Tråd: The very best of British: Jaguar vs Aston Martin

De immaterielle ur er charmerende af Aston Martin badge ikke er nok for V8 Vantage står stolt mod talentfulde konkurrenter som Jaguar XKR-S. Jaguar versus Aston Martin er lidt ligesom Senna vs Prost eller Borg vs McEnroe i den som en entusiast, har du tendens til at være en fan af ene eller den anden, men ikke begge. Der er Jag mennesker og der er Aston folk, med andre ord, og mens selve produkterne ofte deler en uhyggelig ligner hinanden, de mærker, hvorfra de bringes er subtilt forskellige.
Aston Martin har en konkret åleglat charme over det, en rystet men ikke omrøres cool, der adskiller det som værende noget og der er næsten uvurderlige. En Jaguar, på den anden side er mere folk luksusbil – en venligere, mere opnåeligt, men stadig resolut britiske ikon, som er normalt billigere og mindre sjælden end dens tilsvarende Aston.
Bortset fra i dag, selvfølgelig, Jaguars bliver stadig dyrere, og selv om Astons ikke er præcis droppe i værdien af andelen, kløften mellem to er skrumpet ind til punktet på næsten totale ikke-eksistens. Hvilket er grunden til det var interessant at sammenligne vores langsigtede XKR-S cabriolet (105k med muligheder) med vores V8 Vantage (102k med valgmuligheder) for en video vi skudt sidste uge.
Aston er en dejlig bil for alle slags grunde, ikke mindst som er det udseende. Det har noget om det udadtil, gør du smiler. Det er smukke fra stort set alle vinkler, og selvom det synes helt små – dainty, endda – ved siden af de større og brawnier XKR-S, er det utvivlsomt den mere elegante af to. Ikke blot uden for, men inde i sin hånd-udformet håndbagage også.
Og endnu... Theres noget om den Vantage, der synes mærkeligt utilfredsstillende sammen med XKR-S. I enkle vendinger, dens temmelig indlysende, at det ikke kan håndtere jaguaren dynamisk og dens ikke nær så kraftfuld (420bhp vs 542bhp), så ikke noget lignende som hurtig. Det også har en langt mindre beroligende tur og genererer en masse mere road støj på noget over 2 km/h.
Men selv hvis du ignorerer headline stuff og fokusere på detaljerne, de eneste aspekter at skelner Aston er dens udseende, kabine kvalitet og badge. Bare om alt andet – motor, ydeevne, gearkasse, er ride, styretøj, endda udstødningsgas note – bedre i Jaguar. I de fleste tilfælde, meget bedre.
Hvilket betyder hvad, præcis? Er Aston Martins nu overflødige, fordi Jaguars er blevet så god? Overhovedet ikke. Men Skriften er på væggen for Aston, og nyhederne er dette: produkterne, der blot skal levere mere i fremtiden for at forblive konkurrencedygtige i deres prisklasser. Ellers givet en dag kunden vil simpelthen gå anden vej, at theres så megen ekspertise på tilbud andre steder. Og hvis det sker, ikke engang James Bond vil komme til undsætning.

The intangible allure of the Aston Martin badge isn't enough for the V8 Vantage to stand proud against talented competitors like the Jaguar XKR-S. Jaguar versus Aston Martin is a bit like Senna vs Prost or Borg vs McEnroe in that, as an enthusiast, you tend to be a fan of one or the other, but not both. There are Jag people and there are Aston people, in other words, and while the products themselves often share an uncanny resemblance to one another, the brands from which they emanate are subtly different.
Aston Martin has a tangibly suave allure about it, a shaken but not stirred cool that distinguishes it as being something thats almost priceless. A Jaguar, on the other hand, is more the peoples luxury car – a friendlier, more attainable, but still resolutely British icon thats usually cheaper and less rare than its equivalent Aston.
Except nowadays, of course, Jaguars are becoming increasingly expensive, and although Astons arent exactly dropping in value by proportion, the gap between the two has shrunk to the point of almost total non-existence. Which is why it was interesting to compare our long-term XKR-S convertible (105k with options) with our V8 Vantage (102k with options) for a video we shot just last week.
The Aston is a lovely car for all sorts of reasons, not least of which is the way it looks. It has something about it outwardly that makes you smile. It is beautiful from pretty much every angle, and although it appears quite small – dainty, even – beside the bigger and brawnier XKR-S, it is unquestionably the more elegant of the two. Not just outside but inside its hand-crafted cabin, too.
And yet… Theres something about the Vantage that seems curiously unsatisfying alongside the XKR-S. In simple terms, its fairly obvious that it cant deal with the Jaguar dynamically and its nowhere near as powerful (420bhp vs 542bhp), so isnt anything like as quick. It also has a far less soothing ride and generates a lot more road noise at anything above 2mph.
But even if you ignore the headline stuff and focus on the details, the only aspects that distinguish the Aston are its looks, cabin quality and badge. Just about everything else – engine, performance, gearbox, ride, steering, even the exhaust note – is better in the Jaguar. In most cases, much better.
Which means what, exactly? Are Aston Martins now redundant because Jaguars have become so good? Not at all. But the writing is on the wall for Aston, and the news is this: the products simply must deliver more in future to remain competitive within their price ranges. Otherwise one day the customer will simply walk the other way, given that theres so much excellence on offer elsewhere. And if that happens, not even James Bond will come to the rescue.