Best Sports Cars： AMG GT v 911 GTS v Aston Vantage v BMW M8, 0-60mph, 1⧸4-mile & REVIEW

If you're after a fast German coupe, do you get the new Porsche 911 GTS or an AMG GT 63 or an AMG Vantage or a BMW M8 Competition? Well, we're going to find out because I'm going to compare them in a wide range of tests. Oh, beautiful launch. I feel like a caretaker. Oh, listen to that. Whoa, whoa. I'm Matt Watson and you're watching Carwow. Let's start this video by comparing these cars prices. So these are the recommended retail prices of each of the cars. However, you can save this much off the BMW through Carwow. So it does seem like a bit of a bargain, doesn't it? However, if you'd rather lease your car, you can also do that through Carwow. If you want to check out the latest lease deals, just click on the pop out banner or scan the QR code on screen now to head to Carwow. There's also a link in the description. Now let's compare these cars engines. So BMW has a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, 625 horsepower, 750 newton-metres of torque, driving all four wheels for an eight-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. The Aston Martin has a four-litre twin-turbo, hand-built and great, no... This is a German engine, it's an AMG engine. Anyway, it's got 665 horsepower and 800 newton metres of torque, driving the rear wheels only via an eight-speed automatic gearbox with a torque converter. The Mercedes-AMG has a four-litre twin-turbo V8, which is handcrafted in Germany. This one has 585 horsepower and 800 newton metres of torque, and a nine-speed multi-clutch automatic gearbox with launch control. The Porsche has a 3.6 litre turbocharged flat six mated to an electric motor, an eight-speed automatic gearbox, an electric turbocharger, clever hybrid system. There's something really interesting about this car though, so if I remove this panel like that, you will see that the battery pack for the turbocharger and the hybrid system is made by Rimac in Croatia. Anyway... Let's compare the car's performance from 0-60mph and over the standing quarter mile. First up, Porsche. 0-60, what's the quarter mile? 10.79. I think it's a Rapido. MW. What are you going to do? 0-60, 3.25. Quarter mile is? 11. Not quite fast enough. Okay, MG GT 63, let's go. 3.04, come on! What are you going to do? 0.17. Aston Martin. Not a bad launch, come on. 3.55 to 60, what's the quarter mile? 0.30, I tell you what, not bad for rear wheel drive. Let's compare the sounds of these cars. Start with the M8, go on, fire it up. Let's have some revs, it's all right. Now for the Aston Martin, yeah, that's better. Right, now for the real AMG, rather than the British AMG. Is that sport mode? That's sport mode, that's better. That's the best so far. Now, let's have a listen to the Porsche. Sounds like a vacuum cleaner. Do the old launch control thingy. I think it's a win for the AMG. Well, the AMG, AMG rather than the AMG Vantage. I'm going to rank these cars in terms of their exterior design. In last place, The BMW. I like the side profile, I like the rear end, but the front just really doesn't do anything for me. In third place is the Porsche 911, and a bit like the BMW, I like the rear end, especially the new tailpipes on the GTS model. I like the side profile, but the front of this new GTS with the new vents in the grille, I'm not a big fan of that. In second place is the Mercedes AMG. I think it's a really aggressive looking car. I love the swooping coupe body, the long bonnet, and the aggressive nose. In first place though, The Aston Martin. I just love the wide haunches, the ducktail spoiler, the wide side skirts, and that green paint is, oh yeah. Oh, and I'm glad that finally they've given it some decent sized exhaust pipes unlike the pre-facelift version. They're like pea shooters on that. Now I'm going to brake test all these cars from 60 miles an hour, starting with the Porsche. Cruising here, cruising here, cruising here, brake test. What did we get? 60-0, 29 metres, superb. What are we going to get? Not bad, 30 metres. Here we go. 29 metres. 31 meters. So the Porsche and the AMG were the best. They both stopped from 60 miles an hour in an impressive 29 meters. The BMW took 30 meters and the Aston Martin, 31 meters. But how do these cars compare on the inside? In last place again, it's the BMW, though to be fair, this car is going off sale this year because it's been around for so long. But the design just doesn't feel special Top of the range coupe. Quality is good though and it does feel solid and I do like the older iDrive infotainment system than the current version that you get in the very latest BMWs. Surprisingly in third place is the Aston Martin and that's a bit odd because actually the leather just feels nicer than in any of the other cars. The switches that's solid metal feels expensive so do these roller switches there and this drive mode that just feels lovely so the gear selectors I just don't get it but there's just something about the design that I don't like that much and then there's the digital drivers display the graphics just seem a little bit out of focus Because they're not, but it's something... about it's not super high def then there's a main infotainment