Item: Used Aston Martin DB11 2016-present
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/jaguar/f-type/coupe/used-review/n830">Jaguar F-Type</a> came along and took the car world by storm. It was so gorgeous to look at and so loud in its exhaust that it's always been a difficult car to ignore. Not only does it sound great, it's fantastically quick, especially in 5.0 V8 SVR mode. It undercuts the Aston on price, too, both new and used.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/porsche/911/coupe/used-review/n18062">Porsche 911 </a>is an iconic sports car. It's seriously rapid and grippy, yet it's also refined and can even be comfortable. It generates lots of noise, not all of it welcome, but it's a terrific driving experience. There are plenty to choose from, and hundreds of different models, all fast and fun and surprisingly frugal.

<h3>For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://pages.haymarket.com/whatcar/wcar-form.html">here</a></h3>

<h3 dir="ltr">If you're interested in finding a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/aston-martin/db11?used=true&amp;nearlynew=true&amp;postCode=tw1%203sp">used DB11</a>, or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">Used Car Buying</a>&nbsp;pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.</h3>

Page 5 of 5

 
&nbsp;

What is it like?

Ownership cost

Advice for buyers

Our recommendations

Alternatives

Coupe

Yes, Aston Martin is the preferred manufacturer of a certain (not so) secret agent, but its latest cars offer a lot more than the chance to indulge your Bond fantasies.

The DB11 grand tourer, for example, won its price point at the What Car? Car of the Year Awards, thanks to its beautifully crafted interior and the fact that it’s both fun in the corners and a convincing long-distance cruiser. Meanwhile, the latest Vantage is Aston Martin’s best sports car to date.

The modern Aston Martin isn’t afraid to move with the times, either, with a luxury SUV part of its future model plans.

ASTON MARTIN

DB11

<h4 dir="ltr">The DB11 is a fine long-distance cruiser that can play the sports car too. The V8&nbsp;is a particularly good choice</h4>

Used Aston Martin DB11

The V12 car does an average official 24.8mpg, according to the old NEDC test, and 21.1mpg according to the newer WLTP tests, and corresponding CO2 emissions are 265g/km. By contrast, the V8-engined car achieves a claimed official figure of 29mpg NEDC and 24.8mpg WLTP and CO2 emissions of 230g/km.

Annual car tax (VED) is based on CO2 emissions for all cars registered before April 2017, so expect hefty bills. Those registered after that date will pay a flat rate of annual tax, currently £150 a year, followed by a supplementary luxury car tax for vehicles costing over £40,000 new, which currently stands at £325&nbsp;a year.

Insurance is top-group high, at 50, so expect big bills. Servicing? Likewise. Big bills. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Page 2 of 5

&nbsp;

Used Aston Martin DB11 2016-present

The DB11 is a fine long-distance cruiser that can play the sports car too. The V8 is a particularly good choice


Prices for the earliest DB11s start off at around £85,000, this for a car with a low to average mileage for the year, bought from an independent dealer. Up this to between £85,000 and £100,000 for a car from 2017 0r 2018 with an average mileage for the year and a full service history bought from a franchised dealer. You'll need over £100,000 for a 2019 or 2020&nbsp;car.&nbsp;

It’s lighter and more agile, and cheaper to run, so we’ll take the V8 version, please.

Our favourite Aston Martin DB11: V8

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Strong performance</li> <li>Good balance between ride and handling</li> <li>Excellent build quality</li> <li>Decent practicality</li> <li>Sophisticated interior</li></ul>

Coupés are all about style, but while practicality undoubtedly takes a back seat to aesthetics, these cars still need to be easy to live with on a daily basis. It’s this that distinguishes a coupé from an out-and-out sports car.

Fortunately, there’s a wide range of style-focused models available, and you don’t even need to spend silly money to buy or run one.

For a blend of&nbsp;rock-solid resale values, punchy engines and an interior to die for,&nbsp;the Audi TT is a brilliant option. But the Mercedes CLA offers plenty of style and substance to match, while the Aston Martin DB11 will give you serious performance.

Check the bodywork for scruffs and dents, and the alloy wheels for kerb damage. Make sure all the electrics work as they should.

