Used 2017 Aston Martin Rapide S

The 2017 Aston Martin Rapide S coupe is actually a 4-door supercar that simply resembles a sleek 2-door. It’s a distinction worth mentioning, but hardly one that takes away from the Rapide S’s impressive 552-horsepower V12 engine, stunning interior and brilliant on-road manners. Of course, the Rapide S is not without its faults, beginning with its $200,000-plus price tag. For considerably less, one could opt for another 4-door coupe, such as the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, Porsche Panamera or Mercedes-Benz CLS, all of which carry the same level of sophistication and pedigree. The Rapide S’s snug split rear seats make transporting two adults a short-term prospect at best, and a limited dealer network poses problems both when purchasing and needing repair.

The trend toward calling 4-door sedans “coupes” is getting a bit tiring, but in the case of the 2017 Aston Martin Rapide S coupe, we can forgive the trespass. That’s because the Rapide S’s stunning exterior could easily be mistaken for a DB or Vanquish, and the snug cabin also seems to fit the description. Regardless of what you call it, the Aston Martin Rapide S for 2017 is car that lives to perform, with a zero-to-60-mph time of just 4.2 seconds from its 552-horsepower V12, and a reported top speed approaching 200 mph. Aston Martin’s 3-stage Adaptive Damping System permits the driver to choose varying levels of performance or comfort, with the Normal mode perfect for everyday driving and the Sport setting optimal when the road ahead begins to roll and twist. There’s even a Track setting for those who enjoy pushing their car to the limit.

The 2017 Aston Martin Rapide S coupe’s cabin embodies modern elegance, with top-notch materials throughout, including full-grain diamond-quilted leather and touches of walnut. The seats offer a toned-down version of the bolstering you would find in a sports car: They’re plenty supportive yet quite comfortable. There are pleasant details like glass switches, organic electroluminescent displays, and dials and buttons that are elegant and mostly easy to reach and use, with the exception of some climate-control and stereo controls that are a little small. A big plus: The electronic parking brake replaces Aston Martin’s traditional (and somewhat counterintuitive) "fly-off" handbrake.

Despite the extra doors, the bodywork of the Aston Martin Rapide S for 2017 makes the car fit right in with the rest of the lineup. There is no doubt this curvy looker is an Aston Martin. While the Rapide has four doors, the handles are the same color as the body so as not to compromise the car’s lines. It has a long-hood profile, trademark grille, LED accent lighting — there’s no bad angle anywhere. This is one of the most beautiful 4-doors on the market. The Shadow Edition offers a mix-and-match choice of three exterior and three interior colors.

8-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
ZF’s 8-speed automatic is used in many premium cars, but nowhere is it more welcomed than in the 2017 Rapide S coupe. The shifts are crisp and perfectly timed, with no lag or hunting. Go light on the throttle, and the Rapide S can achieve 21 mpg on the highway.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL
A premium performance car should make you feel special every time you enter the cabin. From its form-fitting diamond-quilted leather seats to its sapphire crystal-topped key fob, British elegance/individuality is on full display inside the 2017 Aston Martin Rapide S coupe.

As you would hope, this $200,000-plus car comes with a lot of standard equipment. The Rapide’s fantastic V12 and ZF 8-speed automatic are in every model, as are 20-inch wheels, the 3-stage Adaptive Damping System, LED lighting, heated front seats and rear screen, and parking sensors. Inside, the Rapide comes with features such as the terrific 1,000-watt Bang & Olufsen audio system, satellite-based navigation, updated infotainment system featuring Apple CarPlay, rearview camera iPod/iPhone connectivity — and this British company would be remiss if it didn’t include an umbrella.

Plenty of styling touches and ultra-lux amenities are offered so you can make your already-exclusive Rapide S unique. There are multiple trim finishes, stitch colors, several wheel choices, four brake-caliper colors, ventilated front and rear seats, carbon-fiber paddle shifters and a rear-seat entertainment system. And if you want to take your Aston Martin gear with you, other nice touches seem to be pulled straight from a James Bond movie: the AMVOX2 Transponder Rapide Watch, crafted by Jaeger-LeCoultre that can be used to lock and unlock the car. The Performance package increases horsepower to a healthy 565.

Aston Martin’s 2017 Rapide S coupe’s V12 engine is technically 5.9 liters, but Aston rounds it up to a nice, even 6.0 liters. Behind the smooth, robust engine is an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission that can also be operated via paddle shifters. The engine has a lovely burble that is music to a car enthusiast’s ears, but this is not the vehicle for the environmentally conscious. Even though fuel economy was improved last year by more than 11 percent and CO2 levels were dropped by 10 percent, the Rapide is still subject to a gas-guzzler tax: Combined fuel economy is 17 mpg.

6.0-liter V12
552 horsepower @ 6,750 rpm
465 lb-ft of torque @ 5,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 14/21 mpg

Note: Due to changes in EPA testing to more effectively reflect real-world conditions, some 2017 models show slightly lower fuel-economy scores than their 2016 versions.