2015 Aston Martin DB9 Reviews

I have a friend - yes, it's true - who is a keen cyclist and who, among other challenges, has circumnavigated Australia on his treadly.  Despite living some distance from the CBD, he cycles to his city office on occasions when the weather is fair and may take to the road on weekends for a bit of extra legwork.  Cycling doesn't imply that my friend practices financial restraint because when he gets out of the lycra he gets into his Saab convertible."I would never have a car with a roof again," he says. "It's just like being on a bike. You see more, feel more, hear more and I get to wherever I'm going without feeling captured, closed in and stressed. I even drive a bit slower."Which answers questions about the Sunday driving style of many convertible owners and specifically ignores all the potential downsides of sunburn and erratic hair.  Convertibles, above all, are sexy. Yes, sexier than lycra. And this, Aston Martin's latest DBS Volante which is the first to land in Australia, is the sexiest of them all.Sexy is subjective but I've yet to find anyone disagreeable about the looks of an Aston Martin. Then you just take the top off and voila!  But it's more than that. Technically this V12-engined machine is identical to the DBS Coupe and V12 Vantage and one rung up from the DB9 models.It's designed for grand touring with a fang on the side, a car that will cosset you and your lady on your weekender yet at a press of the accelerator, capable of baring its teeth. Its bite really is as formidable as its bark.Pricing and fit-outAt $535,350 (plus on-road costs) this is the Touchmatic version that loses the clutch pedal and gains steering wheel paddle shifters and a civilised approach commuting. The six-speed manual, wonderful though it is, may become hard work in traffic.  It's priced to shout loudly at its arrival on the street and just in case you missed its vision, there's that distinctive "active" exhaust system to rasp its symphony up and down your spine.The Volante is a four-seater according to Aston literature. But the only way a human could occupy the beautifully sculptured leather cocoon behind the driver is to remove superfluous limbs or adjust the seat until the driver's chest is pressing on the steering wheel.  For two occupants. it's a lovely piece of work. The rear seats are good for shopping bags and that leaves plenty of legroom upfront.The cabin is pure Aston and identical to the rest of the range. Only trim and colour defines the models and in the case of the DBS Volante, includes carbon-fibre door pulls and centre console mask and the remains of selected cattle.  The roof is fabric and for the new model - identified predominantly by the clear tail light lenses - is thinner. That means more room for your head but Aston assures does not increase the intrusion of exterior noise. For heaven's sake, isn't there enough noise going on under the bonnet and out the tailpipes?The boot is just a small carpeted box and instead of a spare wheel there's an aerosol kit and the telephone number of a tilt-tray truck.  Volante owners who can be bothered also get an anti-buffeting screen for days and nights when the roof is down. They will appreciate, however, that when the wind is modest the roof can be raised or lowered at vehicle speeds of up to 48km/h.You don't have to make a spectacle of yourself stopped at the traffic lights, even if you wanted to, because the roof action is surprisingly rapid.  Running your fingers through the automatic gearbox is simply a matter of pressing the relevant button atop the centre console, with individual cogs commanded by the paddles sprouting from the steering column.The fun starts with the "Sports" button set low in the console, positioned almost out of temptation and alongside the equally fearful switch that disarms the electronic stability and traction system.  With a hot 380kW V12 under the alloy bonnet, you would think there was no need for a Sports button. In fact, it doesn't produce more power it just sharpens up drivetrain components so it reacts quicker, spins further and sounds even more magnetic.The button defaults to the off position and was so sorely missed that I had to keep turning it back on, even if it was to exaggerate the exhaust howl.DrivingDiscovering the importance of the button meant spending a cool morning on a vacant track, flicking up and down the paddles on the left and right and letting the tachometer needle close in on 8000rpm.  It has brilliant handling, with a bite in the corners and the immense torque on tap for a slingshot exit.Despite its bulk and its price tag, it's a very easy car to punt and even driven hard shows little tendency to lose the plot.  