The worldwide launch of the new DBX SUV on 19 November 2019 marked the beginning of a new chapter of growth for Aston Martin.
There can be no doubt the DBX will be the marque’s most successful and ubiquitous model; opening up new mainstream markets, and crucially, appealing to female owners for perhaps the first time.
Yes, it’s easy to criticise ‘yet another’ car company falling for the seductive (and profitable) SUV floozy. Remember when we all said the same thing about Porsche? We thought the Cayenne would destroy Porsche, and that it would be the end of 911, and especially the GT cars.
But it wasn’t.
Porsche is now the world’s most profitable car company, with over 50% of sales coming from the Cayenne and the Macan. And it still makes sports cars. In fact, more than ever. Would the GT2 RS, the 918 Spyder, or the 935 even be possible without the cash mountains generated by its SUV business? I’ll save you the trouble of thinking it through. No, they wouldn’t.
The DBX will secure Aston Martin’s future. And given that it is a British company, and has chosen to keep its entire workforce in the UK, that is an extremely good thing.
The new factory in St Athan, South Wales is a high tech marvel built behind the gargantuan protective sliding doors of Cold War RAF hangers. It’s very James Bond. It’s very impressive. And it provides thousands of jobs in an area that badly needs them. The 90-acre site provides significant room for future expansion. It is a place of hope. It is a place of ambition.
Five years in the making and demanded by customers, the DBX makes perfect sense for Aston Martin. And now that we’ve had a chance to see it, touch it, and sit in it, there can be no doubt it’s deeply impressive. This is a powerful, purposeful, beautiful vehicle. More striking and regal than a Bentley Bentayga or Rolls-Royce Cullinan. More subtle and elegant than a Lamborghini Urus. More refined and classy than a Porsche Cayenne.
Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman and his design team have played a blinder with the DBX. It is a seriously good looking SUV - better than we all could have hoped. The DB5-esque enormous nose (featuring the largest AM badge in the company’s history) is a triumph, and the curves and bulges all down the length of the car give it serious street presence. I even like the Vantage ‘duck-tail’ rear end. A bit too obvious perhaps, but it works.
Boot space and cabin accommodation are excellent, and this is a larger car than many were expecting. You also get a standard panoramic glass roof included in the £158,000 basic price. Which is nice.
The interior is where the DBX begins to disappoint. I didn’t have enough time to cover it in detail for the FIRST LOOK video, but I found the seats to be lacking support and stature, and the whole dashboard area, including plastics and moldings was, to me, a little on the cheap side. It retains the somewhat ungainly centre ‘gash’ that runs from the top of the dashboard down to the transmission tunnel, that you find in a DBS. And the rear seats were more bench than luxury recliner. Although the leather has now been upgraded as standard, there didn’t feel like there was enough of it, wrapped around thinner-than expected seats.
But the biggest surprise for me was the choice of powerplant.
I have to confess I was expecting the DBX to be a hybrid, if not full electric from day one. But it’s the twin-turbo V8 from the DB11. That feels misjudged in a political climate demanding renewable energy and carbon-neutral transportation. It’s hard to justify the decision for such a cutting edge car company as Aston Martin, to go with a petrol-burner for its state-of-the-art SUV.
Perhaps it’s too soon for Mercedes to provide the tech and be competitive with the likes of Audi, Porsche, and Tesla. Or is Mercedes keeping that tech for itself and not sharing with its British partner? Either way, I feel it is a mistake, and it makes the DBX an easy target for the environMENTALISTS. The DBX needs hybrid or EV now, not in two years! Just imagine how crazy the Californians would get if they could have a full EV DBX?
Stepping out of the worldwide premiere of the DBX at the St Athan factory and standing in the cool Welsh air, three things struck me. 1) The DBX is the best looking luxury SUV. 2) As with all modern Astons, the interior lets it down. And 3) this thing needs a next-gen powerplant to be truly successful.
I have no doubt Aston will have little trouble selling out its planned 4,500 cars a year, making it its most successful model ever, and helping to secure the company’s future. I am extremely proud of this company and how far it has come in the last 15 years. The team is strong, the brand is cool. And you’d struggle to name a car company with a more exciting future.
