Parimaid Briti: Jaguar vs Aston Martin

Aston Martin pääsme immateriaalse allure ei piisa V8 Vantage seista uhke vastu andekas konkurendid nagu Jaguar XKR-s Jaguar ja Aston Martin meenutab pisut Senna vs Prost või Borg vs McEnroe sellega nagu entusiast, siis kipuvad fänn üks või teine, kuid mitte mõlemat. Jag inimene ja Aston inimene, see tähendab, ja kui tooted ise kasutavad üksteisega võõrastav, kust need pärinevad kaubamärgid on delikaatselt erinevad.
Aston Martin on käegakatsutavalt leebe allure midagi, loksutada, kuid mitte segada lahe, et nagu oleks midagi, mis on peaaegu hindamatu. Jaguar, teiselt poolt, on rohkem Rahvaste luksus car-sõbralikumaks, rohkem saavutatav, kuid ikka resoluutselt Briti ikooni, mis on tavaliselt odavam ja vähem harv kui samaväärse Aston.
Välja arvatud tänapäeval muidugi, jaaguarid on muutumas üha kallimaks ja kuigi Astons ei ole täpselt kukutades hinna osa, kaks lõhet kahanenud kuni punktini, peaaegu täielik puudumine. Mis on, miks see oli huvitav võrrelda meie pikaajalise XKR-S Kabriolett (105k koos võtmetega) video meie tulistas just eelmisel nädalal meie V8 Vantage (102k võimalusi).
Aston on armas auto erinevatel põhjustel, mitte vähem, mis on kuidas see välja. See on midagi kohta väliselt, mis paneb sind naeratama. Päris palju iga nurga alt on ilus ja kuigi see tundub üsna väike – hõrk, isegi – kõrval suurem ja brawnier XKR-S, on kahtlemata rohkem elegantne kaks. Mitte ainult väljaspool vaid käsitööna Budget selle liiga.
Ja veel... Theres midagi Vantage, mis tundub uudishimulikult ebaküllaldane kõrval XKR-s Lihtsamalt öeldes, selle üsna selge, et see ei saa käsitleda Jaguar dünaamiliselt ja selle kaugeltki nii võimas (420bhp vs 542bhp), nii et ei ole midagi nii kiire. Samuti on vähem rahustav sõitma ja tekitab palju rohkem maanteemüra juures midagi eespool 2mph.
Aga isegi kui ignoreerida headline kraami ning keskenduda üksikasjad ainus aspekte, mis eristavad Aston on ootab, salongi kvaliteedi ja embleem. Peaaegu kõik muu – mootor, tulemuslikkuse, käigukast, sõita, rooli, isegi heitgaasi märkus – on parem Jaguar. Enamikel juhtudel palju paremini.
Mis tähendab, mida täpselt? Ülearust Aston Martins nüüd sest jaaguarid on muutunud nii hea? Üldsegi mitte. Aga kirjutamine on Aston seinale ja uudis on see: toodete lihtsalt peavad täitma rohkem tulevikus konkurentsivõimeline oma hinnapiirid. Muidu üks päev klient lihtsalt kõndida muul viisil antud et theres nii palju tipptasemel pakutavate mujal. Ja sellisel juhul pole isegi James Bond tulevad appi.

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.