Saw one of these on the road recently This era of Aston design was the pinnacle I don’t think it looks aged at all, truly timeless

My Dad owns a rapide (not the S). We wouldn't trade it for anything. Stunning looks, beautiful interior, amazing speed, incredible quality and surprisingly practical. Being able to fit four people in it, a dog and luggage for a week is unbelievable in a car such as this.

I love my rapide S. Had it for almost 4 years now. Think of it this way, i have a bmw 640i F12. And i bring my two kids around in that car. There are times when i think "how nice would it be if there are two tiny doors behind for my kids to go in and out without me stepping out of my car folding the front seats - and this is how the rapide was envisioned. Its a realiable car but every owner must cut away the stage 1 catalytic converters as the ceramic linings will deteriorate and ceramic gets ingested into the exhaust chamber due to overlapping intake and exhaust valves (this car doesnt have exhaust gas recirculation). That happened to my car and had a series of misfires and zerp compression combustion chambers until we found the issue. And today, i got a call informing me my car is done and tmrw im gonna pick it up. Love the car, wouldnt sell it. How the car drives? Well theres a road up north about 200km from where i stay, a highway coming down the mountains where i can probably only do 160kmh in my RS6 while the entire car is already squatting on its right outer wheels with even in the sportiest setting, the rapide s can do the same turn at 180kmh flat. Its a sports car chassis underneath with its torque tube and transaxle layout, versus the RS6's passenger car fundamentals with a godzilla of an engine in front. The rapide feels special. And then theres the sound. That aston V12 sound that is beautiful, masculine, grunty. It doesnt sound as good as ferrari v12s from 4500rpm onwards, but anything below, from the get go, aston's V12 sounded way better

There is no one making videos like James right now. It's like he has a crystal ball, telling him exactly what car you're thinking of and then boom a video drops. He belongs in the goat category of motoring journalists along with the likes of harry metcalfe , henry catchpole, chris harris and the OG top gear trio.

I passed one on the motorway once. It wasn't until I came alongside it that I realised what it was. Absolutely stunning profile. Immediate object of desire.

This era of Aston Martin cars were so beautiful. I think they really stood out against competitors and have aged like fine wine.

I like that James is a truly independent journalist not having to trade his integrity to get the latest model. You can trust his presentation. Well done James

Even in grey an Aston Rapide is an object of desire. This guy I knew used to own one and ran it as his daily. Looks absolutely stunning. Ended up selling it after the (admittedly aftermarket) exhaust - fitted by the first owner who ran away from the workshop for refusing to pay for the labour fee for said exhaust - suddenly let loose when he was driving at considerable speed. I am not joking, the exhaust just went adios on the motorway.

The Rapide is probably the best looking luxury four door saloon ever.

I saw one of these in Australia WAAAAAAY before they were supposed to have come out over there - I was STUNNED to see this, my cabbie was wondering why I was standing there looking at this car parked outside the post office while his meter was running (I'd just ducked in to pick up a package on the way to work). I was surprised at how big she was - they absolutely nailed it with the styling (as they did with everything in this golden era for Aston).

100% agree about the old Vantage being a timeless stunner and one of the best looking cars ever. The Rapide itself looks great from many angles and the compromises in interior space and running costs are worthwhile, particularly when it's a £30-40k car!

I’d have one in a heartbeat. I think they look glorious. Rarely seen in Melbourne Australia, but the odd one I see, I can’t help but stare, and think, thank you Aston Martin for building these.

Always remember the first time I saw this parked at Heathrow Airport as a teenager, the first car I ever fell in love with. Few more years and I'll finally have it!

Drove a Rapide S. Most underrated Aston of all. Brilliant car.

This is the video I've been waiting for. I absoluitely adore that car. Thanks Jay

I have always loved the look of these. Great review, as always, James. Great sound…and great color on this one!

"Granted the early DB9 itself has begun to age a little bit" - _Shows a picture of automotive perfection that looks as fresh as a daisy._

Holy crap!! 😂 I never thought an Aston's exhaust note would be drowned out, but James, you have done it! That shirt is an absolute corker!! 😂 I think that is the loudest shirt I've seen you in as yet over the 3yrs or so that I have been following your channel, well bloody done! I'll also add that I absolutely love the Rapide S, I never really knew much about it until Hoovie bought one and lived with it, which totally won me over....coming from a guy who is a lifelong avid fan of the V550, I feel that is quite a feat.

This is the best sounding Aston Martin ever heard on way to work some years ago and the driver really floored it... Cool video!

As previous 2010 Rapide owner, I loved my Rapide. I think the Rapide S looks gorgeous. Yes, it’s a beautiful car and fun to drive. Your review captured the charisma and value the Rapide S provides. Thanks for spreading the word about this fabulous car!

Stratstones of Amersham (sadly no more) invited me to test drive one as soon as it came in. It was 💯 Aston. The sales man came with me and I asked him to drive on the way back, so that I could try out the rear. It was snug-ish in the back, I’m 6ft, but, weirdest of all, it felt like wearing clown shoes with all that body flapping around in front 😄 it wasn’t bad, it just really felt as though you were sitting so far behind the front-rear pivot point, whatever that’s called 😀

Great review! Keep reviewing these cars, including Rapide S 8spd and the new versions with the updated center stack. The car takes some time to figure out where it might fit in one's garage.

