The New 727hp Aston Martin DBX S Is BRUTAL

This is the new Aston Martin DBX-S, the fastest, noisiest, funnest, maddest version of Aston Martin's super SUV. It has more power, more noise, more speed and ups the ante in the super SUV arms race, taking the fight to Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini. And when it comes to the numbers, there's no denying it. This thing looks good. Let's compare it to the Ferrari Purosangue, shall we? That car makes what? 725 horsepower? Guess what this makes? 727. Aston Martin literally looked at Ferrari's car and said, how much does that make? Yeah. Okay, let's add two more. Two. That is the kind of petty one-upmanship I can get on board with. Your move, Enzo. The engine is the familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo we've come to know and love, but Aston has decided to get rid of the standard turbos and bolt on a set of snails from the Valhalla. Bigger compressor wheels, more air, more fuel, bigger bang. There's also a new exhaust. Effectively, it's a cat-back system, so everything from the emission system backwards is new and it is fantastic. It pops, it bangs, it roars. It's just a joy to listen to. Do you know what I'd say? This is the best-sounding super SUV on the market. But there is a problem with this car. I mean, it's got the extra power and the extra noise, but it doesn't actually have any extra performance compared to the DBX 707. It's got the same top speed, 193 miles an hour, the exact same 0-62 time, 3.3 seconds. I mean, Aston say it will do 0-124 miles an hour, a whole 0.3 seconds quicker, but how often are you doing 0-124 pulls in your family SUV? I mean, I do it every other Tuesday, but I'm not normal. The other issue is that it doesn't look that different to before. From a distance, it's still a DBX, but there are some design changes, most of which is focused on weight saving. The front grille pays homage to the DBS, and when specced in carbon fibre, saves three kilograms. The front splitter adds an element of downforce, while the intakes on either side of the grille create 20% greater mass airflow and better drag efficiency. The side skirts are now a one-piece design, optionally available in carbon, and the wheels are a 23-inch magnesium design. The largest ever mag wheels fitted to an SUV, saving 20 kilograms of unsprung mass in total, although they'll cost you around 15 grand on top. There's an optional carbon fibre roof, taking out an extra 18 kilograms, and at the rear, a new diffuser balances the aero front to back, while vertically stacked exhaust finishers complete the look. Tick all the carbon weight-saving bits, and the DBX-S weighs in at 47 kilograms less than the 707. I just want to stick with that exhaust system for a little bit longer. Apparently, what it does is it reduces back pressure in the system to help the car breathe more freely and help make more power, but the other cool thing about it is that it doesn't have a soft limiter. That's unusual, isn't it? They found some workaround, which means that you can actually rev the car while stationary and annoy slash impress people around you. That, love that. They're going to close that loophole pretty soon, I'm sure, but let's enjoy it while we can. As for the rest of the interior, pretty similar to the standard DBX or DBX-707, except the seats now have a slightly different design. This is a herringbone pattern in the seat base, and also in the seat back. We've got the S motif stitched into the seat back, and also the Aston Martin wings embossed and debossed into the headrest. They're very proud of the technique they used to achieve that, by the way. Apparently, they use 1.5 tons of pressure to make sure it's situated exactly as they want. Looks all right. Anyway, as for the rest of it, you get a choice of sound systems. One is an 800-watt 14-speaker sound system, or you can upgrade to the Bowers & Wilkins sound system, which is 1600 watts and 23 speakers. Both of them sound absolutely fantastic, but the Bowers & Wilkins system is the one to get if you can afford that option. But probably the coolest thing about this car is the fact it comes with Apple CarPlay Ultra. We know about CarPlay already. It lets you operate your phone, your music, your maps, and your messages through the car display. But CarPlay Ultra goes a step further by having much tighter integration with the vehicle. I'll show you what I mean. So if I click into the vehicle app, look at this. I can adjust my drive mode settings, my exhaust level, and it goes even further. I can actually change my lights, including my ambient lights, and even adjust things like the temperature and fan speed in the car. Look at that. For the first time ever in Apple CarPlay. Yet another reason for manufacturers to get rid of physical buttons. But on that subject, the DBX-S does have quite nice physical buttons. The other cool thing about Apple CarPlay Ultra is that you can load up apps not just on the infotainment screen. You can do it on the driver display. So for example, if I'm running Apple Maps, I can have it running on the main screen and also on my driver screen right in front of my eyes. That is pretty cool. Let's talk about this car from the point of view of normal DBX customers. The