Aston Martin DBX S review

From £210,5458

Lavishing more of everything onto their SUV worked before, so guess what Gaydon’s gone and done now…

This latest halo version of the DBX - the Aston Martin DBX-S - seeks to redistribute a few bragging rights among the owners of top-ranking super SUVs. And we’d be naive to imagine those were unimportant.

Using new enlarged twin-scroll turbochargers taken from the Valhalla hypercar, the Mercedes-AMG-sourced V8 in this car now tiptoes beyond the 715bhp headline power output of the Ferrari Purosangue’s atmo V12. A plug-in hybrid Lamborghini Urus SE offers more still (789bhp) - but is also a tenth-of-a-second slower-accelerating to 62mph than this Aston Martin is. 

One way or another, then, this S version gives DBX devotees fresh objective justification to back up the subjective sense that their everyday-use, any-occasion supercar-on-stilts must surely be the best luxury car in the world - and worth every penny of its £210,000 departure price.

When Aston Martin introduced the 707 version of the DBX super-SUV, it expected to offer it alongside the standard one; but buyers overwhelmingly proved willing to pay extra for the hardcore 697bhp version over the 543bhp option. So much so that when Gaydon gave the DBX a mid-life update last year, it dropped the base model altogether. No point in making something that people aren’t buying, after all.

Will history repeat itself? Is the DBX-S a better DBX? Or just a quicker one? Read on to find out.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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The DBX707’s 697bhp (707PS) was already the most power that the cross-plane 4.0-litre Mercedes-AMG V8 made anywhere (not including the flat-plane-crank Black Series version), but Aston Martin’s engineers have been able to extract even more for the DBX-S by way of some bigger turbochargers (still twin-scroll), taken from the Aston Martin Valhalla supercar.

The result is 717bhp, with a bigger rush higher up in the rev range. The 0-62mph time remains unchanged, at 3.3sec, but I’m told that’s a conservative figure for the standard car. Spec all the lightweight options and your S should go a bit quicker.

Yes, you read that right: this 2245kg SUV is available with a range of lightweight options that can get that figure down to a gossamer 2198kg. Chief among those are the new 23in magnesium wheels, saving about 5kg of unsprung mass a corner (and cost £15,000); a carbonfibre roof, which saves another 18kg over the standard panoramic sunroof (but costs a further £5000); and some other carbon body trims that come as part of a package. 

So, while it looks uncharacteristically generous for Aston Martin to price the DBX-S from the same £210,000 entry price as the regular -707, it’s unlikely that many owners will be getting much change from £250k having finalised their orders. That still isn’t quite Purosangue money - but it also doesn’t quite make this car, as standard at least, the clearly distinguished, 'lightweighted' proposition you might have expected.

The chassis has been revised as well. Everything starts with the steering rack, which gets a 4%-faster ratio. A bit of extra articulation was liberated at the same time, thus reducing the turning circle slightly to 12.0m. It’s no London taxi, but this does lend credence to chief engineer Andy Tokley’s argument that the DBX doesn’t need four-wheel steering. While that would make it more manoeuvrable, the additional compliance in such a system is detrimental to direct and predictable handling, he says.

To support the more immediate steering, the air springs, adaptive dampers, and electronic anti-roll control (eARC) system have been recalibrated, particularly in the sportier modes. The eARC doesn’t just stem roll for the whole car but, by doing so more on one end of the car than the other, can make it more agile or stable as desired.

If you like the way carbonfibre tends to be used on modern exotic sports cars, you’ll certainly like the way the DBX-S looks. Ours had lashings of the lacquered stuff - from roof to mirror caps to bumpers to diffusers - as well as one of Gaydon’s rather lovely chopped carbon bonnet badges. Taking into account the matt-finish black magnesium wheels and the new black radiator grille as well, it makes for a nicely stealthy look that’s just a little bit understated, but still menacing enough to cause passers by to sneak a second look. If you really want this to land, however, we’d go for a darker shade of paint than the shark-skin-like pale grey of our test car - which contrasted quite starkly with the darker body elements.

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INTERIOR

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On the interior, part-leather-and-alcantara seats come as standard - although our test car had a full leather cockpit as another option.

The glossy carbonfibre trim extends into the door panels and across the dashboard, with lots of piano black plastic on the steering wheel spokes and centre console - the latter letting an otherwise high standard for perceived quality slip a little, in this tester’s eyes. But from its driving position to its seats, and the generous passenger space it offers to all but the tallest adult passengers travelling the back, the DBX-S’s interior is otherwise hard to fault, and feels really solid and expensively finished.

The DBX received some big interior changes in 2024, primarily a transplant of the DB12’s much more attractive and bespoke dashboard. It really does look the part, and the materials are suitably high-end.

