There is a moment, just after you ease a car out of a sun-dappled driveway and feel the road open up before you, when you know. Before you have touched the accelerator properly, before the bends arrive, before the engine has fully had its say — you just know. That was the moment, somewhere in the hinterland above Nice and Vence, with the hills stretching out on either side and a yellow Aston Martin Vantage S beneath me, when I understood why people fall in love with this brand.

A small group of journalists and influencers had gathered at Domaine du Mas de Pierre, one of those quietly exceptional Relais & Châteaux properties the south of France does so well. It was there, over lunch, that I sat beside Dan Connell, Director of Communications and PR for Aston Martin Europe, before being handed the keys.

The car

The Vantage name has been part of Aston Martin’s story since the 1950s, originally used for higher-performance versions of its grand tourers. Over time, it became a model line of its own — one that has always sat slightly apart from the more refined DB cars. The new Vantage S stays true to that identity, with a more aggressive look and a stronger focus on performance.

Its 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 produces 680PS and 800Nm of torque, delivering 0–100km/h in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 325km/h. The figures are impressive. The sound is so much better.

I drove with the windows down and the radio off the entire afternoon. Before I left, Connell smiled and told me exactly what would happen. “When you start the car, you’ll smile,” he said. “And later, when the engine’s hot and you lift off the accelerator and hear the pops and crackles, you’ll smile again. You can’t fake that.”

He was right.

The Vantage S feels fast and controlled without being intimidating. Aston Martin has reworked the suspension and sharpened the handling, but the car still feels surprisingly balanced and easy to drive. On the winding roads above Vence, it handled corners with confidence and never felt overly aggressive or difficult to manage.

The design updates are subtle, but they give the car a more purposeful look. A full-width rear spoiler improves stability at higher speeds, while the new bonnet vents — available in gloss black or carbon fibre — add a sharper, more aggressive edge to the overall design.

Inside, Aston Martin has kept things elegant and understated. The cabin is finished in leather, Alcantara and satin carbon fibre, with a level of craftsmanship that feels genuinely luxurious without trying too hard. It is modern, but still warm and tactile, and importantly, it does not feel overly digital or generic.

Increasingly, Aston Martin also understands that luxury means individuality as much as performance. Through its bespoke Q division, owners can personalise almost every aspect of the car, from paint colours to interior finishes and one-off detailing.

Even the exclusive 21-inch Y-spoke wheels, available with discreet red detailing unique to the Vantage S, reflect the brand’s growing focus on tailored specification.

“For the last few years, the average selling price of an Aston Martin has been at record levels,” revealed Connel. “Q by Aston Martin allows you to create your dream personalised specification. It can be anything you want.”

The brand reborn

Over lunch, Connell spoke about Aston Martin’s transformation since Lawrence Stroll assumed the executive chairmanship in 2020 and committed to what he describes as “the strongest portfolio of Aston Martin cars in the history of the business”.

“What is interesting about all these cars is that they are at least 25% more powerful than the models they replaced,” he said. “That’s because customers wanted Aston Martin to add performance to what they already loved: design, beauty and everything associated with the brand since the Bond era.”

The current range spans the Vantage and DB12 sports cars, the V12 Vanquish, the DBX707 SUV and, at the top of the line-up, the Valhalla hybrid hypercar, limited to 999 examples. According to Connell, Aston Martin’s next chapter will depend on balancing the brand’s heritage with the expectations of a younger, increasingly international clientele drawn not only to performance, but also to craftsmanship and personalisation.

And that emotional connection, he says, remains central to the brand’s appeal.

“Today, people still want cars that give emotion. Emotion comes from sound and power, and the V8s and V12s we offer do exactly that.”

For women, too

The Vantage S is also a car that women can very easily see themselves driving, and Aston Martin knows how important that audience has become.

“In the first year of the DB12, 50% of buyers were new to Aston Martin, and roughly one third of that group were female,” Connell said. “We had never seen that before.”

He believes the shift reflects changing expectations around luxury, comfort, technology and overall refinement, rather than performance alone.

“A lot of that comes down to the design, but also the safety, quality, luxury finishes and technology,” said Connell. “Traditionally, Aston Martin buyers often focused on two things: is it fast and is it loud? Female customers tend to look more closely at the overall experience. But ultimately, when you get those details right, they matter to everybody.”

That broader attention to comfort, refinement and usability is exactly what makes the Vantage S so compelling. It delivers the performance Aston Martin is known for, but in a way that feels approachable rather than intimidating. Fast, unquestionably, but never overly technical or difficult to enjoy.

By the time I pulled back into Domaine du Mas de Pierre that evening, the engine ticking softly in the fading heat, there was only one problem with the entire day: I really did not want to give the keys back.

The new Aston Martin Vantage S is available now, with prices starting from around €210,000, though a fully specified example — as tested, with carbon ceramic brakes, carbon fibre roof, full body packages and Inspire S Alcantara interior — moves well past €240,000.

See also:

Aston Martin Vanquish review: speed, beauty, refinement. And more speed. 

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Main photo of Cassandra Tanti, Editor in Chief of Monaco Life, during her test drive. Credit: Tobias Kempe