Aston Martin DB9

The DB9 was the making of modern Aston Martin. It may well be that the new Vantage rams home the point in no uncertain terms, but for me, it will always be the big GT and not the Vanquish that rationalised the company into something reasonable. The justifications for Aston Martin ownership were no longer skewed with spurious subjectivity.

Gone is the unsettling feeling that you've somehow been seduced by a rosy glow of heritage and then knifed in a dark alley by the harsh reality of development budgets.

OK, so we're still smarting slightly about the Volvo satnav and dubious stalks, but the overriding feeling is that this car is something special. Which is why the manual version just isn't quite there.

The standard six-speed automatic gearbox with its override paddles behind the steering wheel is perfect for a GT, shifting smoothly and quickly without ever straying too far down an aggressive line that a big car might have to compromise itself to live up to.

This DB already felt as if it had some hard miles under its belt, with the gears meshing as though they were nestling up against a load of nylon bushes. There's a load of waggle from the stick itself as well, making the whole thing feel more inaccurate than it really is.

Strangely, the whole chassis feels more controlled, chuckable for such a big car, although the DB9 really does ride too harshly for its intended purpose.

OK, so you can duck and dive and hoon around in the manual DB9, but you never escape the feeling you're leathering a big car around when it would be happier waiting for a straight bit to unleash its six-litre V12.

Similarly, the clutch bite-point seems to be too far up the clutch travel to be comfortable, leading to a few blips of the throttle to make sure you're in gear. It doesn't feel natural, and it isn't satisfying.

It also has a tendency to kick up a stink during manoeuvring. It feels as if it was designed as an auto, and then had a spare manual bolted in. 

It makes it more aggressive and slightly more involving 10 per cent of the time, but the other 90 per cent I'd rather have the ZF gearbox swapping the ratios for me.

It's a nice try to appeal to the enthusiast, but it soon becomes obvious that this Aston is best sampled as an auto. If you want a manual, downsize to the Vantage.

Tom Ford