It runs Apple CarPlay Ultra. Unlike normal CarPlay, which displays your media and navigation apps in a segregated system, Ultra takes over the car’s whole digital environment, including the car’s settings menus and digital instruments. It works pretty well but gives everything a colder, slightly generic feel compared with the Aston Martin interface. Thankfully, it’s possible to still use that and normal CarPlay.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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There’s something of the expensive powerboat about the cross-plane woofle of the car’s V8 around idle, which seems entirely in keeping; and which the S-specific exhaust of this car serves to make louder, richer and more characterful.

On the move, the DBX-S is monstrously fast if you’re brave enough to fully uncork it; but those enlarged turbos do make for some low-crankspeed laziness about the throttle response, which can adversely affect drivability in the higher gears.

You can tell that Gaydon has recalibrated the car’s nine-speed automatic gearbox for sharper shifts; although they still don’t always come perfectly timed - whether you ask for them via the paddles, or just with a flex of your toe. The net effect feels quite old-school in both the amount of lag, and just how high up the rev range the real shove is delivered. While that adds to the theatre, it also interrupts your flow on a good road.

All of Aston’s sports cars use ZF transaxle gearboxes now, making the DBX the only Aston to use the Mercedes-sourced, front-mounted, wet-clutch nine-speeder. In this application especially, the difference shows. The Mercedes’ gearbox is just a little bit slow to actuate manual changes, feels snatchier and less smooth than the ZF; and doesn’t always kick down quickly enough when you want a short burst of speed. Although the latter bit does depend on selected driving mode.

RIDE & HANDLING

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As in all Astons, you switch between GT, Sport and Sport+ driving modes by rotating the chunky, haptively enticing collar around the starter button. As you do this, the V8 exhaust drama progresses from warble to bellow; and the car’s height-adjustable air suspension, adaptive dampers and active anti-roll bars all either firm up or scootch down, turning a car with the touring refinement you expect of a luxury GT into something of a lot more tautness, responsiveness and aggression.

There’s probably a little bit too much intransigence and attitude about this car’s ride and body control for the average British B-road when you dial up its systems; but, versus a DBX707, it's certainly a change of pace. The edge of fidgeting skittishness that those 23in wheels and low-profile tyres add in GT mode becomes more abiding and discouraging in Sport and Sport+; while the car’s quickened steering begins to load up a touch too much under braking and over bumps, demanding plenty of concentration and a fairly firm hand.

The DBX-S ride is sensitive to coarse surfaces, but excels on most motorways. Shame the adaptive cruise control is so over-sensitive, slowing you down for traffic in adjacent lanes, and then making the gearbox kick down a ratio to resume your old speed.
Matt Saunders
Road test editor

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the car's outright grip, body control or chassis balance. The front axle bites in willingly and gives you strong confidence through the steering, which is quick but linear and reassuringly but not cloyingly weighted.

Once you have figured out how to engage the stability control’s Track mode (hold the button but not for too long), that mostly stays out of your way as well, making the most of the four-wheel drive system’s strong natural traction and preference for torque at the rear wheels.

The air suspension largely behaves the same as on the 707 in GT mode, with bigger changes in Sport and Sport+; although there's no mistaking the impact that those 23in wheels have on ride isolation. GT mode is all you'll really need or want on the road, most of the time.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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With its extra power, fettled suspension and general extra grrr, you might expect the DBX S to carry a significant price premium over the 707, but not so: they cost the same: £210,000.

Naturally, there’s a lengthy options list to get stuck into that includes those magnesium wheels for £15,000, and that carbon roof for £5000. Aston Martin wouldn't confirm other options prices.

For cruising economy, think 22mpg at UK motorway speeds; enough to drain the car's 85-litre, £120-a-fill fuel tank in a little over 400 miles.

VERDICT

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Price parity puts the S in an interesting position, because rather than an upgrade to the 707, you could say it more like an alternative; before you add those key options, of course.

The S feels a bit like an easy-win development that might just entice a few more potential buyers to stick their head in the showroom. The fact that it is slightly more powerful than a Ferrari Purosangue will be just the ticket for some.

The DBX-S certainly feels like a feistier proposition than a regular 707; and upgrading owners won't miss where it’s developed ten- to twenty per cent extra noise, poise, directness and attitude here and there. The compromises are few, and fairly slight; this is still an impressively versatile luxury GT.

Whether it’s a better DBX depends on your priorities; but the fact that it's an easier one to boast about may be all the reason to exist that it actually needs.

Illya Verpraet

Illya Verpraet Road Tester Autocar
Title: Road Tester

As a road tester, Illya drives everything from superminis to supercars, and writes reviews and comparison tests, while also managing the magazine’s Drives section. Much of his time is spent wrangling the data logger and wielding the tape measure to gather the data for Autocar’s in-depth instrumented road tests.

He loves cars that are fun and usable on the road – whether piston-powered or electric – or just cars that are very fit for purpose. When not in test cars, he drives an R53-generation Mini Cooper S.

Matt Saunders

Matt Saunders Autocar
Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Tesla Roadster, Ariel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren Senna, Renault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.