Rapide- hopeless packaging
Discussion
Just tried out the front and back cabin in a Rapide .I was trying to convince myself I could trade in the DB9 and the 4x4 now the kids are away and travel everywhee in a Rapide.
Absolutely hopeless packaging - I am under 5' 10" and a decent driving position renders the back seats almost useless - genuine Ryan Air ,black hole of calcutta experience .
How can you get it so wrong ? Car makers are either incapable of designing a big car to look good or they have not realised most people have feet at the end of their legs that they prefer to place flat on the floor !
I suppose it is not as bad as the Panamera which manages to be ugly and tight in the back but then it really is hopeless in the back even compared with the Porsche.
Any suggestions - apart from keeping the 4x4 or surgically removing my passengers feet ? Has any body made this move successfully ?
Absolutely hopeless packaging - I am under 5' 10" and a decent driving position renders the back seats almost useless - genuine Ryan Air ,black hole of calcutta experience .
How can you get it so wrong ? Car makers are either incapable of designing a big car to look good or they have not realised most people have feet at the end of their legs that they prefer to place flat on the floor !
I suppose it is not as bad as the Panamera which manages to be ugly and tight in the back but then it really is hopeless in the back even compared with the Porsche.
Any suggestions - apart from keeping the 4x4 or surgically removing my passengers feet ? Has any body made this move successfully ?
Audi's a great looking car but it's not in the same league as the Aston - I'd miss the 'je ne sais quoi ' of the DB9 .
Old Aston is tempting but I could not live with the lack of reliability.Looking at the classic section at the V8's however the 4 door Lagonda caught my eye . It proves that you can design a big Aston four door with fabulous lines.
Old Aston is tempting but I could not live with the lack of reliability.Looking at the classic section at the V8's however the 4 door Lagonda caught my eye . It proves that you can design a big Aston four door with fabulous lines.
You must be a very odd shape, or not have had the seats well adjusted.
I'm 6'4", legs probably slightly longer than torso (relatively speaking) and I could get into a position to drive the car with a 6' chap behind. Granted, the chap noted that getting feet under the seat was tricky, hence he had to have legs either side of the driver's seat, and in a totally ideal world I'd have had the seat back a couple of inches (even though it was eminently driveable). However I think that's pretty good packaging.
Much more room on the passenger side.
The one thing you will lack, with 4 larger athletes in the car, is luggage space. You might get a couple of bags in the boot, but not enough to go away overnight for all 4 IMO. Similarly, if golf's your thing (it's not mine) you might get one set of clubs in with 4 up.
To me, it's a car to have if you have a couple of kids that have just outgrown kiddie seats, and have something else to use should you want to go away all 4 up for more than a weekend.
I'm 6'4", legs probably slightly longer than torso (relatively speaking) and I could get into a position to drive the car with a 6' chap behind. Granted, the chap noted that getting feet under the seat was tricky, hence he had to have legs either side of the driver's seat, and in a totally ideal world I'd have had the seat back a couple of inches (even though it was eminently driveable). However I think that's pretty good packaging.
Much more room on the passenger side.
The one thing you will lack, with 4 larger athletes in the car, is luggage space. You might get a couple of bags in the boot, but not enough to go away overnight for all 4 IMO. Similarly, if golf's your thing (it's not mine) you might get one set of clubs in with 4 up.
To me, it's a car to have if you have a couple of kids that have just outgrown kiddie seats, and have something else to use should you want to go away all 4 up for more than a weekend.
I think you are missing the point of the Rapide, we have had ours now since May and it replaced a DB9 Volante, we have 2 small children 5 & 7 and they were outgrowing the small seats in the Volante, I'm 6ft and think the driving position is great, however we dont use this as a everyday car but when the 4 of use it there is loads more room and comfort then the DB9 for the children, we also run a 4x4 and a California and I think you will find that most people running one of these will have others cars in the garage, for info I think it is one of the best oking an d packaged cars on the road.
I'm surprised you say this, sure the Rapide is not that roomy in the back but I fit in comfortably at 6'0. The front cabin space is pretty much identical to a DB9 which I'd assume you have no problems with as you say you own one.
Back of the Rapide is for children and women, or short journeys for 4 adults. Don't sacrifice a 4x4 for it though.
Back of the Rapide is for children and women, or short journeys for 4 adults. Don't sacrifice a 4x4 for it though.
I think you chaps are in denial - did you all come up on Lotus Elise standards of access and comfort. Murph you think I must be an odd shape and then go on to explain how your passenger manages to squeeze himself into the space behind you as long as he gets his feet either side of the seat
This is a £120k plus luxury car we are talking about not a motorcycle and side car. I am in love with Aston as well but come on !
Fair comment if you need a car which can take young kids in the back but sadly the grand children have not arrived yet and I was labouring under the misapprehension that a 4 door car meant four decent seats.
Surprised nobody has mentioned the Grand Turismo or even the Quattroporte - only problem is they are not Aston's - on the plus side you don't need to be a contortionist to get in the back.;)
This is a £120k plus luxury car we are talking about not a motorcycle and side car. I am in love with Aston as well but come on !Fair comment if you need a car which can take young kids in the back but sadly the grand children have not arrived yet and I was labouring under the misapprehension that a 4 door car meant four decent seats.
