Aston Martin DBX – long-term-review

Having learned that TG’s departing editor-in-chief Charlie Turner had been involved in the building of our new long-term DBX, Ollie Kew and I thought it best to give it a proper once-over soon after it arrived in the TG garage. Safety first...

So, what better way to do that than with a 900-mile round trip to the Scottish Highlands and back? Best to be thorough in these situations.

To be fair, we had good reason for heading up that way, and it wasn’t just for the fantastically-tense game of snooker in the regal Billiards Room at the Inverlochy Castle Hotel (although let the record state that it ended with a Potts victory). 

No, our real purpose for heading up to the shores of Loch Lochy (brilliant name) was for the group test to end all group tests – our Scottish Speedster Shootout between the Ferrari Monza, the Aston Martin Speedster and the McLaren Elva. Click these blue words if you somehow missed it…

Now, the Speedsters would sensibly be delivered up to Inverlochy on transporters (with the exception of the Caterham 620S that Rowan would drive all the way from London – with its windscreen in place, thankfully – stopping only for fuel and to briefly contemplate his life choices). That meant Ollie and I could experience the delights of the A1 in the DBX, and we’d then be able to test its practicality as a support vehicle on the shoot. 

First impressions were that CT had done a great job on the configurator after a little help from Aston’s Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman. That blue interior with its touch of wood on the doors and centre console is a smart place to be and the DBX’s front seats are perfectly formed for a long slog – handy considering most folks grand tour in SUVs rather than actual GTs these days.

There’s huge amounts of space for your legs and head, and the big Aston can settle into a remarkably quiet ninth-gear cruise at motorway speeds keeping the burbling V8 hushed. Tyre noise was respectable despite the massive 22-inch wheels. 

Our main issue? Even after nine straight hours behind the wheel, both of us were jabbing away at the central infotainment screen forgetting that it isn’t a touchscreen and you have to use the little clickwheel. Many finger smudges were made. Don’t blame us, it’s just so perfectly placed to be touch-sensitive.

I took over driving duties from Kew on the Scottish border, just as the big man upstairs decided to drop what felt like a month’s worth of rain in one afternoon. It may have four-wheel drive and it may weigh over 2.2 tonnes, but we can confirm that the DBX isn’t immune from a little bit of aquaplaning. 

On the whole, HMS DBX dealt with the unholy weather with relative ease and remained relaxing throughout. Plus, when the rain eased the 542bhp 4.0-litre biturbo V8 was useful for dispensing with caravans on single carriageway roads. An average of around 20mpg was a little hard to swallow, though, and the DBX’s 85-litre tank made for daunting £100+ fuel stops. When’s that hybrid version landing, chaps?

Still, it’s a mark of just how easily the DBX dispatches miles that Jack and Rowan decided to pull rank and grab the keys for the drier journey home, leaving Ollie and I to follow in their wake. In a Skoda estate. Sorry-not-sorry about the empty crisp packets, chaps.