997 Carrera S what car next????

[Pid]

I would bother with an Aston unless your going for a V12. I switched by B7 RS4 after 3 wonderful years for a 4.3 Vantage and will agree with all the previous comments. Sounded amazing, got all the attention you can handle, personally had no issues with the car and used it everyday. BUT! It severely lacked in the speed front, it just felt sluggish after the RS. One other thing was I found the gear stick a little far back and when prolonged driving in traffic gave me shoulder ache...
I switched it for an M3 DCT after 14 months and found that a far more entertaining car. Great on the track as well.
Now back in an RS4 (B8) and love it, it ticks all my boxes.
Just as a thought, have you looked at Gran Turismo Maserati? Granted the R8 is a better car, but nothing sounds better than a Maser. Plus £60k will get you a 2-3 year old one

[Kiergrills]

Astons' are a different proposition to something like an R8.
The 4.3 is simply woeful - I really really wouldn't bother looking at one as you'll just walk away shaking your head.
The 4.7 is a much better car and the power is more balanced... but even then this is seriously "old school" tech and you may still find it wanting. It's not as sharp, precise or "sporty" as some of the other suggestions however you could easily use it every day (bar the fuel costs which are worse than the rs4) and you will get noticed which is more the point of the car. You can't help but smile when you catch a reflection in a shop window or something. That's what the aston is about. It's tue also what Clarkson says... there really is something odd (in a good way) about when your wife says "we need to go to the shops" and you reply "shall we take the aston?".
Always comes back to what you are looking for (and budget). If you want something that is fast then the gtr is pretty much untouchable at this price bracket.
Bit of a curve ball but worth looking at an Evora S as they have a reasonable bit of go (same as an R8 v8 and way way faster than aston), usuable everyday but different enough to be special... And I would say a better driving "feel" car than Porsche, audi and gtr. If you want to forgo the luxury then the Exige V6 is frankly bonkers.

adsgreen
This is what I was worried about with the 4.3 but by the sounds of it the 4.7 is not worth the extra! From what I gather the driving experience is nice for a short while but the general feeling is its lacking in power and general running costs and depreciation are quite high!! Thanks for the suggesting the Evora S but I think it's a little to stripped out for the missus but just in case I am trying to organize a test drive for this weekend lets see how it goes

If agree entirely with Adsgreen about the Aston, you'll be bitterly disappointed if you're looking for anything that remotely resembles a 'driving experience'. Sure, it's an occasion to drive one, but you'll constantly be wanting more power, better turn in and bits of trim that don't rattle or fall off
I've a good mate who put a lot of cash into a recent V8 Vantage, and it's an utter bag. It's been back to the dealers 4 or 5 times in the first year and a bit and my RS4 can leave it for dead in most situations. It depreciating quicker than he's paying it off and the factory are arguing every warranty issue.
However, if you want the cool image that goes with driving the same brand of car as James Bond, then an Aston is for you, and he only ever gets positive comments on it.
Try a C63, it's a great sounding hooligans car and if you can sell of a kidney, child or the ice to step up to a V10 R8, thorn it's a great car
Have you considered a 997turbo or an early 997 GT3 ?

Graeme4130
Sounds like your mate has had a bad example, and if its had to visit the dealer 4-5 times he must be really pissed! I don't like hearing that the factory are willing to argue every warranty issue this is definitely not the headache I am looking for. I do love the sound of the C63 but its quite a big car and the missus thinks I want/need a two seater for fun so I am trying to stay away from the bigger coupe's for now. I have looked at the 997 GT3 but to stripped/raw for the missus to even get into but the Turbo still hasn't been ruled out its just I think I need a change in the Interior so that is why I am looking outside of the 911 range. Thanks again for the input

wouldnt go jap, the gtr looks a beast but the interior is made from old washing machines and the maintenance costs are too high.
astons are poor too, they are a posh ford, really not a fan and the wheel choice is baaaaad. and are a bit late mid life crisis
id go r8 v10 allllllllll day long,
anything will be better than the interior on a porsche and the tag its labelled with so you cant loose

Rick_RS4
"interior is made from old washing machines" Man this comment gave me a good laugh! I had the same feeling regarding the Aston it being a posh Ford but my god they are pretty and they do sound nice. This is/was my first Porsche(had to see what all the talk was about) but to be honest I was not all that impressed. I liked the engine and they way it delivered the power but the interior left it down badly I think.

