ASTON’S FOUR-DOOR RAPIDE VALUE

Aston Martin’s take on the family saloon wasn’t a huge sales success, but it has matured into a fine second-hand buy. John Evans finds out more

Amid the gaggle of midnoughties V8 Vantages and DB9S for similar money, a 2010-reg Rapide for £37,000 stands out. The pristine, light silver car has done 59,000 miles and has a full Aston Martin service history. It’s got the desirable black leather and rear DVD screens, too, and has had just one previous owner.

It’s a great example of the value available in the shape of Aston’s understated and, let’s face it, not especially popular Rapide. Former Aston salesman Stefan Jordan recalls trying to sell the first ones: “The price was £164,000 but when Aston saw what a struggle we were having, it ‘supported’ sales with an underthe-table price cut to £135,000.”

It also, he says, stopped describing the four-door Rapide as a family car, instead marketed it as a sports car with two rear seats.

“That was much better,” says Jordan. “It helped generate greater interest in the car, but it was never going to be the brand’s biggest seller.”

Prospective buyers who imagine artisans painstakingly constructing their car are in for a shock. The first Rapides (from launch in 2010 to 2012) were built at the Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria. Fortunately, they did a good job, as did their UK colleagues when production transferred to Gaydon in 2012. In fact, the Rapide has an enviable reputation for reliability. The service people we spoke to couldn’t find fault with its 5.9-litre V12, describing it as ‘bombproof’ and free of the gremlins that plagued early DB9S.

Standard equipment included a six-speed automatic gearbox with sport mode, adaptive dampers and, of course, four doors. The rears don’t open very wide, making it difficult to climb in, but it’s worth the effort just to slot into those richly upholstered bucket seats, one elbow resting on the deep transmission tunnel, the other on the door armrest.

Stefan Jordan reckons he ferried his 6ft 2in frame and three big colleagues home from a customer demonstration experience in Germany, and they all emerged fresh as a daisy. He is a salesman, though…

The rear seats fold down as standard, helping to turn the Rapide into a useful load carrier, although don’t expect room for more than a couple of largish bags. If you’re tempted by a Rapide Lux of 2010, make sure it has its bespoke Aston luggage set, which fits a treat.

In 2012 the V12’s power was upped from 470bhp to 549bhp and the model renamed Rapide S. At the same time the body was stiffened, the suspension revised and the cabin refreshed, and it gained a larger grille. In short, it was much improved, if just as noisy as before.

In 2015 it gained the excellent eight-speed ZF Touchtronic III gearbox and a pair of more powerful Bosch ECUS, plus a hike in power to 552bhp. Prices start at around £73,000 for Aston Martin-approved used examples. But you don’t need to pay that, as those tempting, sub-£40,000 launch cars prove.