Manoeuvring the old Vanquish a few inches this way and another few that to position it for a photograph is like being told to waltz with your granny when you’re 13. ‘Awkward’ barely covers the stilted, uncertain movements that result. It’s that dratted gearbox again.
But soon we’re off and over the mountain. The driving position is slightly odd – I’m sat too high and there’s no relevant control on the seat, and the steering wheel has a pathetic range of rake and reach adjustment, but in the context of what we’re doing this is no great tribulation.
Of more concern is not that first impressions are mixed, but almost exclusively negative. There’s a distinct jerk every time you change up and while the ride is actually pretty good, it feels uncertain about how to approach corners, restless on its springs until they’re under decent compression, then the same again as the energy departs the chassis at the exit. And perhaps most sad, it just doesn’t feel that fast any more. Sorry about that. Drive an old Vanquish as I just did, minutes after emerging from a couple of hours in the new car, and with that as your point of reference, it will not fail to disappoint.
Read part one