The days of loyal Aston Martin customers being prepared to forgive the cars for their reliability problems are long gone. In the modern world, even British-built supercars have to be reliable. Happily, Aston Martin responded to the challenge with an ever-improving reliability record.

So far the DB11 has a good record, although there have been one or two reports of cars either having trouble starting or refusing to start altogether; owners do report issues with the electrics, especially relating to the sat-nav and air-con. Interior build quality on the DB11 is better than any Aston, so you shouldn't experience any problems with loose trim. &nbsp;

Page 3 of 5

&nbsp;

It might rank as the understatement of the decade to say that when the DB11 was launched in 2016 it was a fairly important car for <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/aston-martin">Aston Martin</a>. Never a company to prosper with quite the financial success you’d imagine a maker of highly desirable and rather expensive sports cars to do, the DB11 arrived at what could definitely be called a make or break time for the British firm.

Luckily, it was liked, by the press, by the public and by the people who bought it, so all the work Aston put in to this new car was certainly justified. It sits on a brand new platform, for one, and it borrows a lot of technology from its partner, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/mercedes-benz">Mercedes</a>. The DB11 is mostly made from aluminium, too, which is light, except where it’s made of magnesium, which is even lighter, and on top of that a lot of work went into making its graceful and arresting shape aerodynamic, so that it not only looks like a million dollars it goes like it too. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Under its voluptuous bonnet sits a choice of either a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 or a 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12.

There is only the one trim option, and it comes suitably well equipped, with heated, electrically adjustable leather seats, climate control, keyless entry and start, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, a 360deg parking camera, a DAB radio, sat-nav, an 8.0in infotainment touchscreen, LED headlights and an Alcantara headliner, among other things.

On the road, it’s fair to say this car marked a return to form for Aston. The two engine choices both sound glorious, and it responds to the pedal with either unit with alacrity. It’s fast and fun, and oddly, as it’s the cheaper version, the V8 is the most entertaining. That’s because it’s lighter than the V12 and lightness is a good thing when it comes to handling.

In bends, the DB11’s body stays relatively flat, and the V8 is sharper to turn in and it feels much nimbler scything through a challenging series of corners than the V12, or, for that matter, the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/s-class-coupe/coupe/used-review/n18387">Mercedes S-Class Coupe</a> or the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bentley/continental-gt/coupe/used-review/n893">Bentley Continental GT</a>. &nbsp;It steers better, too. The steering is quick, but not so fast around the straight-ahead that it feels nervous at motorway speeds, and it transmits a pretty well-defined impression of the road straight to the palms of your hands. This supplies you with the confidence to know when the front tyres are either gripping or about to take you wide.

The suspension has adaptive dampers as standard, and these deliver a good spectrum of modes, from softest GT through Sport and Sport +. In its softest setting, the DB11 isn’t as pliant as the S-Class Coupé or Continental GT – you feel a little more shimmy over rippled sections of motorway, and a firmer bump across potholes in town – but it’s perfectly acceptable.

Inside, the driving position is spot-on. There’s plenty of adjustability in the seat and steering wheel, though visibility is limited by those stylish thick pillars. Fit and finish retain the best bits from Aston Martins of old. Soft, hand-stitched leather sits side-by-side with wood or carbonfibre trim highlights, and all that looks like metal in the interior really is metal, including the air vents, for example. Space up front is fine, but as you might expect taking in that rakish profile the rear seats are best reserved for tiny children or suitcases. Speaking of which, the boot is a little on the small side, although you can squeeze in a couple of overnight bags.

Of course, there were still some buyers who felt a ‘proper GT Aston’ should always have a V12, but those were in the minority - thus the V12 was discontinued in 2019. However,&nbsp;as it turns out, Aston didn’t really discontinue the DB11 V12 after all, it simply replaced it with a new model: the DB11 AMR (AMR standing for ‘Aston Martin Racing’). And to put it simply, it’s the car the DB11 should have been all along.

If you're interested in finding a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/aston-martin/db11?used=true&amp;nearlynew=true&amp;postCode=tw1%203sp">used DB11</a>, or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">Used Car Buying</a>&nbsp;pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

Page 1 of 5

Used Aston Martin DB11 2016-present review

Our recommendations

Which used Aston Martin DB11 coupe should I buy?