Aston Martin Vantage S

Tweaks to the chassis and aero, plus more power and attitude – in S form, one of our favourite Astons promises even bigger thrills

- by HENRY CATCHPOLE

TURN ON THE RADIO AT THE MOMENT and odds-on Olivia Dean will be pouring her own brand of vocal honey down the airwaves. 'I'm the perfect mix of Saturday night and the rest of your life/Anyone with a heart would agree/It's so easy to fall in love with me...'

They're the sort of lines that could apply to the Aston Martin Vantage as well. Certainly walking up to one early in the morning, spring sunlight catching the droplets on the paintwork, it's hard not to stand and stare for a moment. There are a lot of modern cars that make you squint a bit, or ask you to take some time to acclimatise to their looks in order to appreciate them. But there is no need to adjust to any new design language or understand complicated aero decisions with the Vantage.

For me, it is the best-looking model in the current Aston range. Compact but with plenty of One-77, it wears its bodywork very much the way Daniel Craig's 007 wore a suit, leaving no doubt about the musculature underneath. The S has slightly deeper vents in the bonnet, complete with new blades in black or carbon, and there is also a small carbon lip on the distinctive ducktail. The latter apparently adds another 44kg of downforce at the Vantage S's top speed of 202mph and there are some additional aero additions on the underside of the car, but none of it does anything to significantly disrupt or indeed elevate the standard car’s fabulous form.

Lift the rear hatch and there is plenty of boot space. Not something to make you fall in love, perhaps, but it's nice not to have to squash and squeeze your goods and chattels into an afterthought of a cubbyhole. Again, it makes the Vantage easy to like - and to imagine using and living with it every day.