system which has the same kind of thing again like it needs to be brighter and sharper and it's just a little bit laggy but you can understand that Aston Martin just doesn't have the money to spend on developing an infotainment system in the same way that BMW does at least it's better than in the pre-facelift version of the Vantage but yeah. Still a little bit behind its key competitors. If you're wondering how we shoot the shots for the cutaways, we have someone actually in the back filming. There's no rear seats in this car, it's a bit of a pain, so he's having to do it through the boot. In second place is the AMG. I like the dash design, I like the look of the air vents. The infotainment screen, I find the system quite easy to use. The location of it, you have to look slightly downward to view it. Digital dials, nice and clear, I like the graphics. I don't like the fact they haven't finished the instrument binnacle. Nicole, why, why, why? Stop there. But overall, really, really cool-looking interior, and I like the fact that you can control the drive modes fully adjustably here by these buttons on the steering wheel. Shame about the touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons, though, but the Alcantara on the steering wheel makes up for that. Now, I will say one thing about this car, and it does have the cheapest-feeling plastics out of all of the cars here. Wait a minute. What is this material? The best interior though is here in the Porsche 911. It's just a simple, cool design. Feels nice. Yeah, there are some cheap plasticky bits here and there about the place. And I'm not sure about this little gear selector, which kind of reminds me of a little Electric Razor, I don't know why they just didn't have some buttons to press instead but overall very very easy to use. Infotainment systems just nicely integrated into the dash and it's intuitive and pretty slick. The digital dials, I know people are complaining that you don't get an analog rev counter anymore but other cars here have digital dials and these are the best. It's just a really nicely easy laid out interior that feels quality and looks sporty, just fits you nicely. Now I want to compare a couple of the features of the cars to see if they feel premium so I've got all the keys attached to my carabiner there so let's first of all check out the key for the Mercedes. I quite like this key it's quite nice. Now you have hands-free opening I think you did this to open it but the actual handle I just hate the feel of that it's just horrible and shut it you do that there we go goes away again not the biggest fan. Let's check out the Aston Martin. quite like the key that looks nice and expensive oh it's got some glass on it i don't like the door handles though you have to press like that then pull that out and it's a bit like pulling on someone's finger expect the car to go anyway porsche i like the look of the door handles but i don't like how they feel sometimes i catch my finger when i release it see that there i've done that before i much prefer the handles on the gt cars because they don't have these new design Let's have a look at the Porsche key. Yeah, that's the best key so far. It's the shape of the car, isn't it? Finally, we come to the BMW. Let's have a look at its key. Where's its key? Where's the key to the BMW? Oh, there it is. Yeah. It's the least good key, but it's the best door. Yeah, that is the best handle. Really insightful motoring journalism right there. Let me just get this on my carabiner. There we go. I feel like a caretaker. Anyway, once you're inside, how fun are these cars to muck about in. It's South Australia. Let's go the other way. Yeah I'll do it, it was a bit messy but it was fun, that's the main thing. Good thing about this car, to drift it you have a two-wheel drive mode. I like to go around the bush, let's not delaminate the tyres, that was easy. Right, drifting in the AMG, pull up on both paddles, firm drift mode, so it's like heavy car. Second gear or first? First, it'll give me the control. Troll. Let's go the other way. Really easy, oh listen to that. Oh, that's wicked. It's so much fun. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, my favourite so far. . Because the Aston Martin is rear-wheel drive, it should be easy to drift without pressing any buttons. You can control the traction control level. Got it all the way off. Donut, let's see what it's like. Is it going to be as beautiful as that AMG was? Oh, spun round quicker. Seems to just want to change ends more in the AMG. I mean I've got it. I know it's easy. Let's go the other way and save the tyres. Well, Once you know what to do, it's easy. Now, one of the things about the new AMG GT is that they made it slightly longer so that they could fit back seats, but was it worth it? Let's find out. I'm going to get in with Rory. Are you over six foot, Rory? Just about, yes. Six one. Six one. OK, so... Oh, dear. You're not going to like this much. Come on. Ha ha ha! Right, don't worry about that. We need people sat in the front seats to actually make it realistic. This is a joke. This is real AMG life. Check the door. Okay get comfy guys. I'm actually okay but I could go back a bit. Okay so my problem isn't