I used to have a 997 Carrera S and changed it for .... a B7 RS4! I had quite a few Porsches before but found the 997 experience rather anodyne. However, I also run a 4.7 Vantage. I think some of the "heresay" comments above are wide of the mark (or the marque!). I've had my Vantage for nearly three years and it's been very reliable, with no major rattles and nothing's "fallen off"! General running costs and depreciation have both been quite high, though. It's a lovely car, though - stunning exterior and very special interior, and it's this latter aspect that really sets it apart from the R8 in my opinion. Sitting in the R8 just doesn't feel as special.
A couple of points above I do agree with, though. The Aston driving experience is a bit "old school", and it is erring towards the GT side of the sports car spectrum. I got mine as a frequent use car, and it's proven very practical in this respect. Very comfortable, all the "tech" you need, and a decent size boot - which is another advantage over the R8.

I wouldn't rule out a 4.3 Vantage, though - there are plenty of after market upgrades you can get which bring the engine up to and beyond the 4.7. More of an issue for me would be the improvement of the interior and overall build quality of the later 4.7s.

Engine wise, though, regardless of which Vantage, I think the R8 wins hands down. Better sound and much more characterful. A marginally better driving experience all round, really.

IMO opinion both are streets ahead of the 997 in terms of "fun", "specialness". and character. If I was choosing between a 4.3 Vantage and an R8, I'd probably go for the R8. With the later 4.7, the decision would be much harder.

drcarrera
Sounds like you have quite a bit of experience with Porsche and Aston. I agree with the Porsche being a little boring and to be honest I find it hard to see the difference between the Porsche models when talking about interiors they all look the same. The Aston win hands down on Interior looks but exterior looks of the R8 is hard to beat. Seems like your experience with Aston is quite good but as you have mentioned the driving feels a bit old school. If I could afford a V10 R8 I would have no doubts about which car to buy but with the budget I have I am stuck between all the best model of cars like V8 Vantage S(just out of budget) R8 V10 (Out of budget) so unfortunately I'm stuck with this budget and of course the sensible thing to do would be save for a while longer for the V10 R8. I think I am leaning towards the R8 V8 for now and change it again within 6-12 months to the V10. Thanks again for the sharing your experience.

I went from an S4 cab to a 4.3 V8 Vantage and the noise of the Aston was immense, and for a short period that contributed to it feeling faster than it was. After a year of the Aston a 'shall we go to the shops' vehicle became my wife's then BMW X5 as you could you jump in that and go, with the Aston it seemed an effort from getting it/parking/worrying it would be keyed/cleaning! The Aston interior was a lovely place to be, and a big head turner, and thankfully nothing went wrong on mine. Aston parts/servicing/repair costs are very steep, fuel consumption similar to most V8's - looking at your fleet I am sure that is not in the equation! Best bit about my Aston was the sounds - both inside and outside the car, the stereo system was awesome, but as has been mentioned, the tech was dated and that was 4 years ago. I drove a 4.7 and it was a little quicker and the engine a little more refined, but there was quite a price hike for the difference at the time.
I then moved to my RS4, and that is as comfortable, sounds almost as good and handles and goes quicker than the Aston.
Sounds like you have the RS 4 for speed, so why not go for the R8 V8 and upgrade to a V10 when budget allows?

Silverfox42
Thanks for the input! As said before I think the Aston is beautiful looking and has the interior to match but the lack of power and driver involvement are now putting me off especially as I have now heard the 4.7 is not worth the price increase.I think from what I have read that the Aston 4.3 is probably out of the running now and the stretch to the 4.7 doesn't sound like its worth it. For me petrol does not come into the equation, not when buying something in this range anyway I think you are bang on with getting the R8 V8 for now and when possible get the V10 (hopefully).

