Road test: Aston Martin Rapide S

What is it?

Meet Aston Martin's slightly awkward-looking four-door saloon, but now with added adrenaline. Not that the standard car really needed an additional dose of go-go juice, but that's never stopped the Gaydon massive from administering aid before. As part of a mid-life refresh the S gets more power and even more refinement. The Rapide is the choice for the family gent, as it's the only model in the maker's range that comes with two rear seats.

What's under the bonnet?

An almighty lump, that's what. The ageing 6.0-litre V12 is still in situ – a last hurrah before AMG work their black magic under the hoods of Britain's finest – but for now it gets even more grunt. Power is up 80bhp to 550bhp and this helps the 60mph dash time tumble under that all-important five second barrier, but only by a tenth of a second. Top speed is a heady 190mph and with those sorts of figures fuel economy and emissions suffer. The former is a rather woeful 19.9mpg and CO2 is puffed out at a rate of 332g/km. Still, once you hear the noise that glorious V12 makes you won't care about the wallet-crushing fuel depletion.