Aston Martin DBX S review: Our favourite luxury SUV
When Aston Martin introduced the DBX707 in 2022, it expected this faster, more expensive model to account for 50 percent of DBX sales. Instead, fully 90 percent of customers plumped for the 707hp newcomer, and the original 550hp DBX was discontinued soon afterwards. The message was clear: Aston Martin buyers wanted more performance and they were prepared to pay for it.
Enter the new DBX S. Before you ask, this even faster, even more expensive model won’t be replacing the ’707. However, it is the new flagship of the DBX range, with more power, less weight and sportier styling. Aston Martin pitches it as a direct rival for the Lamborghini Urus SE. At the lower and upper ends of that SUV spectrum, you might also consider the Range Range Sport SV or Ferrari Purosangue.
The DBX707 was already a five-star luxury SUV, so do the ‘S’ upgrades make it even better? Or will they tip the balance too far, sacrificing comfort and usability for pub bragging rights and a few tenths off a lap time? A day of driving in the mountains of Mallorca should provide some answers…
Turbo tech from the Valhalla
Unlike the previous leap from 550hp to 707hp, the power increase here is more modest. Twenty more horses for the 4.0-litre V8 means a total of 727hp: the extra oomph achieved by using turbocharger technology (such as larger compressor wheels) from the Valhalla hypercar. Maximum torque is unchanged, at 663lb ft from 2,750-4,500rpm.
Specify all the lightweight options, including various carbon fibre parts and magnesium wheels, and you can save 47kg: a figure that seems equally modest on an SUV that otherwise weighs in at 2,245kg. The quoted 0-62mph time and top speed are identical to the DBX707, at 3.3 seconds and 193mph, although the ‘S’ is 0.3 seconds quicker from 0-124mph.
Still, the mightiest DBX isn’t only about the numbers. It also has quicker steering, a rortier soundtrack, more aggressive styling and an updated interior. All this helps justify a starting price of £210,000 – on par with a DBX707 before options are added.
An expensive way to diet
Let’s start with how it looks. Aston Martin has done a better job than most at grafting sports car styling cues onto a bulky SUV. You wouldn’t call the DBX elegant, but nor is it overly brash (like a Lamborghini Urus) or plain ugly (hello, Rolls-Royce Cullinan).
The easiest way to spot an ‘S’ are its vertically stacked tailpipes, available in a gloss or matt finish, which sit within a reshaped rear bumper. A black front grille is another visual giveaway, along with more sculpted side sills – optionally available in carbon fibre. You can have the splitter, sills and diffuser highlighted by coloured pinstripes, too: choose from Rosso Corsa, Trophy Silver or Podium Green.
What about those lightweight options? Well, the biggest saving comes from a carbon fibre roof – the largest carbon component ever fitted to an Aston Martin – which saves 18kg and helps lower the DBX’s centre of gravity. A polycarbonate honeycomb grille inspired by the DBS 770 Ultimate, combined with carbon elements in the bumpers and diffuser, will reduce weight by a further 10kg.
The final 19kg comes from the 23-inch magnesium wheels: an SUV-first and yours for a really rather substantial £15,000. The terror of kerbing them, particularly on such a wide car, means we’d probably stick with the standard forged alloy rims.
First with Apple CarPlay Ultra
Inside the DBX S, the biggest news – for iPhone users, at least – is the arrival of CarPlay Ultra. Aston Martin is the first brand to use Apple’s new automotive interface, which reduces the need to toggle between CarPlay and the car’s own touchscreen menus.
Put simply, in addition to the usual iPhone icons for making calls, music, podcasts, Google Maps and so on, you can also access most of the car’s functions, including heating and air-con, drive modes, parking cameras and audio setup. You can even switch off the nagging, EU-mandated active safety systems without having to exit CarPlay.
Using CarPlay Ultra changes the driver display as well, but the design of the digital dials (which can be customised) is unique to Aston Martin. Overall, the system works well and makes interacting with the car a little easier, backed up by ‘proper’ physical controls on the centre console. Don’t have an iPhone? You can use Android Auto, although it won’t offer any enhanced functionality.
As ever, the Aston Martin’s cabin is a very agreeable place to spend time, with ample space and excellent build quality. Alcantara (man-made suede) trim is standard, with herringbone-pattern leather on the seats: a feature unique to the DBX S. The rear bench can seat three passengers in comfort, and the boot swallows 638 litres of luggage.
Driving the Aston Martin DBX S
While many of its competitors have embraced hybrids or gone fully electric, Aston Martin is still doing things the old-fashioned way. And when the DBX’s big-chested V8 bursts into life, its brooding growl amplified by those new quad tailpipes, that seems like a wise decision. Yes, fuel economy might dip into the low teens if you get carried away (we averaged 14.1 mpg), but no one buys a £210,000 SUV to save money.
On switchback roads carved into the rocky Mallorcan landscape, the twin-turbocharged engine feels majestic. It punches out of corners with gung-ho enthusiasm, piling on speed insatiably until you jump back on the huge carbon-ceramic brakes. There is some lag, but hearing the revs soar and the V8 harden its resolve is integral to the DBX S experience. Oh, and if you want to blip the throttle on start-up, a raised soft limiter – introduced due to customer feedback – means you can wake up your neighbours, or draw a crowd at Cars and Coffee.
A Mercedes-sourced ‘wet clutch’ auto transmission is a good foil for the bombastic engine, if less immediate and intuitive than the best dual-clutch ’boxes. Keen drivers will prefer to swap cogs manually via the paddles, using Sport or Sport Plus modes for a sharper throttle response. When you can’t be bothered, though, the DBX will cruise in muted, smooth-shifting comfort.
DBX: Confidence and capability
Can you feel the extra 20hp and reduced weight? Perhaps if you tried the ‘S’ back-to-back with a DBX707, you might. At a distance of 11 months since driving the latter car in the UK, we struggled to detect much difference. The gains here are marginal.
Still, when the DBX707 was already such a talented SUV, perhaps that’s a good thing. Even when judged against much lower and lighter cars, the ‘family’ Aston Martin is exceptional to drive. It deftly combines long-distance comfort with lucid feedback and taut body control. Whatever kind of road we threw at it, from motorways to mountain passes, the DBX S exuded confidence and capability. Despite its size and heft, it’s a car that relishes being driven with enthusiasm.
The only place the Aston Martin might fall short is off-road. This isn’t a Range Rover, nor does it pretend to be. Besides, think what clambering over rocks and ruts would do to those magnesium wheels. Perish the thought.
Verdict: Aston Martin DBX S
One suspects many buyers will opt for the flagship DBX just because they can, in the same way that Porsche shifts more examples of the 911 Turbo S than the regular 911 Turbo. The ‘S’ badge, which has adorned modern Aston Martins since the V8 Vantage S of 2011, gives this model a credibility beyond even the DBX707. If it becomes the official Formula 1 medical car – which seems likely, following the new Vantage S taking on safety car duties – that kudos will only grow.
If you already own a DBX707, we wouldn’t rush to trade it in. After all, many of the desirable features on the DBX S are options, and it would be easy to spend north of £250,000 on one. Aston Martin could perhaps have gone further and been more ambitious, yet ultimately this is a very polished product, and the best performance SUV this side of a twice-the-price Purosangue. Business as usual, then.
Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research