Aston Martin DBX

REPORT 7

£158,000 OTR/£185,500 as tested/£1,899pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

It’s the car to save Aston Martin – is it good enough?

DRIVER

Adam Waddell

WHEN THE DBX WAS FIRST UNVEILED, IT WAS HERALDED AS “THE CAR to save Aston Martin”. Production started in July 2020 and a little over a year later, we have the sales figures for the first nine months of 2021. Although the company is not yet in profit, between January and September Aston reported 4,250 total sales, 51 per cent of which were attributed to the DBX. Based on that statistic alone, one would have to say that the DBX has been a success, although I’ve only seen a couple on the road here in the UK.

The V12 and much-needed plug-in hybrid versions that have been rumoured would no doubt give the model a further sales boost, but there will still be those who don’t care for the DBX’s styling. The online comments under our TopGear Garage reports indicate that readers are pretty divided on this matter but personally I love the fact that it’s so understated and yet undeniably an Aston Martin. That all said, if the DBX is a little too understated for your tastes, the luxury German modding company Mansory has just announced its take on the model with what it calls a “complete vehicle conversion”. This includes an aggressive looking bodykit featuring two massive spoilers, 24-inch wheels, 800bhp and a largely lime green interior. Each to their own, but I think I’d rather stick with the rather more elegant original.

Talking of elegance, the new Range Rover also looks stunning and will no doubt be brilliant. The entry point is a fair bit cheaper than the DBX, but the on-road handling may not turn out to be quite as sharp as the Aston’s and RRs will certainly become much more commonplace on Britain’s roads soon after launch. Let’s hope that the DBX gets some sort of electrification soon, because once that happens all Aston needs to do is add a touchscreen and two of the RR’s main advantages will have been addressed.