Around the World: Aston Martin DBX
The Aston Martin is built at St Albans, Wales, at a special plant. Photo: Aston Martin
The luxury British brand’s first ever SUV has just been launched globally and arrives in New Zealand next month, with price starting from $330,000.
Aston Martin reckons that 60 per cent of those who have already signed up to the DBX are new to the brand – and that is important as the car marker has had a turbulent 2020. It has seen CEO and DBX proponent, Doctor Andy Palmer, replaced with German Tobias Moers from AMG at the start of this month.
The DBX will be competition to Lamborghini’s Urus and Bentley’s Bentayga SUVs, and is expected to make up 50 per cent of Aston Martin’s future sales.
So, what did the global media think of it when they drove in recently?
Top Gear
The first ever SUV from Aston Martin will be priced from $330,000. Photo: Aston Martin
The British magazine and website gave it 8/10.
“The DBX is Aston’s first SUV in its 100-plus years of history - an attempt to wedge open the tall-car-centric doors of global markets like China, the Middle East and the USA - places deeply attached to the idea of Big Vehicle Status. It’s also a stab at making a useable, practical, everyday Aston past the four-door Rapide AMRs still lurking at the factory. There’s a brand-new production facility at St. Athan in Wales, variants in the pipeline and a lot riding on the DBX’s success …
Layered over the hardware is a striking bit of design work by AM’s design overlord Marek Reichman, featuring elements you don’t usually see in the toolkit of blocky SUV design tropes, and the DBX the better for it. There’s a long bonnet that butts up against a generously-raked ‘screen, a low roofline and a pinched ducktail at the rear that apes the Vantage.
There’s muscle and tone in the side profile, a long wheelbase and plenty of detail - though it has to be said it looks better in the metal than it does in pictures and that it does have some more awkward angles if you spend some time wandering around the car. It’s not boring though – and there’s a lot to be said for that.”
Auto Car UK
The DBX will compete with the Lambo Urus and Bentley Bentayga. Photo: Aston Martin
“It’s the result of bold ambition for a manufacturer of Aston’s size: new car, new market segment, new platform, new factory, first SUV, first full five-seater. The only way the DBX could be newer were if the hybridised V6 petrol engine that Aston is also working on were ready.
This engine sits at the front of a new aluminium architecture, sited as far back under the bonnet as possible, giving the DBX a weight distribution of 54:46 front to rear. It drives the rear wheels most of the time but all four when it’s slippery, through a nine-speed automatic gearbox and a variety of differentials.
The DBX is bigger than it looks: at 5039m long it’s actually 4cm longer than the Range Rover but it’s a lot lower, at 1680mm to 1869mm.
There’s air suspension, which can both raise or lower the body height, adaptive damping to accompany it and the 48V active anti-roll bar system that’s starting to feel obligatory on cars like this. Try to prevent body roll the old-fashioned mechanical way and you will end up with a car that’s either too loose or too stiff, and an Aston should be neither.
Also throw in the electronically controlled four-wheel drive system, then, and you have an SUV that’s incredibly complex for Aston, a company that typically specialises in honest-feeling front-engined coupés with driven rear wheels, as it tries to do everything for everyone everywhere. Largely, it nails it.”
CarAdvice
The DBX’s interior is supposed to be like a sports car. Photo: Aston Martin
The Aussie website had its Europe-based writer test it, and he gave it 8.4/10.
“The styling team have managed to bring in plenty of details from Aston’s sports cars without turning it into a ramped pastiche. You’ve got to admit it’s pretty svelte by the standards of its hulking segment.
Aston has followed a similar approach in the cabin, although not quite as successfully. The design is meant to make it feel more like a sports car than an SUV, meaning lots of curving, organic shapes and – from the command seat – a view forwards that is pretty similar to the one you’d experience in a DBS, although while sitting the best part of a metre higher.
Materials feel plush, fit and finish are good, and it is impressively roomy both front and rear. This is the most spacious series-production Aston for rear seat passengers since the William Towns Lagonda sedan of the ’70s.
But it is a bit short on both bling and kit. The DBX gets digital instruments as standard, but the 12.3-inch screen in the centre of the dashboard sits within an oddly shaped binnacle and, as we noted with the prototype, immediately surprises by not being touch-sensitive. (I knew it wasn’t before getting into the car, but the instinct to use fingers rather than the turn-and-click control wheel was still overwhelming.)
The lack of tech continues in other areas. The DBX doesn’t get any trick rotating screens, gesture controls or crowd-pleasing gizmos like smart reconfigurable interior lighting. It’s also lacking some of the active safety systems that normally come standard on cars costing a quarter as much, nor is there even the option of piloted cruise. The DBX can maintain distance and warn when it is leaving a lane, but it won’t actively steer itself.
The seat frames are carried over from the DB11, and don’t feel ideally suited to a taller SUV. The only comfortable position I could find was lower and more reclined than I would have chosen.”
Car and Driver
The DBX can tow and is capable off-road. Photo: Aston Martin
“The company best known for supplying James Bond with his wheels now aims to capitalize on the hugely popular crossover market that has already seduced iconic rivals, such as Lamborghini with its Urus.
While the DBX doesn't have the Lambo's extroverted styling, it delivers its own brand of beauty. It also drives with the same liveliness and grace that Aston Martin is known for. Plus, the 2021 DBX can be taken off-road and tow heavy loads, which is what's expected of ultra-expensive luxury crossovers.
The DBX is powered by a twin-turbo 4-litre V-8 engine supplied by Mercedes-AMG. The engine makes 405kW and 700Nm and and pairs with a nine-speed automatic transmission also supplied by Mercedes.
While the DBX is fundamentally rear-wheel drive, a centre transfer case sends torque to the front axle when slippage is detected at the rear, and there is also a limited-slip rear differential. Adaptive dampers and air springs are also standard.
The version we drove on England's best roads showcased the engine's lusty soundtrack and the transmission's unobtrusive operation. Its chassis demonstrated a broad range of demeanors, thanks to a diverse set of drive modes, which ranged from refined and relaxed to responsive and playful. The DBX is not just another pretty face, either: it can tow 2694kg and can actually venture off-road with its adjustable ride height and descent-control features.”
