Aston Martin Rapide

The last four-seater luxury saloon produced by Aston Martin wore a Lagonda badge and was designed with comfort in mind. Fast forward 34 years and that angular model is a distant memory, but the Rapide shows there’s still life in the four-door Aston concept.

With elegant looks derived directly from the manufacturer’s sports car line-up, the luxury machine is among the most stylish motors money can buy – and from head-on, it is easily mistaken for one of its coupé stablemates. Swathes of wood and leather greet you inside the cabin, and the snug interior has much in common with the DB9. Rear space is limited, as the Rapide is no limousine, but there’s still enough room for a couple of adults to perch in the back.

From behind the wheel it’s easy to forget the extra pair of seats, though, as the gigantic Rapide seems to shrink around you. Yet although it turns into bends incredibly keenly, it isn’t really suited to the track; here, the slow shifts of its auto box are exposed. It can’t match the latest twin-clutch set-ups when it comes to speed or smoothness. And as there’s no limited-slip differential, things can get messy on the exit of slow corners.

Still, the beautiful Aston develops more outright grip than the Jaguar XJ and feels more agile, with sharper body control than its British rival. Its lap time of 65.3 seconds is respectable rather than sensational, but the Rapide is more about enjoying the feel-good factor than it is going as fast as you can. In addition, the intoxicating noise from its 6.0-litre V12 engine as you accelerate simply has to be experienced to be believed. Best of all, you can now share the Aston excitement with three people – and there are few more stylish or swift four-door cars around.