Thinking of four-door sedans, Aston Martin probably doesn’t come to mind, and all together, most people forget that Aston Martin even has a four-door sedan. The Rapide S is a traditional attempt by Aston Martin to grow out of its niche market and appeal to the most common consumer market who is interested in buying sedans.

The Rapide has all of the traditional stylings of an Aston Martin Vantage. The large fish-mouth grille at the front could easily be mistaken for one of the manufacturer’s more popular two-door sports coupes. The sleek body lines make it appear almost as though Aston Martin slightly stretched their sports cars enough to had small rear doors and windows, not losing any of that James Bond charm and appeal.

With a 5.9L V12 engine powering the car with up to 565hp it is obvious that Aston Martin didn’t intend for the Rapide to be a slower, lamer version of their normal cars. In fact, the Rapide S has a quarter-mile time of 12.4 seconds, which isn’t bad for a more family-friendly sports car. It can accomplish 0 – 60mph in 4 seconds, and paired with the luxury suspension of the more typical Aston Martin cars it’s both a fast and relaxing drive.

The interior styling of the Rapide S is not disappointing either, and anyone familiar with Aston Martin interiors will know that this car’s insides are definitely up to par with the rest of the brand. No expense was spared in the design. The soft, fine leather wraps around the four seats and the dashboard. A traditional analog gauge cluster displays in beautiful aluminum trim like the face of an expensive, luxury watch.

The center of the dashboard is decked out with tons of buttons and controls in a way that is almost comparable to a spaceship. A small infotainment screen rises from the top of the dash when the car is turned on, displaying minor features like the radio and navigation. Like other Aston Martins, there is a key slot in the middle of the dashboard to insert the key and hold pressed down to start the car.

The center console sweeps down between the driver and passenger and through the backseat where there are only two passenger seats. The center console in the rear has two standard cupholders as well as climate control buttons. The rear seats, however, aren’t spacious enough for car seats or anyone much larger than a young child to fit back there comfortably.

For a starting price of around $200,000 brand new, the Aston Martin Rapide was a fun and sporty sedan that has the great styling and luxury of Aston Martin and still not really providing any more practicality. This year Aston Martin did release a larger, more family-oriented vehicle, the DBX, but maybe they could have just given us more usable space in the Rapide S, to begin with.