7 / 10
“There are many things to like about the Aston Martin Vantage AMR, not least the way it looks and sounds.”
Read review
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“The Aston Martin Vantage is a huge step up from the model that went before it. Its performance and refinement are exceptional, and for those looking for a brilliantly well-rounded sports coupe it has very few peers indeed.”
Read review
Auto Trader
Model reviewed: Vantage coupé range
Score: 8.4 / 10
“The new Vantage is Aston Martin’s feral sports car. The Vantage has ramped up its assault on rivals from Porsche, Audi and Jaguar and is a true weekend warrior, striking a great balance between scintillating performance and everyday usability.”
Read review
Autocar
Model reviewed: Roadster
Score: 8 / 10
“Open-air theatre comes with command performance of Aston-tuned AMG V8.”
Read review
Model reviewed: Coupe range
Score: 9 / 10
“The Vantage’s rivals may have more or less a common price, but they’re designed to be used in subtly different ways and to appeal quite differently. But the Aston Martin Vantage brings real breadth to the super-sports car class and covers a lot of territory.”
Read review
Model reviewed: AMR
Score: 9 / 10
“Heightened engagement and assertive action of a manual gearbox adds hugely to the Vantage’s appeal.”
Read review
Car
Model reviewed: Roadster
Score: 8 / 10
“Like the Coupe, the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster is not perfect. It has its flaws and will face the stiffest of competition from the likes of the Porsche 911 Cabriolet. And yet, to this road tester at least, the Aston Martin is one to go for.”
Read review
Model reviewed: AMR
Score: 8 / 10
The new Aston Martin Vantage AMR is Aston’s first crack at a more serious baby sports car and it’s packing a seven-speed manual.
Read review
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“The new Aston Martin Vantage is a highly convincing sports car, and a solid improvement over its predecessor. Despite the similarities in hardware, its more aggressive personality also succeeds in clearly differentiating the Vantage from the larger, softer DB11.”
Read review
Carbuyer
Model reviewed: Coupé
Score: 8.6 / 10
“The stylish Aston Martin Vantage is one of the most enjoyable, capable and characterful cars in its class”
Read review
Daily Mail
Model reviewed: Roadster
“In an ideal world, I’d pick the Vantage Roadster with a manual ‘box for the best combination of enjoyment and engagement. But even without the stick shift, the convertible still wins me over with the added drama it brings.”
Read review
Model reviewed: 4.0-litre petrol manual AMR
“The marginal loss of pace in comparison to the automatic is more than made up for by the enhanced feeling of really driving the manual car that creates the added excitement, engagement and exhilaration.”
Read review
“In today’s highly competitive world of motoring, a movie link to a legendary spy is not enough. It won’t cut. The car really has to deliver. And it does.”
Read review
Daily Mirror
Model reviewed: 4.0-litre petrol automatic coupé
Score: 8 / 10
“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.”
Read review
Evo
Model reviewed: AMR
Score: 9 / 10
“A more involving and agile Vantage with a more clearly defined character.”
Read review
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“Fast and fun Aston Martin Vantage is very different to its predecessor, but fun, and faster than ever.”
Read review
Heycar
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“A brilliant, engaging and enjoyable sports car, with huge performance and a distinctive, atelier feel that Aston Martin excels at. The pugnacious styling might be more divisive than the clear beauty of its predecessor, but it’s striking, confident and far less traditional.”
Read review
Honest John
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 10 / 10
“You’re blown away when you see it, but to drive it is to love it. The engine is keen to push forward, the noise addictive, and cornering incredible. It comes with a sweet eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox that’s smooth as silk around town and hugely engaging at speed.”
Read review
Motoring Research
Model reviewed: F1 Edition
Score: 8 / 10
“Many small changes add up to the best Vantage yet. This is still a flawed car in some respects, particularly its interior and infotainment, but it has so much character – backed up by real dynamic talent – that you probably won’t care.”
