New Aston Martin DBX S: Did Someone Say Practicality And Performance?

Aston Martin is a brand that has weathered war, bankruptcy, Bond and a barrage of reinventions more times than is strictly sensible and yet it continues to craft machines that blend utter menace with majesty. The new DBX S, the flagship of Aston’s ever-growing SUV range, is the latest expression of that enduring brilliance. A luxury bruiser that can tow a horsebox, out-drag most sports cars and serenade your ears with a burbling V8 soundtrack.

At the heart of the DBX S lies a very potent incarnation of the familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that now produces a rather exuberant 727PS and 900Nm of torque (which is 20 more than the DBX707) and they’ve not arrived by accident. The engine benefits from a series of upgrades derived from Aston Martin’s forthcoming Valhalla hypercar, including enlarged compressor wheels and refined internal components, allowing for a more aggressive upper rev range and a keener throttle response.

The remaining numbers tell their own story. 0–62mph in 3.3 seconds and it’ll storm on to 193mph. That’s absurd by any measure and positively surreal for something that has rear ISOFIX mounts and a powered tailgate.

But the DBX S isn’t just a case of bolting on more turbo and calling it a day. Aston say that they have approached this upgrade with scalpel precision. Weight savings of up to 47kg are available if you tick enough option boxes. The carbon fibre roof, a glorious single-weave piece almost three metres long, sheds 18kg from the highest point of the vehicle. Magnesium wheels, a world first in the SUV segment, trim a further 19kg of unsprung mass. All of this has a tangible impact on dynamics, reducing roll, improving grip and making this two-tonne machine feel startlingly agile.

The 9-speed wet-clutch transmission, first seen in the DBX707, has been refined for the DBX S. It now delivers faster, more decisive shifts, particularly in Sport and Sport+ modes, with recalibrated upshifts that take advantage of the extended rev range and downshifts that snap through with real purpose. The gearbox can direct up to 100% of torque to the rear wheels when required or split it 50/50 for maximum traction.

Aston has also breathed heavily on the suspension. The DBX S benefits from a revised calibration of its air springs and dampers with the goal of reducing body roll and improving transient control, the technical term for the sort of jerky weight shifts that can unsettle big cars in fast corners. Aston’s solution is a sophisticated electronic anti-roll system that limits lean to just 1.5 degrees, which is to say, not that much. This gives the DBX S the ability to corner flat while retaining enough movement to feel engaging and find that crucial mid-point between floaty detachment and bone-jarring stiffness.

Steering has been sharpened too, with the promise of a quicker ratio and better road feel. It may sound like a minor detail but it’s the sort of change that aims to make a big difference.

The DBX S makes its intentions known at first glance if you haven’t noticed. The front grille is finished in gloss black vanes and is broader, bolder and more menacing. An optional polycarbonate honeycomb grille is available for those who want to take things a step further, borrowing its design from another DBS variant, the 770 Ultimate. Daytime running lights now wrap more aggressively into the wings, while the splitter and aero winglets lend the front end a hint of motorsport without appearing too brash.

From the side, things get very purposeful. The side skirts are reprofiled with turned-up splitters that help guide airflow along the flanks and you can spec lashings of carbon fibre for the wing mirrors, lower sills and door strakes. Signature ‘S’ badging sits just aft of the front wheels, which is a nod to earlier Aston performance models like the V12 Vantage S and Vanquish S.

At the rear, the design has been comprehensively reworked. The new quad exhausts are now vertically stacked, a bold and slightly outrageous move but one that still works in my opinion. The new diffuser is larger, more sculpted and can be specified in carbon fibre (of course) to save a further 7kg should you need to. It all comes together with the optional lower livery pack, available in Rosso Corsa Red, Trophy Silver or Podium Green, which highlights the splitter, sills and diffuser in a colour-contrasted trim that gives the car a motorsport-inspired flourish.

Inside, the DBX S balances its high-performance brief with Aston Martin’s signature sense of occasion (the brand doesn’t really do minimalist cabins). Cocooned in an environment of tactile pleasure, the ‘S’ herringbone seat quilting makes a fairly dramatic entrance.

Alcantara is the default trim, used generously across the seats, headliner, dash and console. It’s lightweight, it’s grippy and in high-contact areas like the seat bolsters, it’s paired with durable semi-aniline leather. The attention to detail continues with Aston Martin wings embossed into the headrests using a combination of heat, pressure and sorcery. The ‘S’ moniker is stitched into the seats and appears again on the treadplates and engine plaque, just in case you forget what you’re sitting in.

The infotainment system is all-new, developed in-house and now displayed on a 10.25" central screen paired with a 12.3" driver display. It's snappy, intuitive and mercifully free of the ergonomic weirdness that plagued older Aston systems. The standard 800-watt 14-speaker audio system will be excellent but the real party trick is likely to be the optional Bowers & Wilkins upgrade - a 23-speaker, 1,600-watt tour de force complete with double-dome tweeters, Continuum midrange drivers and 3D ceiling speakers.

The DBX S is a deeply considered update rather than a ground-up reinvention and that’s going to make it so compelling. It takes everything the DBX707 does well (and bits of the 770 Ultimate too) and layers on refinement, intelligence and dare we say, maturity.

Aston Martin has long known how to make fast cars. The DBX S proves it also knows how to make fast cars feel special — even when they have five doors, 23-inch wheels and a ride height that laughs in the face of sleeping policemen.