Verdict: a better car than it ever has been
Aston Martin Rapide S
A better car than it ever has been
What is it?
This is the car that Aston Martin is referring to as the Rapide S MY2015. You can see that there’s nothing visually different – though there is a new Divine Red paint colour available – with all of the big changes taking place under the skin. That means a new eight-speed gearbox, a bit more power and some changes to the suspension, too.
What’s hot?
- Well, firstly, the Rapide S didn’t need a visual refresh – it still looks gorgeous. New for this updated are some new wheel designs, paint colours and interior trims but in this particular area, it’s very much as before.
- The 6.0-litre V12 is pretty much as it was, too, although Aston says that power has gone up from 550bhp to 552bhp. A little more significant than that is the torque figure, which is up by 10Nm.
- Now, those number boosts alone won’t do much but Aston has also added a new eight-speed gearbox and it’s absolutely fantastic. Smooth around town, and blisteringly fast on full throttle upshifts, this gearbox can do it all.
- The improvements in performance are clear to see, with the 0-62mph time improved from 4.9 to 4.4 seconds. As ever, though, this engine does its best work at the top of the rev range, howling and crackling all the way.
- It’s not the most relevant benchmark in the world but the Rapide S now hits 203mph, as opposed to 190mph before.
- The adaptive dampers are now tweaked so there’s a greater difference between Comfort and Track modes. Whichever you’re in the Rapide S feels much smaller and lighter than it actually is.
- Set those dampers to Comfort and it flows nicely over cracked tarmac, too, making it a pretty compelling luxury limousine.
- Aston says the new gearbox also helps drop CO2 emissions from 332g/km to 300g/km, with fuel economy breaking through the 20mpg barrier, to 21.3mpg.
- With that new eighth ratio as well, the Rapide S becomes much more fuel efficient on a motorway cruise, with the firm claiming a 600-mile journey is possible on a single 90-litre tank of fuel.
What’s not?
Despite Aston’s claims of improved economy and emissions, the most expensive BiK band starts at 230g/km, so the Rapide S is still a fair way off becoming any cheaper for company car tax.
And while the cabin is incredibly luxurious in terms of build quality and materials, the rear seats aren’t all that spacious. Adults can fit back there but if you plan on using them regularly, go for something bigger.
With a £148,000 price-tag, you should probably consider a Porsche Panamera Turbo, too. It’s £40,000 cheaper but offers much the same experience as the Rapide S.
You’ll have to get used to shelling out money on your Rapide S, too, with pricey fuel bills and other consumables – tyres, for example, will cost about £1200 for a set.
Annoyingly Aston hasn’t updated the Rapide’s infotainment system, so much of the information is displayed on a tiny black and white screen that is nearly impossible to use.