Read review
Model reviewed: Coupé range
Score: 8 / 10
“The Aston Martin Vantage is a sports car, pure and simple. It is a British rival to the Porsche 911, powered by a rip-roaring V8 engine.”
Read review
Model reviewed: Roadster range
“The Aston Martin Vantage Roadster is an intelligent car, with a cultured depth to the way it flows across-country. It’s a car you drive with your fingertips, in a relaxed and enjoyable way. It is effortless and remains unruffled – a very British type of open-top sports car. And a very fast one, too.”
Read review
Parkers
Model reviewed: Volante
Score: 8.6 / 10
“Baby Aston roadster takes on Porsche 911 Cabriolet”
Read review
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8.2 / 10
“Long overdue replacement for Aston’s best-selling sports car.”
Read review
The Intercooler
Model reviewed: Roadster
Score: 8 / 10
“This remains a true sports car then. A real driver’s machine. It also looks superb to my eyes, particularly with the simpler, optional ‘vane’ grille. Very little is lost dynamically but for those who love driving top down, so much is gained.”
Read review
The Sun
Model reviewed: Vantage AMR manual
“The Aston Martin Vantage’s 4.0-litre V8 engine sounds so epic you’ll be applauded by strangers”
Read review
The Sunday Times
Model reviewed: Range overview
“A bit on the dim side, but still a total belter” (Jeremy Clarkson)
Read review
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“A superb blend of British beauty and German engineering”
Read review
The Telegraph
Model reviewed: F1 Edition
Score: 8 / 10
“You don’t need to be obsessed with Formula 1 to appreciate the fine work that’s been done on the chassis and drivetrain of this already likeable two-seat GT. There was no need to sell it solely in lairy colours, with F1 badging, but if you can put up with that then this is a quite lovely piece of kit.”
Read review
“The V8 Vantage is all things to all Englishmen, a sort of automotive panacea for motorists otherwise wary of compromise.”
Read review
Score: 8 / 10
“Likeable and fast sports GT, comfortable, with a surprising amount of practicality. It enters a crowded market where some equally charismatic rivals are as quick, much cheaper and a lot more economical, and there were slightly worrying inconsistencies about the test cars provided.”
Read review
Top Gear
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“Punchy, exciting, yet still big-hearted and amazingly comfortable. The baby Aston is also the best Aston.”
Read review
Model reviewed: AMR
Score: 8 / 10
“Sat in the middle of all 200 examples is – hurrah! – a manual gearbox. Y’know, like they used in the olden days.”
Read review
What Car?
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“Aston Martin’s best sports car to date, even if a Porsche 911 is a better all-rounder”
Read review
No safety rating
The Aston Martin Vantage has not been crash tested by Euro NCAP. Based on its price and exclusivity, it’s unlikely to happen.
No eco rating
The Aston Martin Vantage has not been lab tested by Green NCAP. This is a new initiative, launched in 2018 as a sister organisation to Euro NCAP.
As yet, very few new cars have been tested for environmental impact by Green NCAP, and inevitably the testing programme was halted in early 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic.
As of June 2022, we don’t have enough reliability data on the Aston Martin Vantage to generate a reliability rating.
The Car Expert’s reliability information is provided exclusive from extended warranty data from our partner, MotorEasy. As soon as MotorEasy has sufficient data on the Vantage, we’ll publish the score here.
Awards
Trophies, prizes and awards that the Aston Martin Vantage has received
2018
- News UK Motoring Awards – Best Sports Car
Similar cars
If you’re looking for a new or used Vantage, The Car Expert’s partners can help you find the right car or a competitive finance arrangement
Audi R8 | Ferrari Portofino | Ferrari Roma | Honda NSX | Jaguar F-Type | McLaren Artura | Mercedes-AMG GT | Porsche 911
Buy or lease an Aston Martin Vantage
Regardless of whether you’re looking for a new or used Vantage, The Car Expert’s partners have thousands of cars to choose from
Specialist car finance solutions for the finest vehicles.
Find out more