Rwc13
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Having been told that I need to be careful about what I drive long distances, I decided I would sell both my current Maseratis and buy one special car to use for short trips and weekend blasts, and that I would love to spend time cleaning and waxing etc. I spent quite a while thinking about the options. I still preferred the idea of a GT car to an outright sports cars - I just prefer the drive and the general look. So I narrowed it down to another Maserati Granturismo Sport, a Bentley Continental, a Lotus Evora, an Aston Martin Vantage or DB9, a Porsche 991, or a Mercedes AMG GT.
I ruled out the Mercedes pretty quickly as not feeling special enough - the interior is too generic Mercedes for me and I really don’t think it’s a pretty car. The Porsche, also dropped away pretty quickly - I had a 997 briefly and, despite its abilities, I just didn’t gel with it and they are also too many of the standard 991s to feel special. The Bentley was next to go - although, possibly, the most comfortable, I don’t really like the image and it’s such a big heavy car even in V8 form. The Lotus Evora 400 appealed a lot - I’ve been a long term Lotus fan and have had many cars, including an Evora S, but the seats are lacking in the adjustability I really need, particularly height. So, I was left with the GT Sport and the two Astons as my short list.
I’ve effectively had 6 Granturismo in various forms over the years and also two V8 Vantages, and I suppose I really wanted to try something different. Obviously, if the Alfieri was around, that would have been the potential winner, but sadly that is still some way off it seems. So I started to really focus in on the DB9 as an option.
I did quite a lot of research first - it is said to be quite a bit more comfortable than the Vantage due to the suspension set up and longer wheelbase. It also has the V12 - I’ve never owned a car with more than 8 cylinders. And the quality and reliability is reported to have improved significantly as the DB9 was developed. I’ve always loved the shape but feel the early cars look quite dated now. However, the post Virage rework is said to be a much better developed car and still looks very contemporary to my eyes. So I test drove one this week at Aston Martin Wilmslow, and was immediately hooked. The engine, as others have said, is incredible and the car felt fantastic to drive and amazingly special from the moment I saw it and climbed in. It was also more comfortable than I expected. Despite the roofline being 7 cm lower than the GT Sport, you can raise the seat base higher both front and back irrespective of how far back you have the seat. The seats also have 2 separate lumbar supports, high and low, which enable you to adjust the seat to really support your lower back shape. I drove the car for an hour and no discomfort during or after.
So we discussed a deal with my QP5 in part exchange. Time of year and their keenness to move stock pretty soon got an attractive deal on the table. Effectively the QP5 as a deposit and £12.06/month for two years with a realistic balloon payment. Yes that’s right, £12.06/month due to the anticipated high residual value. I wouldn’t normally take finance for a car purchase, but since this is almost interest free credit for 2 years, I thought why not, particularly since the finance company is taking the risk on future residual value to some extent.
Of course, having financed it on these terms, I’m now thinking why not hang on to the GS Spyder for a while - they would be make rather nice garage-mates.
So, I collect the car this afternoon. Here’s a few of the Dealer’s photos.
I ruled out the Mercedes pretty quickly as not feeling special enough - the interior is too generic Mercedes for me and I really don’t think it’s a pretty car. The Porsche, also dropped away pretty quickly - I had a 997 briefly and, despite its abilities, I just didn’t gel with it and they are also too many of the standard 991s to feel special. The Bentley was next to go - although, possibly, the most comfortable, I don’t really like the image and it’s such a big heavy car even in V8 form. The Lotus Evora 400 appealed a lot - I’ve been a long term Lotus fan and have had many cars, including an Evora S, but the seats are lacking in the adjustability I really need, particularly height. So, I was left with the GT Sport and the two Astons as my short list.
I’ve effectively had 6 Granturismo in various forms over the years and also two V8 Vantages, and I suppose I really wanted to try something different. Obviously, if the Alfieri was around, that would have been the potential winner, but sadly that is still some way off it seems. So I started to really focus in on the DB9 as an option.
I did quite a lot of research first - it is said to be quite a bit more comfortable than the Vantage due to the suspension set up and longer wheelbase. It also has the V12 - I’ve never owned a car with more than 8 cylinders. And the quality and reliability is reported to have improved significantly as the DB9 was developed. I’ve always loved the shape but feel the early cars look quite dated now. However, the post Virage rework is said to be a much better developed car and still looks very contemporary to my eyes. So I test drove one this week at Aston Martin Wilmslow, and was immediately hooked. The engine, as others have said, is incredible and the car felt fantastic to drive and amazingly special from the moment I saw it and climbed in. It was also more comfortable than I expected. Despite the roofline being 7 cm lower than the GT Sport, you can raise the seat base higher both front and back irrespective of how far back you have the seat. The seats also have 2 separate lumbar supports, high and low, which enable you to adjust the seat to really support your lower back shape. I drove the car for an hour and no discomfort during or after.
So we discussed a deal with my QP5 in part exchange. Time of year and their keenness to move stock pretty soon got an attractive deal on the table. Effectively the QP5 as a deposit and £12.06/month for two years with a realistic balloon payment. Yes that’s right, £12.06/month due to the anticipated high residual value. I wouldn’t normally take finance for a car purchase, but since this is almost interest free credit for 2 years, I thought why not, particularly since the finance company is taking the risk on future residual value to some extent.
Of course, having financed it on these terms, I’m now thinking why not hang on to the GS Spyder for a while - they would be make rather nice garage-mates.
So, I collect the car this afternoon. Here’s a few of the Dealer’s photos.