Ask me what I like better about Shakira - her body or her singing - and the answer's a no-brainer. Great voice, but those hips don't lie...
Pose a similar teaser about the Aston Martin Vantage - its killer looks or the evocative sound of its V8 engine - and I'll battle to make a choice. This British sports car, the preferred transport of a certain secret agent, provides eye and ear candy in similarly inspiring amounts.
The shape really grabs your gaze; it's an exotic mobile artwork that slots effortlessly into a jetsetter's playground such as St Tropez or Clifton.
Its styling blends athlete with aristocrat, beautifully proportioned with a long, low stance set off by muscular haunches that give it a ready-to-leap look.
It's pure sex appeal and ostentation.
The Vantage is the lightest and most compact Aston Martin; it's the Ford-owned company's bid to go head to head with the Porsche 911.
It's the "baseline" car from the British stable - if you can use such a term for a car costing R1.55-million, launched at last year's Geneva motor show as the newest member of a family that includes the V12-engined Vanquish and DB9 models.
Aston Martin sells exclusivity and you won't see one of its cars around every second corner.
The company's come a long way under Ford ownership, from producing just 46 cars in 1992 to about 5 000 a year now but that's still low enough to make them ultra exclusive.
Porsche, by comparison, produces nearly 100 000 cars a year.
Aston Martins are hand assembled at the company's plant in Gaydon, England, rather than being churned out on a robotised production line. And it shows.
Pull open those flush-mounted door handles and you're presented with a cabin of bespoke luxury, blending hand-crafted elegance with modern high-tech. The sculpted seats, in hand-stitched leather, are works of art. The instrument panel looks like expensive jewellery.
There aren't any 007-style machine guns or ejector seats but all the luxury boxes are ticked: automatic air conditioning, electrically adjustable seats and multi-CD audio system, front and side crash bags, traction control and ABS brakes with emergency brake assist.
It's roomy too, with decent headspace and seats that move back far enough to accommodate long legs. A 300-litre boot accommodates a weekend's luggage or the golf gear, and there's a large rear shelf behind the seats for soft bags or briefcases.
The Vantage fires up by pressing a glass button on the dash, which lights up from blue to red as the ignition comes on. Very James Bond.
Easy driving characteristics
What strikes you is how civilised and driveable the car is, with light slick controls and easy driving characteristics in the real world of traffic jams and daily commuting. It's close to the ground but not impractically low and you can cruise into most driveways without making expensive scraping noises.
User-friendly, yes. Diluted in character, no. There's plenty to raise your pulse rate, not the least of which is that powerful and musical V8 engine.
It makes a bewitching V8 wail that gets the hairs on the back of your neck standing at attention - definitely a contender for our top ten howls of all time, right up there with the Porsche GT3 and BMW M5.
There's pulling power to match; the 4.3-litre V8 under that elongated bonnet packs 283kW and 410Nm of horizon-chasing grunt. The engine is mounted far back in the chassis to provide optimum weight distribution while a dry sump has allowed the engine to be mounted lower for a better centre of gravity.
Performance
The car's sea level claim is 0-100km/h in five seconds; we clocked it at 6.1sec at Gauteng altitude, with a sub-14-second quarter mile. That's quick, if not in the supercar class, and the Vantage driver will have his hands full staying abreast of Audi RS4s and BMW M3s.
Aston Martin is not a member of the 250km/h self-restriction club, however, and the Vantage should continue striding up to 280km/h.
Its power delivery is basically linear, with good midrange torque, though it prefers higher rpm and really starts coming on song - both vocally and power-wise - at around four thousand, running sweetly up to 7300rpm.
This car loves the open road. Unleash it onto a long stretch of speedtrap-deficient tar and it will whoosh along like a low flying missile with rock-solid directional stability, burring the scenery to the rousing accompaniment of that engine howl.
It's at moments like this you might tell yourself it's R1.55-million well spent.
Rapid tourer
Aston Martins intentions notwithstanding, the Vantage is a rapid tourer rather than a nippy sports car. It's good through corners, but doesn't have quite the pointed, alert feel of a Porsche 911, preferring long, sweeping bends to sharp direction changes.
There's a lot of weight-saving aluminium in its construction but the Vantage tips the scales at 1630kg, and fell like it in tighter corners.
The steering is adequately sharp but the brakes aren't; you stomp on the dead-feeling brake pedal to achieve anything. That said, the brakes proved darned effective in an emergency stop.
Smooth roads are preferred as the Vantage's ride is firm; bumpier tar has the stiffly-sprung car juddering about and losing some of its composure.
SUMMARY
Style, sound and exclusivity. For sheer presence combined with a lusty voice there's little to beat the Vantage. Decent pace too, though you feel an exotic shape like this deserves just a bit more power so James Bond can chase down bad guys in Audi RS4s.