kind of person who's just going to jump into it and ferry their family around, do the school run, maybe go on the odd road trip, pop down to Waitrose, you know, that sort of thing. How does it stack up? Do you know what? It's really, really solid. This is a comfortable car. You jump in it and you feel as if you're in a premium vehicle. It rides really well. There's loads of space. You can chuck your stuff in the boot without even having to think about it. And then when the mood strikes you, bang, off you go. I know it's got extra power. I know it's been tuned to be a bit more hardcore. But if you're asking me, is the DBX-S worse than a DBX-707 because of all of that, the answer is no. But if you're asking me, is it better? Well, I'm not so sure. In terms of driving, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between this and the previous car. Yes, the mag wheels are lighter and the lower unsprung mass should help it ride better, but the wheels are a 15 grand extra and the ride isn't 15 grand better. And then there's the power increase. It's gone from 707 horsepower to 727. That might sound good on paper, but the reality is you're not going to feel 20 horsepower. It's what, it's a 2.8% increase? No, this car feels pretty much identical to the 707. I'm not complaining though because it is genuinely super car quick. You put your foot down and it does take off. One of the things I love most about it is the gearbox. That shift from first to second, it just snaps. Second to third, kicks like a mule. It's a really rewarding, engaging car to drive. It's so much fun. Leave the gearbox in auto and you should also find that the shift points have been remapped so the car feels more aggressive and sporty, particularly in the most sporty drive modes. But it's a gearbox you'll want to use manually as often as possible as it's so engaging. The other thing they've done is they've changed the steering. They've made it faster by four whole percent. They've also locked off about half a meter off the turning circle. Now the turning circle thing you can feel, it feels like a more maneuverable, easy car to drive in day-to-day situations. And actually, you can feel the increase in speed from the steering rack. It's not hyper responsive. It doesn't feel like a Ferrari, for example. It's not nervous to drive, but it just seems to have a little bit more precision, a bit less latency in going into corners. The steering is just so accurate. You point the thing and it's locked on like a laser. It's right there. Very cool. It's also got the active anti-roll stabilization, which means the car doesn't move about laterally in the bends. It stays locked on. That's very cool. The most it ever moves is 1.5 degrees in the bends. So there's a little bit of natural lateral movement, but that's good because it makes you feel like the car's breathing with the road. And shout out to these brakes as well. Very, very strong. 420 millimeters up front, 390 on the back. So strong. Does it have any downsides? Well, subjectively, yes. I'm going to bring one up right now, and that is the fact that this car is not the most efficient. If you buy a Lamborghini Urus SE, which comes with a plug-in hybrid system, you get a little bit more efficiency. You get that little bit of electric range, and more importantly, you get better fuel economy. I'm looking at my gauge right now and I'm averaging about 12 miles per gallon. And I know what you're thinking, the kind of person that buys a DBX-S isn't going to care about the fuel bills, but it all adds up. Other downsides? This test car had a few niggles. Things that might annoy you in the long run. It seems to constantly lose connection with the key when the passenger door opened. The driver's screen does have fancy Apple CarPlay Ultra, but the screen itself lacks the prestige of physical dials. And even these virtual dials don't look that nice. Oh, and the rear doors at one point did stop working. Plus, it does like to beep for no apparent reason. A lot. Here's something else worth thinking about. What is this car's unique selling point? What is the point of this vehicle, especially in this very congested marketplace that it operates in? If you look at a car like the Bentley Bentayga, that's all about the luxury. The Ferrari Purosangue, yeah, it's a Ferrari. It's a prancing horse. It's got a V12. A Lambo's a Lambo. It's got 800 horsepower and a plug-in hybrid system. This thing, what does it have going for it? I've been driving it all day and I think I might have the answer. This car is all about the fun factor. Of all the cars that operate in this area, this thing might be the most enjoyable to drive. It's clearly built by people who love to drive, for people who love to drive. So, should you buy it? Well, the extra power by itself is negligible and is mainly there for bragging rights. Plus, the weight saving is fairly pointless and you might not notice the other upgrades, including the way the steering feels. But when you add all those things together, what you get is a better DBX, the best DBX. And if you're going to buy a DBX, this is the DBX to get. As for where it ranks in the world of other super SUVs, in terms of driving experience and fun factor, this thing is right at the very top.