2014 Aston Martin Rapide S review:Fantastic performance for four

The 2014 Aston Martin Rapide S is one of the most gorgeous and enjoyable four-door cars on the planet. Its active suspension lets it switch between grand tourer and track monster at the push of a button, while its 550-horsepower V-12 delivers plenty of power.

The interior is almost totally lacking in modern tech niceties, and rear seating is cramped.

 It's a stunner of a car that happens to seat four, though its beautiful interior is in dire need of a high-tech makeover.

Aston Martin is one of those brands that ooze with nearly unquestionable appeal. The company's cars look great, sound great, have all the prestige and provenance you could want, and just happen to have a long history of being driven by one of the suavest men in movie history. That your average Aston Martin is typically more expensive and slower than its closest competition rarely factors into the discussion -- it's all about the experience.

Many experiences are heightened by the proximity of loved ones, and so, the more the merrier, right? Thus the idea of a four-door, four-seat Aston Martin. It's been tried numerous times through the decades, most recently with the Rapide. Based on the DB9, the original Rapide launched in 2010 to fair reviews and underwhelming sales. It looked nice and handled well enough for a four-door, but to find true success Aston would need to develop a car good enough to drop that qualifier.

And that's what it's attempting to do with the Rapide S. While that extra letter sounds like a sporty options package, the Rapide S actually replaces the original model, offering a small suite of remarkably effective upgrades. It's better-looking, faster, more powerful, and, get this, $10,000 cheaper than the outgoing version, starting at $199,950. Sadly, though, it isn't much smarter on the inside.

The revision list
From a distance, the new Rapide S looks nigh-on identical to its predecessor, with a low roof and steeply raked windshield that tapers into a long, long hood. You have to look a little farther forward to find the major visual refresh. The trademark Aston Martin grille now stands undisturbed, lacking the bumper that tragically split the nose on the old Rapide. That one change, plus a subtle new front spoiler, makes a world of difference -- like popping the orthodontics from a supermodel.

Aston Martin is one of those brands that ooze with nearly unquestionable appeal. The company's cars look great, sound great, have all the prestige and provenance you could want, and just happen to have a long history of being driven by one of the suavest men in movie history. That your average Aston Martin is typically more expensive and slower than its closest competition rarely factors into the discussion -- it's all about the experience.

Many experiences are heightened by the proximity of loved ones, and so, the more the merrier, right? Thus the idea of a four-door, four-seat Aston Martin. It's been tried numerous times through the decades, most recently with the Rapide. Based on the DB9, the original Rapide launched in 2010 to fair reviews and underwhelming sales. It looked nice and handled well enough for a four-door, but to find true success Aston would need to develop a car good enough to drop that qualifier.

And that's what it's attempting to do with the Rapide S. While that extra letter sounds like a sporty options package, the Rapide S actually replaces the original model, offering a small suite of remarkably effective upgrades. It's better-looking, faster, more powerful, and, get this, $10,000 cheaper than the outgoing version, starting at $199,950. Sadly, though, it isn't much smarter on the inside.

The revision list
From a distance, the new Rapide S looks nigh-on identical to its predecessor, with a low roof and steeply raked windshield that tapers into a long, long hood. You have to look a little farther forward to find the major visual refresh. The trademark Aston Martin grille now stands undisturbed, lacking the bumper that tragically split the nose on the old Rapide. That one change, plus a subtle new front spoiler, makes a world of difference -- like popping the orthodontics from a supermodel.

The transmission defaults to fully automatic out of the driveway, but a tap on either shifting paddle hands control over to you. To switch back into auto just hit the big "D" button on the dashboard. In comfort, the transmission is generally smooth and, yes, comfortable, but it does lurch a bit occasionally when pulling away from a dead stop. In sport it's a different beast, holding gears all the way up to redline and rev-matching when dropping a gear. It doesn't offer anywhere near the razor-sharp precision of a double-clutch box, nor of course the simple joy of rowing your own. It's competent, and I'll leave it at that.

I can, however, be rather more enthusiastic about the motor. It's an engine that likes to be revved, not coming into full song until you're into the upper half of the 8,000rpm tachometer. 550 horsepower and 443 foot-pounds of torque are the sorts of numbers that you'd think would make for a brute of a car, but they're delivered here smoothly and with precision. Hard launches are more or less out of the question, thanks largely to the lack of clutch pedal and launch control. This is a car that seems happier to roar its way through the revs and, believe it or not, around the corners, too.

For a 4,300-pound car, the Rapide S is a remarkably good handler. Lowering the massive motor by 90mm has helped to bring the center of gravity to a position just above the wheel hubs. That lump was also shifted as far back as possible under the hood to deliver a near-perfect 49/51 front/rear weight balance. These help, but it's the new Bilstein suspension that truly works wonders.

I've driven dozens of cars with adaptive suspensions, many amounting to little more than lights on the dashboard. Typically you hit a button on these systems and then struggle to feel any real difference. Not so here. Cruising down the highway, clunking over expansion joint after expansion joint, the Rapide S in comfort mode is supremely cosseting. We're not talking Bentley levels of isolation, but this is definitely the kind of car that is eminently capable of sucking down huge stretches of highway without you feeling remotely put out.

When things get twistier this mode starts to feel more wallowy -- not exactly sluggish, but not exactly precise, either. Sport mode is an improvement, but I found myself going straight to the track mode most of the time. Hold the suspension button down and you get the stiffest setting of the bunch, one that is, believe it or not, actually well suited for track duty. I spent a day in a Rapide S at the Atlanta Motorsports Park, a twisty little circuit better suited for Atoms than Astons, and it did remarkably well.