Aston’s charming bruiser
The Aston Martin DBX707 is sharp, mean and yet surprisingly elegant. Jasper Spires reports
Improving upon the Aston Martin DBX is a tall order, but with the DBX707, Britain’s iconic car marque has done just that. Aston Martin has “taken the DBX through a movie training medley – cue cuts of boxing gyms, exhausted men in bloodied silk shorts leaning on the ropes, training staff snarling and a triumphant first fight”, says Andrew English in The Telegraph. The results are marvellous. “It’s recognisably a DBX inside and out, but it all looks sharper and meaner without anything actually changing much bar a few ducts and darts.”
Luxury and sportiness in one package
With a top speed of 193mph, and an engine capable of racing from rest to 62mph in 3.3 seconds, “the DBX707 bristles with aggressive intent”, says Tim Pitt in City AM. Tap the pedal and “the DBX fills its lungs with a blood-and-thunder roar and explodes towards the tiny circle of daylight in the distance”. It’s quite a driving experience, especially considering its size. “The DBX’s quick steering, pliant air suspension and electronic anti-roll system provide an organic feel and confidence-inspiring precision.” Aston calls the car “a sabre in a segment of sledgehammers”. The perfectly judged ride maintains its poise whatever the speed, “treading the fine line between luxury and sporty so well I cannot think how you’d improve it. Really – it’s that good,” says John Howell on PistonHeads. “It’s soft enough to pander to you over big, longwave impositions around town and on quicker roads, but – and this is the neat trick that few manage to pull off – it has the wheel control to stop the bouncing after a vicious pothole.”
“Aston calls the car a sabre in a segment of sledgehammers”
Engineering perfection
The looks are, if anything, “too elegant”, says Ollie Marriage for Top Gear. These days SUV buyers want their cars to look as imposing as possible. But the DBX707 is carefully sculpted. “Aerodynamic requirements – to reduce lift rather than increase downforce to ridiculous levels – account for much of the bodywork additions,” says Stuart Gallagher in Evo. “Some are quite subtle, such as the opening in the rear arches to draw turbulent air away from those huge wheels and tyres, others less so.” Put it all together and the result is engineering perfection. The DBX707 costs £190,000, and it might just change how you look at SUVs forever.