This Performance SUV Is Borderline Absurd

Five days earlier than I used to be set to drive Aston Martin’s 717-horsepower DBX S SUV, a blizzard buried the East Coast in a foot of snow and ice. Arctic temperatures adopted, and the resultant icy combination coating roads and sidewalks seemed like a late-night milkshake half-eaten and forgotten about within the freezer for a month.

I emailed the effective people who handle Aston’s New York press fleet to ask in the event that they nonetheless thought turning me unfastened in a automotive with 23-inch magnesium wheels (a $21,600 possibility, if you happen to should ask) was nonetheless a good suggestion. To their credit score—and my amazement—they stated sure.

We already know how the DBX S drives on a perfectly-paved California canyon street, I figured, so why not learn how it copes with the potholes and frost heaves the remainder of us face every day? After all, that is speculated to be what the .1 % drive when the two-door sports activities automotive is put away for the winter.

Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1

The DBX S is a brand new trim stage for 2026, slotting in above the now-base (if you happen to can name it that) DBX 707. For an additional $13,000, you get a 20-horsepower bump from 697 to 717 and a 103-pound weight financial savings, if you happen to verify one other $38,000 in packing containers for non-compulsory carbon fiber. Despite the additional energy, the DBX 707’s 3.3-second zero-to-60 time and 193-mph high pace stay unchanged. The DBX S additionally will get a retuned steering rack with a four-percent quicker ratio however no mechanical adjustments.

On high of its $291,200 base worth, together with vacation spot and import tariffs, this DBX S carried an eye-watering $131,000 in choices. Exterior trim choices included a particular Q metallic white paint ($13,600), carbon-fiber higher ($10,800) and decrease ($20,200) exterior packs with a crimson pinstripe theme ($14,400) and a carbon-fiber roof ($7,200) on high of the aforementioned magnesium wheels. Inside, the DBX S sports activities dual-tone seats ($9,300), a “jewelry pack” ($6,200), and extra carbon ($5,500) plus mirrored stitching ($2,900). This choices record is fairly wild, so I recorded it on your leisure right here:

Not all of those choices are only for present, although. The carbon roof chops practically 40 kilos (18 kg) from the DBX’s curb weight and lowers its heart of gravity, whereas the magnesium 23s lose one other 42 kilos of unsprung weight—a powerful 10 kilos per nook in a vital place. 

The result’s a 4,800-lb SUV that feels downright agile. Toss the DBX S right into a nook, and it goes with virtually imperceptible inertia or physique roll. There’s no four-wheel steering at work right here—only a balanced chassis and adaptive air suspension paired with Aston Martin’s digital lively roll management (eARC) to thank. 

The 48-volt system exerts as much as 1,032 pound-feet of power on every axle to maintain the DBX stage in corners, and it’s uncanny in its capability to cover the automotive’s measurement and mass over bumps and thru the twisties. The DBX doesn’t share its chassis with anything, in contrast to another vehicles in its phase, and hustling it on a again street reminds us of the magic that may occur when an automaker is in control of the complete dealing with expertise as an alternative of constructing the most effective of what they’re given.

Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1

Pros: Phenomenal Chassis, Lovely Seats, Supple Ride

Like most of Aston’s different merchandise, the DBX S’ engine is a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged AMG mill, and that’s not a grievance within the slightest. It will get a small enhance over the DBX 707’s output determine because of turbochargers from the upcoming Valhalla hypercar. There’s a smidge of lag under 3,000 rpm, when a surge of enhance rockets you ahead, and the periphery blurs. I don’t assume freeway merges would ever get previous on this automotive; a minimum of, they didn’t throughout the week I had it. 

Carbon-fiber paddle shifters management a nine-speed torque-converter automated transmission additionally lifted from AMG. If I needed to nitpick, handbook up- and downshifts at partial throttle aren’t as fast as Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch, however if you happen to mat it in drive on the freeway and belief the transmission, it’ll select the precise gear and get you going shortly.

Photos by: Maddox Kay | Motor1

Photos by: Maddox Kay | Motor1

The DBX’s carbon-fiber (what else?) sport seats supply glorious assist, each on freeway stints and in corners. They even have one of the highly effective heating components I’ve ever skilled. Seriously, temperatures stayed within the teenagers and dipped into single digits throughout my take a look at, and I discovered any warmth setting a couple of out of three on the bum heaters overkill. 

The steering wheel isn’t too thick, like it’s in lots of efficiency vehicles, and the remainder of the leather-swathed inside is a excessive level. The scent of actual leather-based is divine, and all the things feels very effectively put collectively. The rear seats are snug for 2 six-foot adults, and the trunk (22.5 cubic ft, or 54.0 cubic ft with the rear seats folded) matches a Costco haul, although the slim opening means you may battle with bigger gadgets.

Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1

Cons: Preposterous Price Tag, Glitchy Infotainment

Aston Martin is at the moment the one automaker to supply Apple’s CarPlay Ultra superior phone-mirroring software program, and my expertise was … blended. When it labored, it was pretty intuitive, with haptic buttons on the steering wheel toggling varied views and menus, and the primary show displaying what your cellphone would. 

But on day three, the characteristic inexplicably stopped working with my four-year-old iPhone 13, solely to magically repair itself on day six. Luckily, I used to be capable of get common CarPlay to work simply effective, however I by no means discovered the random disconnects.

Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1

What’s extra, the piano-black plastic trim on the middle stack and dashboard smudges simply and is a disappointing distinction to the swaths of leather-based and carbon in a $400,000 automotive. Why do automakers love these things, once more? 

While the DBX’s upwards-swinging doorways are fairly elegant, I discovered the pop-out door handles annoying. They didn’t deploy persistently once I walked as much as the automotive with the important thing, resulting in freezing seconds spent fumbling with gloves on. 

Finally, whereas the carbon-fiber roof means you don’t get a sunroof, the leather-based headliner nonetheless has a raised panel and seams the place it will open. It’s a weird cost-cutting transfer, and the primary time I drove the automotive, I spent a number of minutes searching for a sunroof button earlier than realizing there wasn’t one.

Aston Martin DBX S Verdict

Photo by: Maddox Kay | Motor1

At its core, the DBX S is an excellent cake. But does $131,000 of icing make that cake higher, or simply depart us with a sugar hangover? 

It’s simple that eradicating 40 kilos from the highest of a automotive and one other 42 kilos of unsprung weight on the corners will make it drive higher. Let’s keep in mind that that is nonetheless a nearly-5,000-pound SUV, although. How many individuals are taking it to the observe?

Call me old style, however in a two-and-a-half-ton every day driver, I’d reasonably have the ability to open the sunroof than save a few tenths of a second round Laguna Seca. I don’t need to shudder in horror when approaching a pothole.

The DBX S is a wonderful driver’s automotive, and a straightforward one to reside with. As it rattling certain needs to be, for practically half 1,000,000 {dollars}. But I’m undecided the additional edge it provides in full race spec is well worth the tradeoff for many efficiency SUV consumers.