We try Aston’s new SUV
TESTED We take to Welsh hills near Aston’s new factory to put prototype model through its paces
“The V8 provides a massive shove in the back, with a beefy soundtrack to match”
● Aston's first-ever SUV and first Welsh-built car since 1973 ● Car arrives amidst profit warning and plummeting share value
SUVS have been the saviours of many a car company. Porsche wouldn’t be Porsche (or arguably anything at all) without its Cayenne and Macan models, while Mercedes, Audi and BMW’s balance sheets are healthier thanks to their 4x4 sales.
Aston Martin’s financial woes have been well documented of late, so the famous British brand’s first SUV, the DBX, can’t come soon enough. But is it too little, too late? Auto Express was invited to DBX HQ, the all-new production facility in St Athan, South Wales, to take a drive in the new model alongside Aston’s chief engineer Matt Becker.
Let’s start with the design. At the front, it’s pure Aston – sleek, with the headlights slotting nicely either side the oversized, traditionally shaped grille, laying back into the bonnet complete with slotted air vents.
The back end is dramatic, with slim, fullwidth LED tail-lights – very similar to those on the Vantage – and a pronounced spoiler that works with the rest of the aerodynamics to enable the DBX to do without a rear wiper.
While Astons of late have delivered beauty on the outside, the interiors have been less successful. However, the DBX has the most attractive and effective Aston interior design to date. It’s dominated by a central horseshoe-shaped area with a 10-inch infotainment screen, plus the heating and ventilation controls. The dash is clothed in leather, with a cowl sitting over the 12-inch digital instruments looking a little like Dracula’s cape sitting on his shoulders.
So the DBX delivers on style, but it also does a remarkable job of hiding its size. “It’s bigger than a Cayenne, but just smaller than a Bentayga,” says Becker. It’s 5,039mm long, but looks more akin to a Macan.
That’s a theme that runs throughout the car. “We wanted to make sure the car felt smaller when you drive it, too,” Becker tells us. “We wanted the car to feel like it shrinks around you on the road.” So let’s find out.
At this point, we need to reiterate that the car we’re driving is an early prototype. According to Becker, it’s around 90 per cent there, with some tweaks to the settings around the front suspension that will make the car feel more settled when it goes over imperfections like cat’s eyes in the road.
Prodding the Start button that sits high on the dash, with gear-selector buttons either side, stirs the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 into life, and it settles into a tuneful rumble.
It’s slightly different to the engine found in the Vantage and DB11, but there’s still 543bhp and 700Nm of torque. That goes via a nine-speed torque converter auto – better for smoothness and towing, according to Becker – into a four-wheel-drive system that, like the engine, is Mercedes-sourced.
The technology in the chassis is everything you’d expect in a £158,000 SUV. Adaptive triple-chamber air suspension works with adaptive dampers and an electronic antiroll system, while active differentials with an active centre diff and an electronic rear limited-slip diff ensure the power is sent to the correct wheel, whether it’s more spirited driving you need or you’re heading off road. And yes, the DBX does very much go off road.
But does it handle like an Aston Martin should? Well, it has a playfulness that we weren’t expecting; the front end feels pointier than an SUV has a right to, while the lack of body roll seems to defy physics. It feels more like an Audi RS, BMW M or Mercedes-AMG estate than something that sits 1,680mm tall.
That V8 provides a massive shove in the back when you want it to (with a beautifully beefy soundtrack to match), but the DBX flowed from corner to corner through the Welsh hills of our test route better than any SUV we’ve driven
before; it really does seem to shrink around you. Don’t get us wrong: the DBX isn’t Vantage sharp, but it feels like a sports car more than it looks like a sports car.
You can play with a number of settings, as you’d expect. GT is the normal mode, then there are Sport and Sport+, which sharpen responses from the chassis, gearbox and steering progressively as the car lowers further with each mode. Individual lets you choose the best of all worlds (power on Sport, exhaust on Sport+, and chassis on GT would be our pick), while there’s Terrain (which raises the car up) and Terrain+ (up again) for off-roading; more about that in a bit.
On-road dexterity can come at the expense of comfort, and this is a practical SUV that’s expected to be more than simply a sports car.
We would describe the DBX’s ride as communicative, not firm. If you see a fault in the road surface, you’ll certainly feel it when you pass over it, but you won’t resent it; the DBX always remains comfortable. When Becker is discussing these ‘faults’, he uses the word “disturbance”. In other words, although you know what’s going on down below, it won’t unsettle you.
Our car came on excellent bespoke Pirelli all-season tyres that did a great job of balancing grip, comfort and noise. The DBX is nicely hushed at a cruise.
Those Pirellis also did a fine job as we headed off road. While it’s no Land Rover, the DBX will handle more off-road challenges than most owners would even consider.
When it comes to the things that SUVs have to do, Aston has used its female advisory board well here, it seems. Whether that’s the sizeable space to store a handbag in the centre console or the view down the bonnet to the extreme corners, which is important for all drivers, it looks like it’ll be an easy car to live with.
In fact, visibility all round is impressive, with usefully large door mirrors and decent over-the-shoulder views. The driving position is spot on, with plenty of adjustment, but the array of buttons on the centre console is a bit fussy; there’s lots of them and spotting which one does what isn’t easy.
Aston has now joined the tech race with Apple CarPlay as standard, but it’s still a little way behind with no wireless phone charging – yet – an infotainment system that relies on a cumbersome controller rather than a touchscreen, and a premium audio partner yet to be announced. There are plenty of safety systems on board, though.
While on the subject of tech, there’s no electrification story on the DBX– not even a mild-hybrid system. But with no big batteries to hide anywhere, nobody will feel short changed sitting in the back. The ride back there, if anything, feels even more luxurious, while the view forwards, sideways and upwards through the standard glass roof will keep people of all ages happy. The doors open usefully
“When it comes to things SUVs have to do, Aston has used its Female Advisory Board well it seems”
wide, while the quality you’re presented with as you step inside is where you’d want it to be for a car costing in excess of £150,000.
The boot is a decent 632 litres with more space under the floor, but it’s a long way up for your dog to jump. The air suspension does go into its lowest setting in Access mode.
The DBX will also tow, with a capacity of 2,700kg, although that will obviously dent fuel economy. You wouldn’t expect that to be great anyway, and it’s not: a combined average under the new WLTP standard of 19.7mpg. And if you’re worried about CO2 emissions, look away now: 269g/km measured under the older NEDC standard.
For some luxury SUV buyers, that might matter, but for many it won’t. They’ll just be focused on buying the best SUV for the money. And on the form of this prototype, with improvements to come, the DBX fulfils the brief brilliantly. It’s a very special car that could be the saviour of Aston Martin.
“Aston has made the DBX feel like a sports car much more than it looks like a sports car”