Aston Martin Vantage vs. Porsche 911 S

In the lead up to the last National Election, we had two clear choices for leaders, John Howard & Mark Latham. One offered the same promise he'd been offering since he was first elected at the dawn of time. The other was a relative new comer, which was full of promises and sweeping changes for the betterment of the Australian Community.

Australia had a choice, to stay with the old, or take a gamble and vote for the new. Howard promised to the people for no interest rate rises, and no radical changes. We as a country knew what to expect from the elected PM. The new comer was offering a breath of fresh air. Fresh changes to make Australia a better place to live and work. Offered with these choices, Australian's voted with their mortgages and decided to stay with what they knew. And what happened? Interest rates went up within a year.

The Porsche can be seen as the John Howard of sports cars, it hasn't changed since the wheel was invented, and is as old as the dinosaurs. The engine is still in the same spot it has always been, and stubbornly will to the end of time; in the back. Just like Howard surrounding himself with intelligent advisors, Porsche has some of the world’s best engineers in an attempt to dial in the ponderous pendulum effect due to all the weight sitting behind the rear axle. The latest and greatest iteration capitalises on this, creating one of the most versatile sports cars yet, a car you can race on Sunday and drive to work on Monday.

But what about the new comer? A few years ago Aston Martin promised a Porsche 911 beater. Unlike other promised 911 beaters, this was a creditable challenge to the 911's crown as an everyday Supercar. It had the looks, the right badge, a team of excellent and motivated engineers, and most crucially, the price was right.

To behold the Aston Martin Vantage is a stunning vehicle. Feline curves pulled taughtly around its curvaceous body, hunkered down looks, hold itself a clear head and shoulders above contemporary sports cars. This design philosophy carries through to the interior, with wonderfully sculpted dials & a glass starter button to fire up the modified Jaguar V8. It's not just a one trick pony either; the exhaust has a switchable flap inside which opens up to release the feral nature of this seriously cool cat.

But has Aston walked into a fight it can't win? The Porsche is easily one of the most accomplished sports cars you can buy today. And well priced, starting at £60,000($140,000AUD-don't forget the actual $200kAUD price tag is attributed to local taxes) for a precision German engineered instrument that can, and will, last for decades. But the Aston starts at £80,000($185,000AUD), a crucial £20,000 over the all conquering Porsche. Is it worth the extra outlay over the 911? Your not getting the 50 odd years of development the 911 has, but you do get exclusivity, and 'that' badge. It you drive a Porsche, people assume your arrogant and pretentious. If you drive an Aston Martin, regardless what model, people will think you as well dressed, good looking and well connected, all the more reason not to get the cabriolet, to keep 'that' myth alive! So, again, is it worth the extra outlay for a Jaguar engine in a mini DB9? Yes, yes and yes.

Now we had a clear cut choice between our politicians. But hopefully the parallels don't travel both ways, with Aston Martin loosing out badly, quitting the game, and releasing a book whinging about how unfair and unjust the business is.