Aston Martin DBX S - The 727hp Family Car
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think 707hp is enough for a family car. To make do with so few horses to get to the shops just won’t do, frankly. Aston Martin agrees, and there’s now somewhere to go from its DBX707 SUV, the DBX S. Boasting 727hp and 664lb ft, it’s packing the right amount of power for the school run.
I jest, of course. The DBX707 is a magnificent, monstrous thing that’s more than capable, but Aston found itself with a genuine issue - what happens when you’ve had your time with a 707? Where do buyers go? Not, hopes Aston, elsewhere, which is why the DBX S exists. It’s a different proposition to the 707hp scamp we know and love, so customers have a choice. The S, much like the many ‘S’ Astons that came before it, is a harder edged, angrier, sportier, shoutier car, for families that want to get a few hotlaps in before heading to granny’s for lunch.
Tick the right boxes and you’ll find a 47kg weight saving over the DBX707. Magnesium wheels save 5kg a corner, a carbon roof knocks a few more off (and helps lower the centre of gravity), as does the sportier composite take on Aston’s legendary grille. In the grand scheme, 47kgs might not seem like much, but when you’re looking at a more than two tonne car every little helps.
Its engine, much like the DBX707, is a 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 sourced from Mercedes-AMG, but it’s been fiddled with. It comes with new turbochargers that were developed alongside the mid-engined Valhalla’s engine, which is where the extra horsepower and torque came from. The result is a ludicrous 3.3-second 0-62mph sprint, and a top end of 193mph. From a family car.
While yes, it is large and quite heavy, Aston’s made it dynamically spicy, too. It’s got a 52:48 front to rear weight distribution, reprofiled aero kit to help it slice through the air and generate 40kg more downforce than the 707 at high speed, quicker steering (with a 12m turning circle - no rear steer here either, by choice), and a ‘Track’ setting for the ESP that’ll give you a bit of slip for post-work fun but not so much you’ll end up in a hedge. Well. You shouldn’t, anyway.
It’s a bit spicy then, and intentionally so, but that’s not to say you still don’t get lashings of Aston luxury all over the place. Big, supportive seats that can either heat or cool your colon depending on your mood help you enjoy the leather-clad cabin. Aston’s new infotainment set up is a mighty fine thing, offering clear, concise information as and when you need it. It’s also quick as they come, which is a blessed relief when infotainment can take an age to wake up first thing. Aston’s one of the first manufacturers to lean into Apple’s CarPlay Ultra tech, too. You can use regular CarPlay if you want, but you can also let Apple take over… everything. It’s pretty neat all told, and handles everything the inbuilt system does but it’s a bit more phone-ish. I enjoyed using it, but in the handful of cars I’ve driven with it there have been a few bugs and glitches here ‘n there. Early tech gonna early tech, I guess.
If you’re shorter of stature it’s a bit of a climb to get in and out of, but once you’re sat in the hotseat you have an imperious view of the road and rather lovely view of the DBX’s chunky hood. Aston’s engineers thought the S should have a bit more oomph in the aural department, too, so gave its Vanquish-aping pipes a new tune. It’s low, angry, and pleasing. AMG’s worked wonders with its V8 rumble, but Aston’s take on it feels appropriately… more. There used to be a soft limiter for static DBX revs, too, but customers didn’t like that (and neither did I), so it’s magically gone away. You’ll raise some eyebrows at the lights, that’s for sure.
There are a LOAD of drive modes: Terrain, GT, Sport, Sport+, and Individual. Some of them you’ll use a lot, others… you’ll barely tickle (the ‘Terrain’ mode, for example, probably won’t be troubled on the regular). In the regular ‘GT’ mode the DBX S feels like a big SUV. Well, that’s not entirely fair, it feels like an AMG-powered Aston Martin SUV, but it won’t try and bite your face off, or make you involuntarily scream for some sort of divine intervention. The S comes with three chamber air suspension and damping - it, says Aston, gives greater control over how drive modes are spread. Here, the DBX is a waft-o-matic cruiser, though not a soggy one. The ride is pillow-y soft, but when you take a sharp bend you don’t have to worry about scraping your elbows. The noise is muted (though you can turn it up to angry, and VERY angry via a centre console-mounted button), and it’s most pleasant. Your mum’d love it.
You’d probably prefer ‘Sport’ as something to play in. Here, the dampers are less damp, the powertrain is a touch more aggressive, and it sounds rather burbly. It’s here, and its edged ‘Sport Plus’ sister setting, that you feel the ‘S’ benefits. It’s important to say at this point that the extra 20hp, while cool on paper, isn’t strictly necessary. Much like giving a millionaire a fiver, it’s not particularly noticeable, but that’s because there was SO much power to start with. I’m sure a racing driver with years of experience under their cheeks will be able to finely pick out the breed and pedigree of the extra geegees, but me? It’s made an already chuffing quick car a smidge quicker. And that’s excellent.
It’s punishingly fast in a straight line. Trick dampers have a good ‘ol go at keeping things nice and flat on a full bore launch, but physics will always win here. The body of the car leans back as you’re flung far into the distance, laughing like a loon, giddily giggling at the quad pipes making noise. The DBX S is a perfect example of a car that passes ‘The Zippy Test.’ If you’re of a certain age you’ll remember the kids’ show Rainbow. One of its stars, a mischievous orange… thing, Zippy, has a gleeful, slightly evil laugh. If a car makes you laugh like him, it’s almost certainly good.
Tackling mountain roads, the DBX S’ steering is smooth and rather sweet. A Vantage it is not, but you can feel what the car’s doing, and place it easily on the road. There’s also colossal amounts of grip to play with. All wheel drive and lots of chunk to push down on the road helps, but you can pin it at eyebrow raising speeds without too much issue. Getting it unstuck is work for a track, but, I’m told, is rather fun to do. The flow you can find yourself in, despite over two tons and a high-ish centre of gravity is hugely fulfilling. Once you’ve found your grove, pitching from bend to bend is as easy as it gets. It’s a driver's car through and through.
If I’m honest, there’s a little about the DBX S to pick apart. It’s very large, which means if you live in a tiny village your neighbours will probably hate driving by you as you go to work. CarPlay Ultra is still a new thing and is occasionally buggy, however that’s not an Aston Martin problem but an Apple one. Some of the weight saving tech IS very cool, but much like the extra dollop of power I do wonder whether the average driver will really reap the benefit of £14k magnesium wheels (which you can’t really repair - so kerb one and you’ll need a new one) in the real world.
Overall power is another thing altogether - the days of the Veyron’s imperious 1,000PS output being untouchable are long gone. Today, from an engine half the size, you can get within a Golf GTI of what was once the pinnacle of automotive engineering. In a family car. The DBX S is a silly, brutish, elegant, joyous machine for people who are often late. Probably because they’re busy taking the scenic route.
words: Alex Goy
pictures: Aston Martin