I would bother with an Aston unless your going for a V12. I switched by B7 RS4 after 3 wonderful years for a 4.3 Vantage and will agree with all the previous comments. Sounded amazing, got all the attention you can handle, personally had no issues with the car and used it everyday. BUT! It severely lacked in the speed front, it just felt sluggish after the RS. One other thing was I found the gear stick a little far back and when prolonged driving in traffic gave me shoulder ache...
I switched it for an M3 DCT after 14 months and found that a far more entertaining car. Great on the track as well.
Now back in an RS4 (B8) and love it, it ticks all my boxes.
Just as a thought, have you looked at Gran Turismo Maserati? Granted the R8 is a better car, but nothing sounds better than a Maser. Plus £60k will get you a 2-3 year old one

Pid
Man I would love to be able to afford a V12 Aston and maybe you are correct these cars would be something special with a V12, from all the advise regarding the V8 Aston's I think the Aston is out of the running. I hate having a car that sounds fast but in fact it's NOT ,for me it seems like I would be hating on the Aston quite quickly and would be looking to change again within 6 months. I also have owned a BMW M5 V10 which I loved and was great fun to track so this time around I would like something a little smaller that is why the Maseratti is not in the running(wheel base too long) and where I live the roads are quite twisty and she is just too big to have fun(must admit I love the Maser exhaust note). Enjoy the new RS4 B8


I will test drive Evora S and see what they are like but for now it looks like it could be the R8 V8. Thanks again guys for all input and ideas I love this forum

[adsgreen]

Stripped out???
The evora is actually quite a nice place to sit - it's certainly no track day special or an elise!


And from some angles it looks stunning and makes a change from the usual suspects.


Really recommend a good test drive if you can get one. Just remember like the B7 RS4, there's nothing electrical going on bar some TCS and SCS should you go a bit over the top. Just a really well sorted chassis that does a great job of riding and handling.

[adsgreen]

any decision yet?

[Kiergrills]

No decision yet, the Evora S test drive at the weekend was cancelled due to work but have it reorganized it for this weekend weather permitting(its snowing here).


The Lotus I have organized a test drive in is not as nice as the blue one pictured above but I just need to see how it handles and if the interior will pass for the missus. I am also in the process of trying to organize a test in an R8 on the same weekend/day if possible so I can have a clear comparison. Maybe another new contender the F-Type Coupe.

[Ian_C]

What a trio to have on the drive!!

[Kiergrills]

What a trio to have on the drive!!

between them around 1225 Hp on the drive

[Kiergrills]

Hello Guys

Its been a while since I updated this post!

Lotus Evora S
Since the last post I have test drove so many cars, Lotus Evora S as suggested by Adsgreen (thanks again for the suggestion really enjoyed the test drive and I will have to try and sneak one of these into the garage at some point), what a car to drive I loved it and the interior was so much nicer in real life than any pictures I had seen. The only thing the missus didn't like is having to climb over the massive door sill to get in (not so graceful in a short skirt ) so unfortunately this ruled out the Lotus for NOW.


C63 AMG
Also took a C63 AMG for a test drive and had it for a full week!! Man what a sound this car makes, every tunnel I came across I could not help it but plant the throttle and unlucky for me in car hating Switzerland I got a NICE FINE FOR THIS
Even with the trouble with Swiss police I still enjoyed the rest of the weeks test drive with this amazing engine! But in the long run I can see this car getting me in big trouble with the Swiss, so this is also out.

Ferrair F430
Loved driving this, it just felt so tight and responsive, loved the exhaust note but the running/servicing costs are almost twice that of an Audi R8 so the Ferrari will have to wait another few years and hopefully the 458 will be in my price range by then.

