Aston Martin DBX 707 (2024) first drive: Weaknesses eliminated?

A glance at the business press over the past few days is enough to tell you what has happened to Aston Martin. Profit forecast for 2024 revised downwards despite high hopes due to a quite remarkable 2023, share price plummeting again, problems with suppliers, and in Asia (especially China), even the super-rich are no longer so flush with cash. 

These are major challenges for the new CEO, ex-Bentley boss Adrian Hallmark, and the entire Aston Martin Lagonda company. But if there is one thing you cannot accuse the British of is inactivity. With the DB12, the facelifts of the Vantage and DBX and the breathtaking new Vanquish, the company has completely revamped its model portfolio within the space of a year.

Gallery: Aston Martin DBX 707 (2024) first drive

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Source: Aston Martin

Despite all the slightly wicked dream factory charm, where sports car, roadster and twelve-cylinder glories are shaken out of their sleeves more casually and sexily than anywhere else in the world, it is of course the SUV that keeps the business going. The DBX accounts for more than half of all Aston sales. Eliminating its weak points could (and probably must) further increase its appeal. Is this the case? We have checked it out. 

Jump straight to it:

Exterior | Interior | Driving report | Conclusion

What is that?

It was only a matter of time before Aston Martin folded. In 2020, 107 years after the company was founded, the time had come and it was no longer possible to resist the temptations conjured up by the sales success of the Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga, Porsche Cayenne and the like. 

The last four-door model (remember the Rapide?) didn't really work out so well. So now there's a little less sex appeal and more really useful features. Although, in my humble opinion at least, the DBX is certainly the best-looking SUV you can buy at the moment.

And it doesn't necessarily look all that boring and practical when you look at the DBX data sheet. It originally started with a 4.0-litre biturbo V8 supplied by Mercedes-AMG, which delivers 550 PS and 700 Nm.

After the 2024 facelift, there is now only the maximally primal DBX707 with - you guessed it - 707 PS. And it also delivers 900 Nm of torque. The 707 appeared in 2022 and after it came out, nobody wanted the other one. In 2023, when both variants were still in the brochure, more than 90 per cent of customers opted for the more powerful DBX. That made the decision easier, of course.

Modified turbochargers and more cooling provided the Affalterbach eight-cylinder engine with a considerable increase in power. Aston awarded the DBX707 the title of "world's most powerful luxury SUV". Which was undoubtedly true until the 725 PS Ferrari Purosangue appeared. 

Nevertheless, you should not expect any major mechanical changes with the facelift. On the performance and drivability front, satisfaction prevails for the most part. So everything remains unchanged with the Swabian V8 and the equally Swabian 9-speed automatic transmission with wet clutch. 

Some love and attention was paid to the three-chamber air suspension and its adaptive dampers. As a result, the car should react more quickly to input and be more precise to steer. In addition, the exhaust system's alarm clock has been set a little earlier so that it produces more of its intoxicating sound at lower revs.  

In GT mode, the most comfortable of the five driving modes, they also promise a little more steering assistance to make motorway driving more enjoyable. And we're not told how it's done, but the 0-62 mph time drops from 3.3 to 3.1 seconds. 

The real "problem" with the DBX, or at least what the press and customers were most upset about, was its outdated infotainment. There you see it again: if you only have to tap around on a screen, everyone gets upset and if there is no touchscreen, it's not right either.

In any case, the DBX707 now has a touchscreen with a diameter of 10.25 inches, and it now also has a 12-inch instrument display, all with Aston's own "Pure Black" technology, as also found in the DB12 and Vantage. 

The facelifted DBX is already available and costs from £208,500. By way of comparison, the Lamborghini Urus SE with 800 PS plug-in hybrid, which has also just been given a facelift, starts at £210,000, while a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid, also with V8 PHEV and 739 PS, is available from £139,100. For a Bentley Bentayga S with a 550 PS V8, you will have to put at least £168,885 on the table.

Exterior

Even if you look it in the eye (or on the bum), it doesn't necessarily look like a complete reboot, does it? Why should it, the DBX is - by SUV standards - a real beauty. With the large grille, the extremely sculpted diffuser (both of which are only found on the 707), the long bonnet and the Vantage-esque rear end, it simply makes more of its given physique than the others.

For the nerds: there are new wing mirrors that look really damn smart for mirrors, a new Aston logo and a subtly redesigned rear spoiler that, unlike before, does without the small carbon lip. A few new colours have also been mixed. 

The new DBX is fitted with 22-inch wheels as standard, but you can see the optional 23-inch wheels in the pictures. Behind them are carbon-ceramic brakes with 420 and 390 mm discs. 

Interior

The impression of quality here matches the degree of extroversion. Both are quite overwhelming. I can't tell you exactly how many cattle there are in a DBX, but there will be quite a few. Everything you can touch in this car feels great. It's so well finished down to the smallest detail.

Of course, the standard selection of materials and colours is enough to make your head spin, but if that's still not enough, the ladies and gentlemen of Aston's "Q" department (the ones who really make everything possible) are at your disposal and will be happy to create even the nastiest combinations in your new vehicle. A daring bright red on dark red like in the picture gallery? Don't tell me it doesn't look damn sharp!

This undoubtedly also applies to the seats, which look and feel very sporty. You're hugged quite lovingly, but it's all about lateral support, not buttock cramp. You sit really comfortably even on longer journeys. 

While the handling of this car used to be its biggest criticism, this is no longer the case. On the contrary, the DBX now offers some solutions that I would strongly recommend to other manufacturers. 