necessarily knee room. I can live with that. The problem is the headroom isn't it? This headroom. My problem is that the circulation to my legs has been cut off so I may faint. See I've got short legs so I'm okay but yeah. Look at where my head is, is that really where the ceiling is? I reckon we should launch it. Alright, let's do a launch. Ready? Yeah, go. Do a brake test when you want to. Oh, that last bit was no good. Oh, my God. How do you like your job? I've become the chair. Yeah. Let's try the 911, famous for having back seats. It's a sports car that you can excuse to your partner and go, you know, I know we've got kids, but this will still work with the family. Let's find out if that's true. Oh, the seat doesn't move forward, which is a bit crap. I can't be arsed to admit, just skip through. Oh, wait a minute, is this worse than the AMG? Head's a lot better, but legs is worse. Legs is definitely worse, isn't it? Yeah. Like, and I don't think... We're getting Jack on and get really yeah are you happy there? This is my driving position. Okay I could go forward. Can I give that to you Nick? Oh this is gonna. Nick you're gonna have to get comfy sorry he's gonna get as comfy as you can. Why have you put the hazards on? And open me. Go on go back Nick. You don't look comfy Nick. No I'm gonna get kneecaps. Yeah so go on move backwards until you're in pain. How much can you take? Oh no that's that's yeah there we go that'll Okay, that'll do, thank you, that's fine. I feel more like I'm... I'm pinned in here though. Well, my face isn't in my crotch. I don't know where to put my head. Maybe just there, like that. Right, we're going to launch it. What have you just done? What, stability off? It's going to step sideways. I think you're all right. Oh, no. I forgot about the brain testing. I don't know. I forgot about that. I'm so unpleasant. Do you know what? I'm plugging myself. Yeah. The back took a beating. I don't know. Oh no this is... right okay let's let's do one more car. Stop it! No! No! Right last one, BMW. I've got a feeling this might be the, don't say best, the least bad. Oh it looks quite plush back here. Headroom's limited. This is gonna be the best. Easy. Oh, hello. Although it's trapping my feet, my feet are well and truly trapped under here. There's no foot space. There's no foot space. Ah. I'm fine. Yeah, this is my favourite so far. You all right there, Rory? I'm the most comfortable I've been. We're gonna launch it. I don't know. Best. Get ready for the brake test. Brake, brake, brake. Ah, it's a win. It's a win for the BMW. Definitely. Definitely a win for the BMW. Well done BMW. Do not drift it. Obviously, you want your sporty coupe to be practical, and these are sort of, so the Mercedes has hands-free tailgate opening. Look at that. The boot capacity is 320 liters, which may not seem that big, but look, you've got a nice low cover, and if I press that, I can fold down the rear seats. Surprisingly practical. Look at the little shut. Yep, the Aston Martin, well you have to have someone opening the boot for you with the key, no hands-free, but you have 350 litres of space and apparently that's just wide enough to fit some golf clubs and you can fold this, why do they even bother with that? You can fold it down, though I do like this umbrella, I might steal this umbrella, that's very nice. Will it shut automatically? Yes, look, brilliant. BMW, it has hands-free tailgate opening, it's not as good as the Mercedes. There, but you have 420 litres of space. Very big boot and like with the AMG you can fold down the rear seats, though they're so far in I can't be bothered. Porsche, well it's got the front boot hasn't it. It's got 135 litres of space but the advantage of that is, someone's left their cup in it, you can use it as a bathtub. I don't know what it is, I'm like a cat with boxes, cats always get into boxes. Motoring journalists always get into front boots don't they. Enough of that nonsense, now let's see what these cars are like to drive. Right, let's start off with the Porsche, though I'm not sure this is a good idea, because it's so capable that, why do you need any other sports car? You just don't. This engine with its hybrid system, its hybrid turbo and everything, which Porsche says is not about economy, it's about emissions. Well, keeping emissions down while maximising performance, and my God, I'll tell you what it does. It gives this car the throttle response like I've not experienced in any other turbocharged car ever. It's almost the throttle response you get from, say, the 4.0-litre GT engine out of the GT3. 