Gorgeous motor & love the rarity of it , Great Video as always James !!!

The effort you put into synchronizing audio throughout every camera perspective (editing) adds a great deal of professionalism to this video.

I have been waiting for this review, thanks. 😊

The commenter Jay is very erudite and has a great command of both the Kings and Queens english. Very concise, languid and to the point. Says exactly what he thinks. I subscribed for more good stuff. 😆

They really do sound absolutely monstrous. A guy dialled one up across the intersection from me years ago and you could feel it through the bloody pavement. 🤣

It was going great guns until the mention of the FF at the end. Possibly the best car i have ever seen you review.

The early ones were screwed together by Magna Steyr in Austria and I've heard it said they're the best built Astons of the era. That may have changed after the production was brought back to the UK. Edit: I wrote that before James mentioned it.

I worked on many of those when they were new. If they're well taken care of, they're actually really good cars, and they like to be used. I did have a customer that did use his as a family car. He had matching Sparco Kiddie Seats too. The Rapide S is the one you really want but you will pay more for it.

Drove one of these back in November, a gorgeous grey-beige metallic S. The interior felt like an expensive handbag, never felt thicker and smoother leather in my life. Oh, and the sound was insane. Much more compact in person than I expected too.

Thanks J, always good to see an Aston! 🙏🙏

That color is spectacular and the car looks amazing on that road in the sun! Very cool

The 8-speed changes everything. The 2016 and 2017 model years are the best: 8-speed AND brand new center console from the Vanquish.

Great video, James. Glad you finally got to review one. In reality they are compromised, but still very special cars.

I got tempted by a “high mileage” one of these 76k miles full history just 24k !

Congratulations JayEmm another great review.You have hit the mark again.

Former owner from new. A fair and well balanced summary. Just to note that the later model (2014-) with the ZF 8 speed Touchtronic 3 gearbox is probably the one to go for in my opinion. I found the ZF 6 speed clunky around town and too slow to change gear, the 8 speed much more responsive and the power boost was also noticeable.

Not sure if this is the biggest temptation or a Bentley Mulsanne which are in the low 50s. Jay can you please do a review on the Mulsanne? DBS owner here, I think the biggest problem is the rear leg room, and the rear transmission for weight distribution causing the trans tunnel to be huge and tall. If they could fix that and possibly add AWD in a rapide remake I think theyll sell a bunch plus a DB12 interior

This is my absolute favourite car - I absolutely love the looks, and you still get the engine and style of an aston with the added practicality of the bigger boot and rear seats..whats not to love!?

We won’t ever sell our Rapide. Sits next to a 612 in the garage as they simply won’t be making cars like this any more

fantastic videography, btw! Really nice touches!

Jaguar & Aston Martin forever ♥️

Always loved these so imposing

Aston Martin is my 2nd favorite car after the Jaguar XKR. They are the most beautifully designed cars!

Another great car story/review 👍

Great review. I have wanted one of these on and off over the last 10 years. The need for a family car with more space has stopped a purchase, but still think they look fabulous. A bit disappointed with your comments on steering and ride quality, but would still buy if a good deal came along whilst the wife is away😅

I love fact that it doesn't have all the repetitive and artificial cracks and pops from the exhaust, over and over again. Lovely car and a great review as always!

An honest and realistic review . Thanks

Really good vid, thank you

Thanks Jay and most importantly John. Cheers🍺

Superb video on a very beautiful car❤.... buy one . Immediately 😊

Very nice! Interesting comments around some being reliable and others being lemons, and then you immediately mentioned DB9 and DBS' - are they similar? I'm looking at DBS' as a possible next car ❤

Was going to buy a Focus for £6995 but saw a Rapide for £79,990 and couldnt resist!

Great review! I have been wanting this car since I brought my Maserati Ghibli in 2017, when the dealer (who was a Aston dealer also) had a return lease one sitting there on the showroom. It would have been double the money and I was not going to try that with the wife. I been looking for the past year to get one ( I think I can afford it now 😒 )for my Sunday church car only. I can only find 2016 and lower in the US, but nothing above that. I found a AMR version, but they wanted $189,000 still.

This car is a bit counter-intuitive...It's not too fast which is good...The slower it is the more you can enjoy that V12 sound... Think about it...If you love sound of exotic cars, do you want to enjoy it for, say, 2 seconds while accelerating or 4 seconds? See, the slower, the better! Jay Leno says he likes older, slower cars because he likes watching the tach...The Rapide is a perfect application for this kind of enjoyment. Nothing with turbos or battery can compete. It's just a completely different kind of old school driving enjoyment.

I love James's strange, sing-song, almost patronising tone of voice as he carefully explains what appears to be painfully obvious. He sort of goes up and down the register as he speaks. It's oddly fascinating.

Back in the day, I bought a Ferrari California instead of a Rapide.......And every time I see a Rapide, I regret it!

