Forgive the terrible audio quality, but I still thought this video was worth posting. So many Aston Martin Vantages after 2009 have the Sportshift or Sportshift II transmission, and I always heard horror stories about it. So I decided to rent one and see for myself, this 2012 Vantage S with Sportshift II, supposedly an improved version of this universally disliked transmission. Here is my take:

- Automatic mode: It's pretty jerky. The car lurches forward on each shift very noticeably. You can smooth this out by letting off the throttle before a shift happens, but that kind of defeats the purpose of an "automatic" transmission, doesn't it?

- Manual mode: It's good once you learn how to drive it. Meaning, this is not PDK. You can't keep the gas floored and rip off seamless shifts; if you try that it will be very jerky. You have to let off the gas, shift via the paddles, and then get back on the gas of you want smooth shifts. Just like you would do in a manual car with a foot operated clutch. Unfortunately, this adds several seconds of delay between gear changes, but it's the best way to drive it IMO.

Would I buy an Aston with Sportshift II? If 6-speed manuals didn't exist, yes, I would. But they do exist, so I would go with the manual.

P.S. Sportshift or no Sportshift, this Vantage S exhaust sounds absolutely wicked!