Though the Volante is mechanically identical to its DBS Coupe sister, there are distinct characteristics.  It rides so well you'd never think it had 20-inch wheels. Harsh traffic bumps that upset similar cars are simply glided over in the Volante.As if appreciating that a roof-down car invites more noise, the Volante's exhaust starts with a burble and crackle and then softens to being almost inaudible at 2000rpm before waking the dead when the engine hits 4000rpm.  This interval is where a driver - not necessarily you or me - would coast through narrow suburban streets and motor gently down a busy shopping strip.Here it is seen but not necessarily heard. You and I, of course, would select first cog and get the engine over 4000rpm and do a slow but raucous parade to make ourselves noticed and value-add the price we paid for the car. And for $535,350, we'd be within our rights.ASTON MARTIN DBS VOLANTEPrice: $535,350Engine: 6-litre, V12Power: 380kW @ 6500rpmTorque: 570Nm @ 5750rpmPerfomance: 0-100km/h: 4.3 seconds, top speed: 307km/h Economy (official): 16.4 litres/100km, (tested): 21.5 litres/100kmTransmission: 6-speed automatic, sequential; rear-driveRating: 90/100Rivals: Bentley Continental GTC Speed Conv ($480,997) 88/100 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder ($502,000) 91/100 Ferrari California ($459,650) 90/100 Mercedes SL65 AMG ($502,000) _ 89/1000

Aside from the purchase price, it would be expensive to insure, fuel, maintain and repair. But while the Aston costs the same as some other desirables, it simply isn't like the others. The DB9 needs a learned hand, a vacant road and a cool head to find respect.Otherwise it is a migraine.It is not an easy car to drive — especially in comparison with its step-sister, the Jaguar XK coupe — and nor is it especially comfortable, despite Aston clearly marketing this as a fully fledged Grand Tourer.The GT name fits, as long as the road surface is smooth — as it is in the important markets of Europe and the US but fairly rare in the antipodes where precious road tax is used to pave votes, not roads. In saying that, the DB9 isn't uncomfortable in the same way as crossing the Nullarbor by dray. Leather-wrapped seats with pedantic hand stitching are form-fitting so extended kilometres don't cause muscle pain.The steering wheel falls perfectly to hand, and the foot wells are unexpectedly wide, a product of Aston putting the engine at the front and the gearbox at the back. The instruments are big and clear and the switchgear is man-size, and suitably identified in simple language.But there is precious little personal storage space. Aston Martin's owner's manual is only 75mm deep, not because it looks chic but because it's the only size that fits in the envelope laughingly called the glovebox. The boot will take a soft overnight bag and another one for the make-up.Be happy with that because Aston has dispensed with the spare wheel.Puncture? There's a 1800-number to ring and someone will be right along. In the meantime, there are issues to discuss like when the children come along for the ride. Like, where to store their lower limbs.My daughter played origami in the back seat, buckled and bowed behind a passenger seat firmly forward and with her head forced forward because of the low roof height. She's 15.Clearly, the superb leather trim has clearly been wasted in the twin scalloped portals at the back.Best they simply become much needed storage space.I will also whinge about the ignition key that must be slide into a barely visible hole in the steering column. It's only partially over because it is extremely awkward to twist given the proximity of the fascia.Once clicked over, with a modest assembly of panel lights for consideration, it's over to the centre console for a stab at the start button.And here's where the fun starts. Here's that first dousing in the waters of fear as 12 pistons start their roaring, journey in the hot cylinders of hell.Prod again at the row of transmission selection buttons on the dash. But wait, there's more.Now release the right-side handbrake and firmly twist the steering wheel while applying judicious weight to the accelerator. Familiarity brings exploration and you find the Sport button — basically hell with an extra serving of cayenne pepper — then the paddle shifters behind the steering wheel rim.You will tempt fear by coaxing the engine on a bit further to revel in its seamless power-delivery set.It starts with a hollow, lonely cry as the engine passes through 3000rpm then takes on a deeper note hitting 5000rpm, then