I've driven the Rapide (not the S) and it is a fine car from the front seat. Drives and feels like an Aston should. But IMHO, the rear seats are just too small. The big driveshaft tunnel really intrudes, headroom is way to small for me (6'1") and the foot box is cramped. Nice car, but it would not be my first choice for a 4 door, no matter how beautiful it is. For its size, the car has too little interior room for my taste.

 

I'm with you ScottBlack.
The Rapide sort of pisses me off. I love how it looks and what it is, but I hate that it doesn't actually do what it should. Why bother with a 4 door if it's really not a practical 4 seater? And why so little power? Yes, I said "so little".

For a car of this marque, that price, that segment, Aston just has to do much better if they have any hope of selling these things. While I have some minor complaints about the Jag XJ's styling, at least it has luxury space on the inside. I can't accept that the Rapide couldn't be reformatted to a spacious and still sleek exotic sedan.

The new skin tweaks don't help matters. I feel like that stupid One-77 has really damaged the styling ethos over at AM. Yes, it has some cool bits and details and yes, it's fast and growly, but was never as beautiful as even an ordinary Vantage V8. Yet here they go, propigating it's looks into the family.

I just hope it doesn't kill Aston Martin.

 

The One -77 and v8 vantage should never be compared, they are worlds apart in every way. The One-77 is a world class hyper-exotic it's purpose was not to be like any other Aston, and it's succeeded in that goal. It looks incredible and is bold, and has an incredible presence. As to it's looks I think it looks incredible, not better or worse than a Vantage or DB9/DBS but it was never intended to look like either. I personally think it's a stunning looking car.

 

The only comparison I make is the exterior styling. They are, as you agree, otherwise not to be compared.

But styling is an open field for comparison. The One-77 certainly has presence and some of its styling cues are cool, but as an overall statement, I find it uninspiring and unrefined. I am especially unhappy with the mistake of borrowing a bit here and a feature there and applying them to entierly different designs.

The tail lights now on the Vanquish were a cool suggestion on the One-77 and now a weak and cheap looking flourish on the Vanquish. The fat, rounded, big grill on the One-77 was appropriate for it's broad front and now stands to ruin the Rapide.

I am reminded of the same stupid derivative thinking that put bits from the Ford Ghia concept car onto the 90s mustang and produced a profoundly ugly car that appeared to be melting.

I realize that marques need family features and that those features must evolve along with the overall body shapes. But just because it was cool on the concept (or limited production show pony) doens't mean it will look good everywhere.

I wish AM would take a page from the 90s, poke their design heads in at Jaguar and borrow some of what's going on over there where that F-type was developed ('94 XK and DB7 anyone?).

 

I don't like the new Rapide S grill, reminds me too much of Audi. I like Audi but the Aston grill has always been so distinct, no need to jump on the huge grill bandwagon.
Aston has always been classic to me and the instantly recognizable grill was part of it.

 

I just came back from a training few weeks ago..I new about the Rapide for awhile now. Aston is set in mind to make all there models different visually in some way. If you parked a early Rapide/DB9/V8V all side-by-side and looked at the front and you were not a Aston fan, you would not be able to really tell the difference(man I've been fooled by a Rapide thinking it was a DB9 from teh front). There goal now is to make all models stand out in any angle...So Rapide gets a grill change and the new VVT engine, plus all the suspension upgrades. The car is really nite and day when you drive the *** of it...not bad for a company that has no cash, making no profit and just cutting even(hopefully the new invertors will change this for the better).

Aston has been using large oval grills for Yeeeeeeeaaarrrsss, now that other companies start using them..Aston has to becareful not to make it look like Ford's? Question should be why is Ford making there Fusion look like a Aston?...Oh I know..CAUSE IT SELLS!! ..LOL

Nonetheless, no matter what a company does, you will always have haters and lovers..could always have the come back of Lagona Virage 5 door..LMAO, then I think everyone would love the new Rapide S front grill

 

haha fair enough Irish, if they went back to the Lagonda Virage 5 door, then we'd be in some trouble!

- I thought about it some more and I think this is what I originally meant about the grille losing some of its Aston character.... I think Aston grilles are defined by the curves at the top.... and by pulling them wider and longer, they're looking more like trapezoids. I'm guessing Ford had to go the trapezoidal route for legal reasons... but the two grille shapes are looking more and more similar with the Rapide S. Would have loved for Aston to highlight the curved grille shape to create more distance (pics attached).

- fair point and agreed that Aston has been using big grilles for many, many years

- love the internal upgrades







BUT, let's not all forget that the best Aston grille of all time still has to be this bad boy: =)

 

Astro, thanks for the cool photo ref comparison. Speaks volumes.

And while AM may have some taller grills in the archives, the whole shape of the car was different. Justifying something that way is how we get crap like the late 90s Jag S bubble. "But we had these shapes 40 years ago" doesn't make the car look any better.

My primary complaint with the styling of the Rapide is the fact that they've taken away most of the low, long cues and made it look smaller. Not what you want in a car already criticized for being too small (on the inside). It's a damn 4 door sedan. Celebrate THAT! I love that they want to differentiate the models, lord knows they needed to. So make the Rapide the big, wide, long beast. Make the Vanquish the sleek muscle. Make the DB9 the elegant GT, and make the Vantate the taut sportster. Instead, the new Rapide looks like a slightly stretched car that is trying to look like what some people think an Aston looks like.

Finally, let's all agree that, for its sheer extremism, the 80s AML is the most awesome car from Aston Martin.

 

The New Rapide front end is going to create havoc in an already confused public. Right now they call my DB a mazerati, a jag, a bentley or whatever....when the new Rapide comes out we're going to all be driving a fusion "sport" or an Audi A6 and heck some may not even guess that.

 

Either a slight change or a complete removal of the model was gonna happen. Aston has no cash to remodel the whole design..I'm sure everyone knows this by now. The Rapide was not selling and neither was the Virage..Virage was the lowest of sales so it's name was shelved and fitted with the DB9 badge. The Rapide on the other had was second lowest in sale (my dealer has only sold 3 since it's release!!)..This is really a last try for the Rapide, if sales do not increase as estimated, you can sure bet the Rapide will take the bench unless funding comes there way..Sure Rapide looks like a stretched DB9, but what else would you expect from a 4 door Aston Martin, a return of the 80-90's..then wouldn't that just look like a copy of the new Skyline GTR but in a 4-door?


Btw, I get stopped all the time with ppl asking me what type of car I'm driving when on the road..I get everything from Mazerati, Jag, Fisker(HA!),..even Ferrari and Porsche. But in all honesty that just means they really haven't seen one before. So real question is, would you want to drive a car just like your neighbor, if so then your driving the wrong vehicle..buy a Ferrari or Porsche!

 

Well put Irish.

What the Rapide really needed and still does was/is more power, better numbers. Every write up, every comparison brings up the gaping chasm between the price and power next to other 4 door performance sedans. I don't know why the power from a 6L V12 is only in the 500hp range when similar sized power plants in other marques get way more than that.

Is 500 enough hp? Sure, but people buy, yes, even exotics, based on a sense of value (and resale). The Rapide is asking customers for best in class $ and is therefore expected to provide best in class performance and value.

Why on earth they thought there was a market for the Virage is a great mystery. The only customers it ever could have attracted were already AM customers so it was, at best, a cannibal. The Rapide could be AM's best seller, much the way the SUVs and Panamera are the cash cows down in Stuttgart. Load that thing with One-77 power, find a couple of inches more for the rear passengers, don't raise the price, watch the units flow.