I just hope though that something like the Lagonda concept will never be even considered as a new model in Aston's lineup... Anyway, this is the first time I came across with a review, although a short one, but it gives an impression about Rapide's abilities.
Also, in the Aston Martin website you can configure your Rapide as well (as soon as I finish this post, I will have a go)!
Below you can read the most interesting bits from Autocar's review.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Aston Martin Rapide comes with a recommended technique for getting in and out of it. Aston advises that on both entry and exit you employ a foot-bum-foot routine that threatens serious inelegance for skirt-wearers.
Even though its engine is Aston�s 6.0-litre V12 in its torquiest 470bhp and 443lb ft output, and the gearbox is a six-speed automatic gearbox, think of it more as a sports car with rear doors and a hatch, rather than a limousine. And a �140,000 one at that.
What�s it like?
The dashboard is carried over from existing Astons and it wouldn�t hurt to be updated, particularly the dreadful Volvo-sourced sat-nav. But progress is slowly being made; where there are new switches or trimmings they�re neatly designed and feel solidly built.
Aluminium is extremely stiff, but building a car out of it isn�t without compromise. For a given stiffness it�s lighter than steel but it also occupies more volume, so the holes in the Aston�s body have to be quite small to retain torsional stiffness. Opening the Rapide's doors or boot is like opening a safe door; you're greeted not by a gaping aperture but by structural aluminium, framing a far smaller hole than you'd been expecting.
The seats, four individual chairs, are new to the Rapide and to be truly comfortable in the back you need to keep a knee either side of the front seat's back. Toes, though not enough of your foot, can slide underneath the front seat. Aston says it's pleased with the Rapide's spaciousness, given that its aim was to provide short-distance comfort for airport or restaurant hops. I'd say it's just about acceptable.
Even a short drive is enough to discern that the Rapide rides genuinely well. It's supple yet tightly damped, with a comfort level that no current Aston can match. That comes as no suprise, but what might be is that there are also hints of a poise that you won't find in too many other Astons either.
It also steers very pleasingly. Hydraulically assisted, the rack has been quickened to offset the Rapide�s longer wheelbase and, like other Astons, it's middling weighted, consistent and smooth. Better, though, is that it has a new-found freedom from kickback. Aston has found a way to isolate what is a feelsome, accurate system from the unwanted knocks that an unyielding aluminium structure usually transmits through a rack like this.
It's a smoothness that seems to be matched by other elements of the Aston's demeanour. When an automatic is as good as this ZF-sourced six-speeder, you wonder if it's worth the bother of robotising a manual or fitting a dual-clutcher. In Drive it makes bright decisions, but far more often than not I found myself making the choices myself via the sweet column-mounted paddles.
Foibles? I wouldn't mind if an extended pull on the right-hand lever reselected drive, rather than having to reach for the dash-mounted buttons, but other than that it's spot on.
The Rapide has magnetically controlled dampers (best left out of Sport mode on the road), while springs are steel all round. Go for a strop and you�ll find the Rapide is a communicative, engaging car to drive. The stiffness of its shell and lack of complication in the drivetrain � the V12 is as big-hearted as it is big-cylindered � mean you genuinely understand what is going on mechanically. It flows along A and B-roads with a poise you'll not find in many five-metre-long cars.
In extremes it does the obvious: understeers unless you trail its brakes to keep the nose settled, and it'll push its tail on the power. Possibly it could feel quicker. It's funny to think that a car with the same power as a Lamborghini Diablo doesn�t feel brutally rapid, but because it weighs virtually two tonnes, the Aston could use a bit more shove.
Should I buy one?
The real mark of a car like this is how happy you are to climb into it at 7pm on a Friday evening in the centre of town, and how you feel climbing out again 150 miles away three hours later.
The Rapide is absolutely first class at that sort of thing. What's most impressive is that there's an absence of niggles. It�s positively engaging on any journey and, on a long haul, there are few better cars to be in.
Yes, it�s small in the back and expensive to buy, but the Rapide is a triumph.
Source: Autocar
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