Would the early-1960s-era James Bond approve of Aston Martin’s dabbling in family-friendly SUVs, even ones sporting 717 horsepower and supercar-sourced, ear-blasting exhaust? Six years after the debut of the DBX luxury crossover, a ferocious experiment in high-end genre blending not unlike the Lamborghini Urus, or even the Porsche Cayenne, which was also controversial when it first debuted, the four-door Aston Martin proves you can have it both ways.
To better explore this conundrum, we spent some full-throttle time on one of those car-magazine-famous canyons in Malibu, where we wrung out the even more powerful new DBX S. There, it quickly became clear that this lithe, responsive, and immaculately appointed luxury machine comfortably straddles the worlds of performance and prestigious urban duty. It holds corners and accelerates with all the noisy aplomb of a DB12 or Vantage, size or stature be damned.
That combination of four-wheel-drive versatility, reasonable cargo space, and jaw-dropping looks has helped make the DBX an equally popular ultra-luxe option in Colorado. Here, we might suggest dialing back the optional $22,000 23-inch magnesium wheels and performance summer tires until summertime paving crews have done their work. The same goes for any excursions using the DBX’s dedicated off-road mode. Despite an air suspension system, it is a very, very rigid ride, with a full carbon-ceramic braking system ready to reel in those big speeds.
Powered by a Mercedes-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, 0–60 times land in the low three-second range, so encourage the family to hold on. The S model adds more carbon fiber components to lower the overall center of gravity, though it is also easy to add $100,000 in options to accentuate the vehicle’s exclusivity. We saw more than $30,000 in exterior and interior carbon fiber alone, including sculpted seatbacks, plus sumptuous leather throughout.
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