it's a gutteral scream of as the tacho swings towards 7000rpm.Being inside this can while the mechanical bits are going berserk is akin to being strapped naked, wearing only spurs, to the back of a peckish lion and then digging your heels in.The rush of speed, usually the most dominant of adrenalin-pumping senses, gets overwhelmed by the ear-thrashing roar of raw, raging power.This is James Bond's ride so Aston doesn't hold back, cutting the rope that once civilised 450 horsepower (it sounds a lot more menacing than 335kW, doesn't it?) to sling its aluminium-can body down the bitumen at speeds of up to 300km/h.SNAPSHOTDB9 COUPEPRICE: $245,500ENGINE: 6.0L/335kW/570NmPERFORMANCE: 0-100km/h 5.1 seconds, top speed 300km/hECONOMY: 16.5L/100km official; 16.8L/100km tested 

It's a steering wheel in leather and it, in turn, is attached to a car that for the first time in my life I will term as the automotive equivalent of gorgeous.Which is like the ethereal, out-of-body euphoria akin to your first date.Which makes the first date so memorable, and its translation into the first drive of Aston Martin's drop-top Volante.If somebody ever gets blase about cars, or grows green and rejects the excesses that come with fossil-fuelled transport, let them drive an Aston Martin.Like Marie Antionette reputedly calling for the masses to eat cake in response to reports the starving Parisians had no bread, the answer is Aston Martin.This amalgam of aluminium and a few of its alloys, a bit of rubber, some cows left too long in a Scottish paddock, and a 100 litres of the last remaining skerrick of fossil fuel is simply so good that it deserves bottling.On the road with the vinyl roof firmly sealed, the Volante is a coupe.The ride is quiet, cocooned and the forward motion is insulated in a manner expected of people who have too little time to worry about the nuances of traffic management.For those who appreciate this mobile distinction from the outside world, buy the coupe. Or a Holden Statesman.Drop the elaborately and hand-stitched fabric roof, however, and you return to the real world.In a car that brazenly advertises the death of acres of cows, the driver mysteriously doesn't die at the hands of animal libertarians.As it sucks the very lifeblood of every future Grand Prix champion, no grandparent stands in the way of an Aston Martin getting refuelled.It's just that type of car.Mechanically, this is a symphony of sound and the brutal meshing of various metals that live in a hostile environment of near-boiling oil and noxious gases.Its life surrounds its heart, a six-litre reciprocating engine with an outrageous 12 cylinders.This high-pressure pump drives through a six-speed automatic gearbox and, ultimately, the rear wheels.In between all this, the fragile driver hangs on. Listening, appreciating and, in some cases, close to wetting himself.Let all this go and the Aston Martin is a slingshot that isn't really made for the containment of suburbia.It'll rush to 3000rpm so quickly you thank its automatic gearbox.A blink or two later and it's closing on 7000rpm and you notice that the sound around you has changed.From the barking bass, the Aston senses higher revs and changes the baffles in the exhaust pipe so it changes pitch.Now, it's a scream in the higher register, mixed with the complaints of the mechanical components, so the sound is more urgent and more readily raises the hairs on the nape of the neck.There is no relaxing its mood, though on a more deserted road the paddle-shift changes on the steering wheel refrain the car's potency.Or you can just play numb and press big, draught-size discs on the centre dash that allocate the required gear. P for Park, R for Reverse, N for neutral and D for Drive.Oh, and the other one centering this quattro which is the press-button starter. Gorgeous.It starts with a bark, then has so much torque that it will simper off to the shops with madam in tow.One glance at the dashboard will show madam that despite this being merely an engine with room for two humans, the decor is surprisingly tempered.There's hand-stitched leather in a light tan and mahogany veneer in a burred chocolate flurry. Alloy-coloured trim shows the sporty nature of the beast, with suede for the inner layer of the electrically folding roof.There are beautifully tailored rear seats in which no child can sit.You can fit virtually nothing in the boot of any worth to an executive who can afford this car. Which doesn't appear to matter much.The passenger seemed happy, as did the ability of the Linn sound system to whack out 950W. Enough, I believe, to power a small town. I think that's gorgeous.