Aston Martin Valkyrie review

Cramped to the point of claustrophobia, particularly if you decide to carry a passenger. I did for a while, just to see what it was like and could barely operate the car without nudging them in the ribs. Much less room in here than a Lotus Elise.

However, it’s a relatively small car, just over 4.5 metres long and 1.9 metres wide, and although you’re sat on the deck (the Valkyrie is just 1,060mm tall, 120mm lower than a supercar such as Ferrari’s 296 GTB), you actually have a reasonable view forward. You can see over the humps of the front wheels, the windscreen is deep, the A-pillars more slender than you might expect. Rear visibility is more challenging, seeing as it’s supplied by a trio of cameras feeding into three screens across the dash. Lane changes are a bit heart-in-mouth.

How’s the driving position?

Very good indeed. The slim seats are well shaped and because of the raised foot position (and tight footwell) your body is supported almost all the way to the ankles by floor or tub. But the steering wheel sits too low and, although adjustable, doesn’t raise far enough. It’s also a daft shape, but a circular wheel simply wouldn’t have worked in here.

All the buttons you need are on it: indicators, nose-lift, headlights and windscreen wiper, start/stop, neutral and launch control. The screen in the middle gives you all the instruments you need, plus warnings, and tells you what mode you’re in.

There are modes?

Of course there are modes, three of them: Urban, Sport and Track, selected via a rocker on the lower left side (you can also select the stability mode here). None of them makes the Valkyrie feel docile or quietens it down.

What goes on in the centre screen?

The usual: aircon, navigation and settings adjustment. There’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. However, you can hook your phone up via Bluetooth and then get music streamed to the headsets. That works OK. The headset also allows you to talk to your passenger. You wouldn’t have a chance of hearing them otherwise.

Storage is a no-no right?

Unless you’re prepared to leave behind the owner’s manual, tyre inflation kit, tabards and first aid kit that legislation requires Aston to have found space for. Because it’s in there, most of it tucked in a tiny cubby under the nose, the first aid kit – as already mentioned – in a slot behind the front numberplate.