The instrument display offers a large and sensible selection of configuration options, plus razor-sharp graphics and good readability. The new centre screen reacts quickly and the resolution is also brilliant here. However, all the boxes, icons and everything else that you can click on are so small that you often miss a button, which of course tends to happen while driving and is then all the more annoying/distracting. 

The highlight for me from an operating point of view is the new centre console with rotary dials (for the driving modes, among other things) and lots of wonderful buttons and rollers for the things that you would like to operate with buttons and rollers. For example, the driver and front passenger can control the temperature and ventilation level precisely and simply using the high-quality rollers mentioned above. That's simply clever. Just as clever: buttons instead of the droning submenu for setting the suspension, exhaust, ESP, etc.

Also in the front: Mobile phone charger, a large box under the centre armrest and at least medium-sized bottles fit in the doors. A small turn-off in an otherwise great cockpit: the steering wheel, which looks a bit too much like a Mercedes to me. Including the creepy mini thumb touchpads that nobody really likes. That could be improved, Aston. 

We move one row back and discover a generous amount of space for two in addition to even larger amounts of red, although it will somehow work for three. However, anything else would be extremely strange for a 5.04 metre long SUV. 

The boot holds a very practical 638 litres. There is also an 81-litre storage compartment under the boot floor and the rear seat can be folded down. So nothing stands in the way of the noblest Ikea shopping trip in living memory. Also, the DBX can tow up to 2.7 tonnes, now with an electric trailer coupling, by the way. The inappropriate self-assembly of the hook is therefore history.

Driving report

What characterises the DBX707 first and foremost is that it has a very fine and delicate nose for driving dynamics without even remotely affecting the buttocks and spines of its passengers. Is it as aggressive as a Lambo Urus? Not really, but in a good way, because the Urus can be a pretty tough dog on the other side. And it will run circles around a Bentayga in any situation, but in the Bentley's defence it should also be mentioned that it can boast other, more dignified qualities.

The DBX's steering is remarkably firm and heavy and it throws feeling and control all over the place. After all, you are sitting in a huge vehicle and even though it is an Aston Martin, with which certain expectations are associated, it is nice to see how agile the DBX turns in, how manoeuvrable it is and how successfully it shrinks its beautiful, large body one or two sizes smaller when cornering with more commitment. 

The fact that it also performs excellently in the maximum stress range, for example on mountain roads or on the racetrack, has already been reported frequently in tests. I'll be honest: on our test track there was no opportunity to venture into these realms, so I'll just say this: there are certainly more aggressive, more jittery performance SUVs with more caffeine in the bloodstream, but probably none with such a good chassis balance, where you get heaps of agility and playfulness without excessive nervousness or harshness. 

One fly in the ointment in my test car: on poor roads, rattling noises that have no place in a £208,500-car repeatedly penetrated the interior via the chassis and bodywork. This is strange, because the car actually feels very solid and expensively sprung.

On the other hand, there is excellent news from the engine compartment. Immediately after the test, I dictated the following about the four-litre V8 into my phone: "The engine is a sensation, it sounds unbelievably good, it really gets going from 2,000 revs and everything that comes after that is simply voluminous and ... well, big and great! The response is absolutely outstanding and the engine has an unbelievably potent mid-range, and at the top end it's rev-happy and light-footed all the way up to 7,000 revs".

As you can see, Wagner has allowed himself to be overwhelmed by the strengths of exuberant power. And that's not all, because as befits an AMG V8, which Aston has also fine-tuned to its own requirements, the machine naturally also sounds like you would paint it if you were allowed to.

In the more sedate driving modes, it lets you know it's there with a gentle bass without imposing itself on you. But if you then click into Sport or Sport Plus (or simply press the exhaust button twice), it becomes wild and boisterous, and it saws and it bangs so loudly that it's a delight. It should be clear that the DBX is not stingy with petrol. In this case, the on-board computer showed a good 16.6 mpg. 

Two more observations: you don't notice the automatic transmission if you don't want to. But if you want to, for example via the excellently shaped and superbly clicking gearshift paddles, it delivers a remarkable sports programme. In addition, the brakes are everything you could wish for in a high-performance car with driver focus: Early, firm pressure point, but not in such a way that you immediately give the steering wheel a headbutt when your big toe wiggles. And then excellent modulation.

Conclusion: 8/10

Large sections of society hate super SUVs and it feels like we are becoming more sensitive every day. Nevertheless, they are bought disproportionately often compared to the other products of their manufacturers. Bentley, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, even Porsche ... none of them could survive if these cars did not exist. 

It's exactly the same with Aston Martin. It's just as well that the DBX707 cuts a very good figure all in all. And not just because it cuts such a good figure. It drives highly dynamically, excitingly, but not as Rambo-like as many of its competitors. It appears smoother, more comfortable - despite its absolutely insane speed and tremendous lateral dynamic qualities. 

What's more, its interior is now also a show. Visually and in terms of quality, it's simply fun and now the controls are also largely right. A huge improvement here, no question. 

Even more expensive Astons:

New Aston Martin Vanquish revealed with uncompromising 835 PS V12

Aston Martin Valour is already sold out

Deductions are made for the rather small icons on the infotainment screen, which make operation more difficult, and for the slightly too many "clonks" and rattling noises that penetrate the interior. This is difficult to argue with, especially in these price regions. 

Of course, nobody really needs a £208,500 SUV (in reality, let's make it £250,000 including Q appointments), but if you do need one, the facelifted DBX is certainly worth considering.