Test Car Specifications
Model tested: Aston Martin DBX707
Pricing: From £189,000
Engine: 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 petrol
Transmission: nine-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Body style: five-door, five-seat SUV
CO2 emissions: 323g/km
Combined economy: 19.9mpg
Top speed: 193mph
0-62mph: 3.3 seconds
Power: 707hp
Torque: 900Nm
Boot space: 638 litres
What's this?
In essence, this is the car the Aston Martin DBX was always supposed to be. A new deal with Mercedes-AMG meant the engineers were finally given free rein to modify the DBX’s 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine. So with an air of glee, they set about fitting new, larger turbochargers with low-friction bearings and modifying the gearbox. A new clutch went in, offering 40% faster gear changes and launch control, while a stainless steel quad exhaust was also bolted on.
The result is a massive increase in power compared with the standard DBX. Where that car produces 550hp, the new DBX707 pumps out 707hp (hence the name) and sends that to the road via a nine-speed automatic gearbox and an updated active differential, which is essentially designed to send more power to the rear wheels and improve the DBX’s handling.
With a 0-62mph time of just 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 193mph, the DBX707 goes straight in as one of the fastest and most powerful SUVs in the world, competing with the Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT.
To cool that ultra-powerful petrol engine (not to mention the brakes, gearbox and all-wheel-drive system that go with it), Aston Martin has had to make big changes to the front end of the car. The grille has grown massively and the daytime running lights have shrunk, giving the car more chance to suck in air like some kind of four-wheeled basking shark.
But extra cooling comes at a cost. The larger grille has increased drag, so Aston Martin has been forced to add some new aerodynamic features to maintain the same coefficient of drag as the standard DBX. These include new skirts, new vents and a new spoiler, as well as underbody aerodynamics and fins to direct air to wherever the engineers want it.
Yet there’s one key thing the designers have shied away from doing. Were this a Porsche or BMW, the engineers would have immediately set about lowering the suspension to reduce the size of the hole the DBX707 punches through the air. But Aston Martin hasn’t bothered, choosing instead to maintain the DBX’s off-road capability. Only when the car is in one of its sportier driving modes will it hunker down to sit lower than the standard DBX.
All this has had a profound effect on the car’s design, and if the standard DBX was divisive, the new DBX707 looks even more Marmite-ish. But while the exterior will split opinion, the interior is less likely to cause arguments.
The cabin is more or less identical to that of the 550hp DBX, with an identical dashboard and instrument display, as well as a very similar infotainment system. The centre console is a little different, thanks to the drive mode selector that’s surrounded with extra buttons to tune individual components, including the suspension and engine note. Other changes include some new cupholders, but as they’re being introduced across the DBX range in response to “customer feedback” that’s a minor change.
The only major change, therefore, is the seats, which are now more supportive and designed to keep you in place when you’re throwing the car around. But having so few changes allows you to enjoy the same amount of interior and boot space as the standard car. And that’s a good thing, because the DBX is a pretty practical thing. The 638-litre boot might only be slightly larger than that of the Lamborghini Urus, but neither is exactly poky, while the DBX’s slightly less slanted roofline means it has marginally more rear headroom. And solid legroom means seating four adults won’t be a problem for DBX707 owners.
How does it drive?
At risk of stating the obvious, the DBX707 is outrageously fast. The 3.3-second 0-62mph time isn’t just enough to lunch other SUVs, but it’s also enough to leave supercars in your wake. And while it doesn’t feel quite as neck-breakingly fast as those figures suggest, it certainly isn’t slow. The acceleration is more than capable of forcing you back into that beautifully stitched seat, and the V8 sounds absolutely wonderful as it girds its loins.
But the DBX707 is more than just fast in a straight line. As well as squeezing more power from that engine, Aston’s engineers have also had their way with the chassis, putting new damper valves in and tweaking the suspension calibration to improve the car’s body control. And although the front suspension is stiffer than before, there’s a new hydrobush to improve damping and overall comfort.
At the same time, Aston Martin has retuned the centre differential to send more power to the rear wheels and make driving more fun, but still send power to the front when it’s needed. The steering has been tweaked, too, and massive carbon-ceramic brakes lurk behind the similarly massive wheels. Even the stability control system has been designed for maximum driver enjoyment.
All that results in a truly spectacular super-SUV. The Urus is impressive, but it’s so capable that it almost feels like a video game. The DBX707, on the other hand, feels more natural and more communicative. The body still leans a little, giving you more feel for what’s going on, and the steering has a little more feedback to it. The turn-in is sharp and the rear-biased all-wheel-drive system allows you to adjust the car mid-corner using the throttle.
But for all this fabulousness, the DBX707 doesn’t sacrifice comfort in pursuit of handling perfection. The car has been designed to remain roughly as comfortable as the standard car, but with a little more body control. Even as you climb the driving modes, the car doesn’t get any less supple — it just pitches and rolls a little less. The result is something dramatically more comfortable than a Lamborghini Urus.
Verdict
On paper, the DBX707 is simply a faster version of the standard V8-powered DBX. But that’s only part of the story. This car offers a greater breadth of capability, mixing the qualities of a spacious grand tourer with a luxury SUV and a high-performance sports car. Perhaps it isn’t a traditional Aston Martin, but in terms of all-round ability it’s probably the best Aston Martin. What’s more, it’s also one of the best performance SUVs on the market.
Exterior Design
Interior Ambience
Passenger Space
Luggage Space
Safety
Comfort
Driving Dynamics
Powertrain