So after all this we decided to up the budget to 80,000 euro which is around 66,000 Sterling and try and find a nice r8 V10. So far I have found a few nice R8 V10, if anyone is interested or has any advise please have a flick through the links for the R8 I am looking at. All cars have a warranty!

Red R8 V10 600ps

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/au ... res=EXPORT


Emerald Green R8 V10

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/au ... eage=80000


Black R8 V10 (pity its black, love the interior)

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/au ... eage=80000

Thanks for reading

Kiergrills

[Silverfox42]

Love the Emerald green one - what a beaut. That interior is not for me though, but then I don't have €80k to spend currently!!
Good luck with the decision...

[Kiergrills]

Love the Emerald green one - what a beaut. That interior is not for me though, but then I don't have €80k to spend currently!!
Good luck with the decision...

Cheers Silverfox!
Yea the Green one does look nice, and I like the interior,I just hate a completely black interior. I have searched for the last few months on the Net and have never seen one in this colour and the km is not bad either, for now this is the one I am leaning towards. I have also found a really nice one in Red without the Black optics pack (which I like) but it is being advertised with the r8 wheels(don't like the style) maybe Audi will change them out of goodwill.

Cheers

[S4Player]

V10 in red gives me funny feelings in my S4Player private parts. Just looks so good

[adsgreen]

The wide sills are part of the charm
Makes you feel like you are in the car rather than on it.

[Kiergrills]

V10 in red gives me funny feelings in my S4Player private parts. Just looks so good

Hey S4player,
Yes the Red V10 is also very nice! I have not seen one in real life just pictures but yes with the Black Optics Pack it does look good.

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/au ... res=EXPORT

Don't know if I should be looking at the 600ps one or not, I am a little worried about how hard a life it has had.
Advert lists the specs as follows:

Options:
ceramic brake system
Bang & Olufsen Sound System
Audi exclusive bucket seats
Seat covers in leather " Nappa "
Heated seats
LED headlights
R -Tronic sequential manual transmission
MMI navigation plus system with color display
Carbon inlays
Carbon Side Blades
Carbon Engine Cover
Engine room lights
Alcantara headliner
Interior mirror, automatically dimming
Automatic anti dazzle mirror , heated and electric . anklappbar
Hill Start Assist
cruise Control
Multi -function steering wheel
Parking sensors front and rear
CD changer ( 6 -fold)
Reversing camera
garage door opener
Rain and light sensor
Telephone Preparation for mobile phone with hands-free


changes :

Software tuning to 600 hp by Evos
Optimized exhaust system from ASG
Lowering by H & R springs in combination with Audi Magnetic Ride
Wheel of the R8 GT in black
Front grille , mirrors and gas cap in black

Damage free
collector's car
( Never been driven in winter) season Pure vehicle
very well maintained
German vehicle
Maintenance Guide for Audi
Last inspection 04 /2014 Non smoking vehicle

Tires / Brakes:

19 " complete set of special edition R8 GT in 8.5 + 11 x 19 ( rear tire new in 04/ 2014)
Brakes in good condition

Really sounds like a nice one and if it has just been tested by Audi I would hope there are no problems!! As far as I know the list of options is good what do you think? Do you have any experience with R8?



Kieran

[Kiergrills]

The wide sills are part of the charm
Makes you feel like you are in the car rather than on it.

Hey adsgreen

Thanks for the heads up on the Lotus, really enjoyed the drive and will definitely be buying one of these in the future! (maybe when my missus doesnt look so good in short skirts )

I agree, I like the idea of having to drop into your driving seat, I kind of of have this feeling in the Porsche. Of course on day of the test drive it was a beautiful sunny day and the missus was not impressed with throwing the leg over in her short skirt, even the sales man had a bit of a laugh about it. Since the test drive I have found a Lotus specialist near my home so its only a matter of time

Cheers again for the input

Kieran

[adsgreen]

Apparently there is a nack to getting in/out with short skirts but not something I've personally had to worry about.
oh - if you are really looking for something a bit different and laugh out loud I can strongly vouch for having a go in a 211. Recalibrates bonkers.