Surprised nobody has mentioned the Grand Turismo or even the Quattroporte - only problem is they are not Aston's - on the plus side you don't need to be a contortionist to get in the back.;)
hartley said:
...and then go on to explain how your passenger manages to squeeze himself into the space behind you as long as he gets his feet either side of the seat ...
I think (hope!) you know what I meant. His knees couldn't sit straight in front of him due to the shape of the seat back and me needing the seat quite far back on its rails. ...I've yet to be in a sporting car like this that could even remotely fit me in the back (without amputations). The Rapide does. Quite easily.
I think if you want more space, you're really resigning yourself to a much bigger car - big saloon or a 4x4.
As a parallel, I was initially very concerned when I sat in a V8 Vantage. Headroom wasn't great, view through the windscreen poor. Then I spent 15mins getting the seat position adjusted correctly, being told how it works to best effect, et voila. Tons of room (and a requirement to have memory seats in any car I bought!).
At the height you state, I'm shocked you couldn't get comfy in front or be able to manage pretty well in the rear.
It would seem a lot agree, and trust me this is not Aston blindness. If requiring 4 seats I'd certainly be looking at the Maser GT or Ferrari 612. I love Italian cars too.
If I wanted a lot more room, I'd be buying a Range Rover.
I know what you mean Murph - what I meant was I could get comfortable in the front - very similar to my DB9 - but at the expense of getting myself very uncomfortable behind that seating position.Admittedly I could take the view that as it is impossible to be in the front and the back at the same time - this should not worry me
But I was just hugely disappointed by what was on offer.
Do I really need a bigger car - how long is a Rapide compared with a Range Rover Sport for instance - I would guess there is not much in it - the issue is just-IMO- poor design and packaging
But I was just hugely disappointed by what was on offer.Do I really need a bigger car - how long is a Rapide compared with a Range Rover Sport for instance - I would guess there is not much in it - the issue is just-IMO- poor design and packaging
hartley said:
Do I really need a bigger car - how long is a Rapide compared with a Range Rover Sport for instance - I would guess there is not much in it - the issue is just-IMO- poor design and packaging
But they aren't comparable, they're designed and packaged with totally different aims. I wouldn't want to take the Rapide off road, and I wouldn't want to take the RRS round the Ring!GlynMo said:
hartley said:
Do I really need a bigger car - how long is a Rapide compared with a Range Rover Sport for instance - I would guess there is not much in it - the issue is just-IMO- poor design and packaging
But they aren't comparable, they're designed and packaged with totally different aims. I wouldn't want to take the Rapide off road, and I wouldn't want to take the RRS round the Ring!hartley said:
...how long is a Rapide compared with a Range Rover Sport for instance - I would guess there is not much in it - the issue is just-IMO- poor design and packaging
Interestingly, the wheelbase of a RR Sport is 25cm shorter than the Rapide...BUT...The Rapide is more than 44cm lower.
This is key when you think about the way the packaging works IMO - the relationship between the rear wheels and the rear seats will be compromised by height and the roofline (the RR/RRS are hardly "sleek"), and for taller drivers the "difficulty" in driving position is often the height of the seat. Taking my example of a 6'4" driver with a 6'0" rear seat passenger, the only real source of discomfort was not being able to get feet under the seat in front. This could only happen if the car was higher.
If the car was higher, it would (a) handle much worse and (b) look much worse.
What perplexes me most is that you're at least half a foot shorter than me, and a couple of inches shorter than my test dummy mate (according to his tape measure...which I think may tell lies
). And we managed OK - granted we didn't go for a drive. And we may have been a bit creased at the other end if we had. But then there's a lot more body to get in the car than 2x 5'10" people...I would bet the difficulty is down to how you had the driver's seat adjusted, and wonder if there are alternative positions that would be acceptable in use, but giving more rear space.I'm 5.9 and spent 2 hours, 4 up, in the back of a Rapide with a six foot driver in front of me and never had a problem. The seat shape meant that when we were going quick you don't get that queasy feeling like you do in a panamera. Found it more comfortable than my father in laws Vectra too. I suppose that's not hard though. The only issue was foot room but that didn't bother me too much. I hate to say it but may the problem be more to do with, er, 'cough'...age? Boots do cod liver oil tablets 3 for the price of 2 if that helps. And it'll mean you get to own a great car. Not just a mearly good one.
Guys this feels like trying to convince the flat earth society that the world is not flat. I am sorry but if your feet ( size 9 before you ask )don't fit in the back of the car without effort it does not matter how many cod liver oil tablets you take - that is crap packaging in a £120k plus sports car which looks almost identical to a DB9 ( no bad thing ) with the one distinguishing feature ,the one raison d'etre , the one unique selling point over the DB9 being that it can seat four people in comfort - and the truth is it can't.
The only sensible rationale I have heard on this thread is that it works for you when your small kids get a bit bigger.
I understand Murph that the car is lower and this creates challenges for the designers but that is no excuse when others can get it right for not meeting the brief IMO
I am a 'believer' in Aston as well as you are but kidding ourselves that this is a comfortable four seater is self delusional -IMHO
The only sensible rationale I have heard on this thread is that it works for you when your small kids get a bit bigger.
I understand Murph that the car is lower and this creates challenges for the designers but that is no excuse when others can get it right for not meeting the brief IMO
I am a 'believer' in Aston as well as you are but kidding ourselves that this is a comfortable four seater is self delusional -IMHO
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