Aston Martin DBX – long-term-review

After 11,000 miles, it’s time to hand back the keys to our DBX. How to conclude? Let's sum up on Aston's first 4x4.

Its looks have drawn both praise and shrugs of shoulders in equal measure but personally, I think it looks great – prettier than a Bentayga, less of a whiff of Championship footballer than a Urus and far less common than a Cayenne. And whilst the new Range Rover might be a bit of a looker itself, it makes no attempt to appear sporting in the way that the DBX does.

The Aston delivers on those sporting looks too. With 542bhp, 0-62mph in 4.5 secs and a top speed of 181mph, it might not quite be the fastest super-SUV available, but it does manage to pull off the deeply impressive trick of going and handling like a GT car, in spite of weighing in at 2.2 tonnes.

As far as I’m concerned that’s more than enough performance and handling, but if you want to win at Top Trumps, Aston will soon have you covered. The recently announced DBX707 boasts an extra 155 bhp (a total of 707 metric horsepower, hence the name) which will make it the fastest SUV on the market today.

It’ll get you to 62mph in 3.3 secs and on to a 193mph top speed with tweaked suspension and damping to help manage the additional power. For an expected £30k more than the standard car, you’ll also get styling tweaks like a larger front grille, 23in alloys and a new spoiler and diffuser at the rear. We put the 707 back-to-back with our standard long-term test car in the studio for a first look at the new range-topper here. Shows off the differences to a tee, doesn't it...
 
Whilst the 707’s stats are impressive, and there will be plenty of folk who like the idea of a DBX dialled up to 11, I’m pretty smitten with the standard model. It’s been a joy to live with - fun to drive, particularly in Sport+ mode, and perfectly practical as a luxury family car.

At 21 mpg, fuel economy has been slightly better than the manufacturer’s claim which is something I’ve never experienced before and is no doubt largely due to the number of miles I do with cruise control engaged in average speed check zones.

Reliability has been good too, the only fault being that the wing mirrors have stopped folding back when the car is locked. I’ve tried to rectify this without success via the settings menu, but it should be an easy fix when the car gets back to Aston Martin HQ.

My only gripe is the lack of a touch screen, wireless phone charging and head up display. All are available on a humble Ford Focus, so why not here too? Perhaps that ought to be the next update, instead of even more horsepower.

That all said, the DBX is a car that bridges the gap between luxury SUV and sports car perhaps better than anything else and its rarity on British roads only adds to its appeal. If you’ve yet to be seduced by the new Range Rover SV V8, and the extra £15k required isn’t a hurdle, the DBX is definitely worth adding to your 'first world problems' shopping list. If enough people do so, this car deserves to be a cash-cow for its maker.