80 kilometres an hour at the red line. What about in second gear? 125 kilometres an hour. I wonder what third gear is. 171 kilometers an hour, not quite the same, but what this has that that engine doesn't have is the torque after that initial pickup to just punch you down the road. I mean look at this, like third gear, floor it, it's just on it straight away. Whoa! So quick. And then there's the noise, right? Not only is this punchier than the old GTS, I think it sounds better as well. I thought that noise might be fake, but it's not, it's pumped in from the engine bay into the cabin. And as well as the engine sound, You get lots of turbo noises as well, almost like it's a JDM car, not a German one. This new power system in this car, it is really impressive. Might not be so impressive like when you're buying it used after 10 years old and there's more things to go wrong. But right now, under warranty, I'm loving this. And then there's the traction. So this has the four wheel drive system and it's a slightly slippery day and it's just finding grip absolutely everywhere. Personally I'll probably just go for the two-wheel drive car because I love the way a rear-wheel drive car feels over a four-wheel drive one but everything about this is just so capable and easy and also fun at the same time. What a machine! This car gives you so much confidence, you can really push it pretty hard and that's whether you're a novice or kind of quite experienced. The steering's sharp and accurate, it just does exactly what you want it to. It's not full of feedback but then it's an electrical power steering system and they're all like that. The brakes, so strong, loads of feel. Gearbox, just rapid changes. The smooth in auto mode, the suspension, I've got this in like the firm setting, it's not skipping about all over the road, it's really well judged. You can tell that Porsche spends loads on developing the 911, so complete, what a great car. Only downside about this, GTS, the hybrid system, weight penalty, 150 kilos heavier than the old GTS. Do you know what? If you're really pushing, pushing and back-to-back it, probably notice that increase in weight. It's like carrying two adults along with you in the car, but at road speeds. Now some people do complain that the 992 is too big and wide for British roads, I don't think so, it's actually the narrowest car that I've got on test and interestingly the width of 1852mm for the body excluding wing mirrors is the same as for the wide body 991 so it's no different. Look we'll see how wide the car is now, do I feel exposed? However, there is something about a 911, you feel the way you sit in it, like you're just wearing it. They just feel right. AMG GT, first thing that you notice is this. Just the noise of that V8. I thought that Porsche sounded good, but no, this sounds way better. And what an engine. I love this engine. Whatever they put it in, it's just so good. A little bit of turbo lag compared to the Porsche with its clever hybrid system, but then it's absolutely on it. And the thing about this new GT compared to the old one, that was rear-wheel drive, this is four-wheel drive. Conditions like this, the old one would have been like, wheel spinning, traction control interfering. This, look, just hooks up. Whoa, you have to hold on. Ha! Do you know what, if you look at the dimensions and the spec on this, you think, oh my god, it's going to be terrible. Weighs over two tonnes, it's almost two metres wide, but actually, it doesn't feel intimidating and it doesn't feel overly heavy. Yeah, it does feel heavier than the Porsche, but road speeds just hides its mass so very well. And the steering's good, the suspension's really good. I've got it in its stiffest setting and it's not bobbling about, it's just going down the road really well. Keeping the car nice and flat through the corners. It does handle really well, sharp turning and then so much traction, punch from that engine, you can fly down the road. I should hate it compared to the old one but I prefer it, I prefer it on the road at least. I like the seats as well apart from one thing, the side bolsters, well they grip me brilliantly, they extend quite far forward so sometimes I end up bashing my elbows on them when I'm steering. Maybe I'll just sit too close to the wheel. Do you know what? I thought the visibility would be bad in this, but it's surprisingly good. The bonnet just extends so far ahead of you, and you've got, like, these humps in it. I imagine it's a bit like flying a BF109. Makes a similar noise as well, thanks to its Daimler-Benz engine. I like this car. I think it's quite good for dailying as well. You can cruise about in it, slacking things off. It's not overly intrusive in tyre noise in the same way that the Porsche is. No S-Class, but it's not quite as noisy as the Porsche. I think this is the kind of car that will surprise most people. I mean, get it on track and the weight will go against it, but really, are you going to be driving one of these cars on track once or twice maybe? But if you want a track car, this kind of money, just get yourself a GT3. Don't mess about with any of these. Tell you what, the brakes are so strong, and they feel good. Gear shift, not quite as sharp as the Porsche is, but blimey good nonetheless. A nice jolt. In between changes which adds to the drama which you don't get in the Porsche. Mercedes has done a good job on this, a really good job. Compared to the MG, the BMW feels more like a cruiser than a bruiser. There's just something a bit more GTE about it than a focused sports car, especially when you compare it to the Porsche. Thing is though, the suspension doesn't feel quite as well judged as in the Mercedes nor the Porsche, just a little bit more jiggly. Even in its comfort setting, put it into a sportier setting and it gets a little bit bouncy. Not terrible, just