Aston Martin Vantage Roadster review

Everything’s as per the coupe inside, too. A hot mess of buttons is therefore strewn across the dashboard and centre console, with the switch to fold the roof tucked away on the door – down by the window and mirror switches – rather than big, bold and obviously placed between driver and passenger. Good job the mechanism operates so quickly when you do eventually find it...

While we rail against the current fashion to ‘touchscreen all the things’, there could at least be some toggle switches in here to tidy things up a bit. Though as we mentioned on the previous page, credit to Aston for the ease of mix and matching chassis and engine setups via the steering wheel buttons. And for its pair of properly satisfying, fixed metal paddleshifters. Though the tiny little electric handbrake switch – and the fact it doesn’t automatically engage – is an ergonomic quirk you just don’t get in its endlessly polished German rivals.

Sweep your ergonomic woes aside, though, and you’ll enjoy a fine driving position, snuggled into a comfy seat deep inside a snug cabin that resists the wind admirably when the roof’s folded. No need to install an ugly deflector across the rear seats like in its 2+2 rivals. There’s also a decent array of cubby holes inside, to keep your belongings dry should rain fall before you have a chance to slow to 30mph to stow the roof. And a brolly inside the boot lid, should you need to protect your bonce between car and house.

Or golf club. The boot itself is 200 litres in size, which is notably smaller than the 270-litre compartment at the rear of the Vantage coupe, though Aston assures us it’ll still swallow “a full-sized golf bag and accessories”. *Phew.*