From its over-fussy dials, whose needles rotate for some reason in the opposite direction to everyone else’s, to its outdated sat-nav and its generally poor ergonomic detail (witness the smallest hazard warning button in the universe and the unfathomably complicated ignition sequence), the DBS feels like a car that is trying too hard to impress inside. Which is a pity because so many of the fundamentals are spot on.

"On paper the DBS looks extremely quick. But the 599 is something else again..." (Autocar photo) » More Photos

Even the manual gearchange has been dramatically improved, as has the weighting of the throttle and brake pedals, yet the effect is very nearly ruined the moment you look at the gearlever itself; it appears to have been stolen from a Chevy, then sprayed with a thin coat of aluminum paint. It no doubt costs Aston Martin a small fortune to source, but the effect feels anything but expensive.

"On paper the DBS looks extremely quick. But the 599 is something else again..." (Autocar photo) » More Photos

It’s a theme that runs throughout much of the interior, unfortunately, and the second you climb aboard the 599 the Aston’s mistakes become glaringly apparent. The Ferrari feels cohesive and complete inside, its excellent driving position complementing the decent ergonomics and better all-around visibility. You feel more confident about knowing where the extremities of its long, long nose lie because you can judge the width of the car by looking straight down the top of the two front wings.

But most of all, the 599 just feels so very special. It has a style that feels effortless, looks natural and which makes you feel like a million dollars pretty much the instant you climb inside. It couldn’t be more different from the Aston in this respect, and as a result you immediately warm to the Ferrari in a manner that simply never occurs in the DBS.

True, in standard form the 599 doesn’t appear quite as distinguished as it does when every surface has been covered in expensive optional brown leather. But the difference is still night and day. The Ferrari feels like the real thing inside, while the Aston isn’t quite sure what it is trying to be.

Even its rear stowage compartment can’t decide whether to be a tiny, largely unusable seat or an area in which to store luggage. Again, in the Ferrari there is clarity to the purpose of the space behind the front seats, and it works more effectively as a straightforward extension of the trunk (which is marginally bigger than the Aston’s as well).

On the move there is, to begin with, far less to separate them than there is statically. Whether you like the way the DBS looks beside the 599 is mainly a matter of taste, but purely as a machine to drive the Aston gets remarkably close to the 599, and in one or two areas makes the Ferrari appear quite flaky. Especially in the way it rides, steers and controls the motions of its body at speed.

Aston Martin has apparently tweaked the damper settings since the original launch cars were released, and the result is that the DBS now flows beautifully across the ground, feeling notably less edgy than the 599 if that ground happens to be wet – as it was during much of this test. The DBS is not an easy catch if you switch the traction control off and give it a bootful on a wet road, but it’s a heck of a lot more manageable than the 599 under the same circumstances.