not quite as capable. as the other two cars and that kind of summarizes how the rest of the car feels. It's actually slightly narrower and lighter than the AMG but it feels bigger. Also the steering is the least good so far. It's not bad and the car really is capable of certainly putting its power down Whoa! but it just doesn't seem to give me the thrills of either of the other two. It's all just a bit like yeah it's pretty good. Quite impressive but it's not really making me want to go fast so do you know what I'm just going to back it off and that's not what you want from these cars really you want them to poke you go go quicker but somehow I just feel less connected to this than the other two. In some ways this car really shows what a great job Mercedes has done. With their AMG GT, despite on paper this being seemingly better in terms of power and weight, it just doesn't feel anywhere near as thrilling nor as capable. Actually though, if you stick with this thing, you start to get into a rhythm with it, and then you appreciate how well it goes down a road and can actually dispatch a twisty, winding back road with ease. It's really rather good and you start to learn Just how capable it is. It's actually rather unflappable. But still, there's always just that little bit of thrill that's lacking. Finally then, the Aston Martin. And this is the car that I've been most cautious with because it has the most power and the least traction because it's rear-wheel drive. And it does like to step on you. Already, look. Already, yeah, it's stepping right from the get-go. Whoa! Whoa! This is the one that you have to take the most care with. This is the one that does feel the most thrilling. Now, whether that's a good thing or not, we'll come to in a moment. But yeah, I'm thinking quite hard about what I'm doing while driving this car, especially in these conditions. First thing to note is I've got the car in individual mode, which allows me to configure it just as I want it. So that's everything in maximum attack apart from the suspension. Which is in comfort, because quite frankly, the suspension in this just doesn't feel as good as in the other cars. Even in comfort mode, it's just shimmying and shaking. It doesn't feel as planted or as tied down. And if you put it into sport, it just feels bouncier, no more composed. Do you know what? I can sense that Aston Martin just haven't been able to spend the money developing the suspension in terms of programming the dampers in the way that the German manufacturers have. You can tell they haven't got as deep pockets. Good morning. It feels the most expensive when it's stationary. It feels the least expensive when you're driving it. Same thing with the brakes. I mean, this one's on the optional carbons and they're like 10 grand extra. They just don't have the feel or the control as the other cars. I can't deny this has the performance though, oh my God. Once it's hooked up, this thing absolutely flies. This is the kind of car though, that I think, you might be buying it because you want the looks, but actually to live with, you might find it a bit of a handful. You have to be a keen driver to like this car and to be able to get the most out of it. It gets your heart going though, that's for sure. The steering is better than in the BMW, but it still isn't quite as good as in the Porsche or the AMG. I don't think the gear shifts are as good as in the AMG either. What's interesting is the sound of it. It sounds quite nice and fruity and occasionally you do get a pop and a bang from the exhaust, but it's completely unpredictable, unlike in the AMG, which in some ways is good because it Keeps it a bit of a surprise, but in other ways it's a bit disappointing that it doesn't seem quite as raucous as a result. Once you get past your initial fear with this car, about it being rear-wheel drive, then you start to enjoy it. And I do prefer the feeling of a rear-wheel drive car. There's something pure about it. When you're feeling the back end squat and fine traction, it's just so satisfying. As a result, this is definitely the kind of car that I would take out for a blast at the weekend. More so, I think, than the AMG. Definitely more so than the BMW. More than the Porsche? Probably not. Especially not with the rear-drive version of the GTS, still. I do like what Aston Martin have done with this car. It's fun. So, where does that leave us? Well, the Aston Martin is the most expensive, but fortunately, it also looks the most expensive. The Porsche has the nicest interior, in the front at least, but the BMW has the roomiest back seats and the biggest boot. So, it's the most practical. The Mercedes has the best-sounding engine. And it drives nicely, but the Porsche inspires more confidence on twisty roads and is the quickest car here. So where does that leave us? In last place, it's the BMW. It's a good car. It just lacks that wow factor, which the Aston definitely has, but then so too does the AMG. It's a better all-rounder than the Aston Martin. I'd rather put my money into this. However, the car that ticks the most boxes is the Porsche 911 GTS. This is a sports car you can buy with your head as well as your heart, and that's why it wins this test