My all time favourite aston martin👍 Infact my lottery win trio would be an aston martin rapide S, a porsche 928 gts And the latest range rover.

Love this red colour Aston has. Would love it more if it came with panoramic roof. Nice video. Keep up the good work.

Your presentation is brilliant, very watchable

This has been my dream saloon since they came out. Midnight blue with a cream interior!

Even if I'm from Italy, Aston Martin( especially DB 9, Rapide and Vantage( but only the first series) are the best cars in the world!!!! As for cars ( and music) you English are teachers, there' no doubt! Greeetings by Saverio from Cisternino( Brindisi), Puglia( in the south of Italy).

Ok my love for this car /two cents/pennies.. lucky enough to have had a few modern cars including a great ferrari gtc4lusso and vanquish s db11 etc.. fav car that is a keeper; is our beloved rapide s in meteorite. Alpina b5 touring for daily. Older cars for fun in the country. Children and wife agree. Slightly Sensible, classy and something different you cant put your finger on. Magic

Lovely sound and the pop up tweeter is very cool 👌🏼

There is a Gun metal grey one that roars around Wellington, NZ - some guys Daily. It's such a Gorgeous car.

Having owned and enjoyed two Aston Martins all I can say is that as James had said you can get a good one or a money pit, my first one was great with few issues, but the Vantage was a disaster, there was always something that required expensive attention. Good luck to any potential buyers.

The DB9 are one of the best looking cars, and this is the best designed backdoors ever!

That’s got to be the best 32 seconds intro to any u tube glued straightaway

Personally, I still think the DBS of that generation is the best looking car of all time, Astons have always been beautiful but that particular era was the peak

Very good content.

The smoothest car I have ever driven. Have a mate with a rapide s, just sent you the vid.

splendid car. highly underappreciated.

7:44 The 8spd ZF auto is a great box, it is also available in various Dodge pickups.

I would love to have the set, Vantage, DB and Rapide, all of the era/shape, sitting in my garage.

Well, it sounds magnificent, in my view looks magnificent and is built by the world's most charismatic car maker.

The only one I ever saw was in the VIP parking area at Circuit of the Americas, the Formula 1 track in Austin, Texas. According to the VIP credential sticker in the window it belonged to the owner of Circuit of the Americas. The license plate: AUS F1

Manual conversion is needed

This is why i Love this channel. Its such great content petrolheads love to watch, its pure left brain right brain thinking.

The fact it's longer than an M6 grand sport is amazing 🤷🏼

Love how people say 30-40k like it’s not a lot . It’s a lot of money still , and this car will be an absolute money pit on top of it .

I mean the only way to enjoy this car is with windows cracked open and tranny in manual mode (no upshifting past gear 3). That's the formula for maximum enjoyment for urban setting and backroads....On the highway, best thing is just to close the windows, pop it in D, and turn up the Bang and Olufsen stereo.

I have a Rapide S with the 8 speed ZF, and a similar age, similar mileage VW T5 California. Guess which one has cost me more to service? Yep, the VW!

I would love to see auto trader search correlation stats on whenever J releases a new video and

I owned a lovely Rapide S. The S part of the badge fell off or was nicked and that cost over 100 quid to replace. Overall it was lovely to look at, drive and hear but one day all my electrics failed catastrophically at the pump of one of the most frequented petrol stations in my city. and it would not move. It remained stuck there for over 3 hours until the Aston rapid deployment service team were able to travel from a neighboring city. Turns out the battery was under the rear seat and that was not accessible because the rear doors could not be opened. An embarrassing, potentially dangerous situation. So, folks be warned, if there are any electric issues, whatsoever, do yourself a massive favor and stay well away.

Superb colour that.

I own a 2010 Rapide and it´s my favourite car to drive. No other sedan has all the qualities of this model, such as confort, beauty, ridiculous exaust noise( better than a DBS), exclusivity and elegance.

Bought one a year ago and absolutely love it!

The last of the 70's Lagondas came off the production line at Newport Pagnell in 1989

She’s my dream car, best in combination with a Boxster ❤️

Had the 6 and 8 speed ZF box in Jaguar XF S the 8 speed is much better economy faster change less of a slush box.

Did I see that right? An Aston with 4 doors in modern times? What's the world coming to? lol. I'd buy it just for the sound it makes. lol. awesome. If you can afford the car and more importantly insurance then I say you only live once. Go for it!

Get one that has been correctly maintained OK but get one that has been kept going as cheap as possible skipping service items...well good luck.

Always thought these were kinda cool I think if they'd gone for more of a shooting brake design it would have been better

Nice looking car then and now...sounds great too..veeeeeeee12

I've had the panamera 970 twin turbo for 9 years and throughout ownership, I strongly considered the rapide s to replace it. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to do it... until now

Timeless classic. I pretend im driving a Rapide when im sat in my Firenze red Jaguar XE 😅

In terms of design it’s my favorite 4 door car

Very tempting - but as it would be my first car in the UK, I dread to think what the insurance would be, even as a 62-year old . . .

Absolutely overjoyed that you finally got around to the Rapide... Thank you so much