GIVING IN TO TEMPTATION

Early DB9s can be irresistibly cheap-but be on your guard

- JOHN EVANS

How does a V12 Aston Martin DB9 for the price of an average-mileage, four-year-old, Mk7.5 Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance sound? That's the opportunity awaiting someone with £22,000.

Obviously they couldn't be more different and, as a sage once said, buy a DB9 cheap, pay twice. Still, almost twice as powerful, three times as many cylinders, over a second quicker to 60mph and looks that will give you neck ache from turning back to admire it. As 2030 looms and new V12s drink in the last-chance saloon, a cheap DB9 is stupidly tempting - running costs aside, of course.