2020 Aston Martin DB11

SPEAKER: What we have here is the all-new, 2018 Aston Martin DB11 V8, a entry level-ish version of the V12. It has 503 horsepower, compared to the 600 with the V12. After driving it on some epic roads however, I don't really think that's much of a sacrifice. And according to the engineers, they shaved off 243 pounds off the nose by dropping those four extra cylinders. That shifts the weight backwards a bit, so the balance is a little more biased towards the rear which is what you want out of a sports car. Is it that big of a difference? No not really, because this isn't so much a sports a grand touring car. Prices start at right around $200,000 for the V8. Step up to the V12, and you're going to pay another $16,000. But they cautioned me that the average transaction price is more like a quarter of a million. So I've had a slightly complicated relationship with Aston Martins in the past. Don't get me wrong, I love the way they look. I love the way they drive. They sound spectacular. But the interior needed a whole lot of work. There are all sorts of parts sharing pieces from Volvo, and the build quality was, in my opinion, horrible. It just didn't feel special for a car that's approaching $300,000. That's all changed with the DB11 now. All of the switches, all of the infotainment, the command dial, it's all from Mercedes. And it all works just the way it should. So let's take a look at this Aston Martin DB11. Up front we have the typical Aston Martin grille. That's a signature piece. It's instantly recognizable. These wonderful segmented LED headlights. All of the surfacing on the hood is absolutely gorgeous. It's classy. It's not trying too hard. This piece right here, this little accent that cuts into the wheel well, I think is brilliant. It's subtle enough, but it's still striking. Down here on the rocker panel there's a nice cutaway as well, shave some of that visual weight off and gives it this nice side sill that kind of juts out like a race car. It's got these nice broad, sweeping hips back here and signature Aston Martin taillights as well. So along the side here, you see it's really nice and clean and flush. There's no protruding door handle. One thing I also like about Aston Martins is this hinge for the door pivots up a little bit so that, if you see the door here, there is a huge amount of clearance so that you're not going to scrape on any curbs. All these sculpted lines come together so beautifully. And this rear deck lid, also covered in leather. There's a button on the driver's door to open the trunk. Otherwise, you've got to go to your pocket, and pop it open here. The trunk itself, it's pretty small. But you know what, for a weekend jaunt, for a couple, totally fine. [MUSIC PLAYING] So here I am driving the 11 V8, and it's really quite nice. Now it's a little stiff for a grand tourer, but you know what, I'm not going to complain about that. It's very sporty. It feels a little bit heavy, but also not a problem for a grand tourer. There's a lot of road noise, and a little bit of wind noise here and there too. But this is a rather coarse asphalt I'm driving on right now. The seat comfort, now even though the padding isn't all that cushiony and pillowy, it's pretty firm. But it's really well-shaped, at least for me. I'm 5' 10", moderate body type, and it's roomy enough. The side bolsters aren't so aggressive that I feel like it's pinching into my rib cage or anything. All right, here we go. So right now I'm in GT mode, which is the default mode. It's supposed to be the most comfortable. It's not bad. You're feeling everything on the road, but it's not harsh. There's enough compliance where the mid-corner bumps aren't really affecting anything. The steering's pretty light in this mode. Switch to sport mode, see what that does. Little bit more effort. Now this does have adaptive dampers. It will stiffen up the suspension. And I felt a little bit of a jolt there, over a bump in the big corner, but still plenty of compliance. So it's not nervous. Oh, it sounds great. Let's go to sport plus. Brakes feel pretty good. It's a bit of a soft pedal, but that's all right as well. It feels like I can ask for a downshift even though the revs might be a little too high. But when I do get to a low enough rev, it will finally execute it. OK, a little bit of understeer there, but that was a down hill, and I was cooking it into there. Visibility's OK. The A-pillar here, I kind of have to bob back and forth in left turns, but it's not so thick that I feel like I'm missing something. Out the rear it's pretty bad, especially right now with the lighting hitting that rear deck. It's just kind of washed out in the sunlight. The mirrors are set out pretty far, and you have really good view outward at least. The V8 has 500 horsepower. That's 97 less than the V12, but it's about $16,000 less than the V12. So having not driven the V12 yet, I'd be just fine with the V8. [MUSIC PLAYING] The sound system of this, it's a Bang and Olufsen system, and it sounds amazing. I also like what they've done with the instrument panel. It's a full virtual panel, and it gives you all the pertinent information, and it's really easy to read a glance. Everything else, these buttons fall right to hand just the way I like. They do have one of these push button transmission selectors. I'm not that big a fan of it, but at least it's very clearly marked. And they are a really nice kind of glass buttons. Same with the engine start-stop button. The leather work in here is fantastic. Every surface is impeccable. The stitching's perfect everywhere you look. The headliner has the same pattern that's in the seats. It looks almost like a really nice expensive wingtip shoe with these little holes and stitching done through it. They don't have traditional, physical buttons for some of the center stack stuff. They're the kind of glassy, flat, capacitive touch things. That I'm not a big fan of because you still have to look down to operate them. It's not as tactile, where you just kind of run your finger across and know where it is. But that said, with the automatic climate control, pretty much you just set it one time, you never have to touch it again. Nitpicks. Love this car. So that's pretty much it for the drive. I got to put a lot of miles on the DB11 V8, and I have to say I love it. Is it worth the $200,000 price tag? Well if you're considering a car that expensive, yes. Even against its competition which is really stiff, and we're talking about the Audi R8, Porsche Turbo, and the high end there, it does really well against it. It may not be the fastest, may not be the most convenient, may not be the most comfortable even, but I think it's the prettiest. So there's my verdict. I love it. For more information on the DB11 as well as its competition, head over to edmunds.com. 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