Aston Martin Virage: A gentleman’s car

The new Virage is intended to plug the gap between Aston Martin's DB9 and the more hardcore DBS models, says Steve Sutcliffe in Autocar. The company intends it to be more "a gentleman's" than a driver's car. That means, more of a grand tourer than a hardcore sports car. But if you have never driven an Aston before, the Virage will still "seem sensational in just about everything it does".

It has a "fantastic blend of performance, handling, ride, steering and braking composure", says Suttcliffe, and is "a big improvement over the DB9" and "a far better car to drive than the DBS". It rides beautifully and quietly and the handling "has a measured, cohesive polish to it that is strangely absent from the harder-edged DBS". There "may be a whiff of familiarity about the Virage" it looks much the same as the rest of the Aston range but "this is, without question, a very fine GT car".

It is a bit cramped inside and the ride is hard, but it is a beautiful car, says Jeremy Clarkson in The Sunday Times. "I'm completely in love with it. It's a hard car, and a hard car to operate, and there are those who say that the wheels are coming off Aston's previously untarnished brand kudos. But get into a Virage in a morning and I guarantee you will feel good. Better than if you were getting into almost anything else."

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