It’s never raucous or overbearing day to day, though – and if you’re planning to use it for more than just weekend hoons, you should be able to achieve 25mpg on a motorway run. No hypermiler, sure, but it should be able to skip at least every other service station.
Keen self-shifters will be drawn to the seven-speed dog-leg manual, which has a tactile throw that bonds nicely with the V8. Good luck finding one, though: we saw just two in the classifieds as this was written, and an equivalent auto will cost you less.
For a stiffly sprung sports car, it rides pretty well and is a comfortable GT over a long distance. But divert onto a mountain pass and the Vantage shows impressive duality in its dynamism, thanks to predictable steering, excellent close body control and trick adaptive dampers.
Because it corners with such immediacy, the Vantage is serious fun on track too, with its various modes (Sport+ and Track) turning it from a relaxed GT car to a supercar-baiting circuit weapon.
If you want your Vantage to be even more track-focused, there’s the F1 Edition, launched in 2021 to mark Aston’s return to Formula 1. With stiffer suspension, an extra 25bhp, faster gearshifts and a suite of aero parts, it has even sharper handling on track – although you will need around £120,000 to buy one today, and there are no interior upgrades over the standard car.
But that’s okay, because the Vantage’s cockpit was a strong point at launch and it has held up well. There are plenty of physical switches for the secondary controls, lots of cubbyholes and a nice, low driving position.
The 8.0in infotainment screen – operated by a rotary dial – is a little dated and you don’t get smartphone mirroring, but several specialists such as CBS Automotive can upgrade the system to include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which is definitely worth doing.
Sure, it could have some more modern accoutrements, but we’re forgiving the Vantage for one simple reason: it’s among the most fun, characterful and affordable Astons money can buy.