Aston Martin DBS Volante 2019 UK review

Inside, the DBS Volante isn't dissimilar to the DB11 Volante – a bit of a worry, given that it costs almost £87,000 more. 

Mostly the DBS feels lovely inside, with great leather, but the instrument graphics are a bit ZX Spectrum and the air vents shouldn’t be this plasticky. The similarities extend to a Mercedes-based infotainment system from a generation or so ago; it’s easy to use but doesn’t mate to a smartphone with as much ease as it should.

There are +2 rear seats, likely to go mostly unused, but I put four adults in all four of the DBS’s chairs to see what it’d be like. It’s doable, if the driver sits close to the wheel, and it’s easier with the roof down. This isn’t a four-seater like a Rolls-Royce, but it isn’t meant to be.

From the wheel, you can select different suspension stiffnesses and different levels of engine/gearbox/exhaust response. Full soft on the suspension is best on the road, where it’s really nicely damped and controlled. It’s more GT than super-GT, I’d say, but you’d not often tell it’s a convertible from the way it drives; the steering doesn’t shimmy, although a very occasional tremor is noticeable in the rear-view mirror.

Meanwhile, full angry on the engine is best, as long as you take control of the gear selection yourself via the paddle shifters – otherwise the DBS really thinks you mean business and selects an annoyingly low gear all the time, as if you’re on a hot lap. You won’t be. What’s really enjoyable is slipping the roof down and making the most of the noise the DBS makes through the mid-range, with satisfying gurgles on the overrun. Driving a car like this on a warm night on empty country roads is really special.

And the handling is good. We didn’t take the DBS Volante on track – who will? – but there’s a pleasing poise and balance to it, with moderately weighted and geared, accurate steering, in the best kind of front-engined, rear-drive fashion.

It’s not that easy to make a purely objective case for the DBS Superleggera Volante. I mean, line up seven superminis alongside each other and you can pitch one’s boot space against another’s price tag and end up with a verdict. This is way more subjective.