Review of the Aston Martin DBX 707 In 2023

Be ready for yet another corny James Bond allusion—this Aston Martin SUV is, of course, remarkably similar to a secret agent. 

You wouldn't be aware of the 2023 Aston Martin DBX 707's incredible power, speed, beauty, and overall genius if you didn't know about it. Similar to our old friend, 007.

If there is such a class as super-performance luxury SUVs, this might be the best-kept secret in the industry.

How does it appear?

It's visible to you. Simply glance at the images. Enjoy it?

Although some of the traditional Aston Martin styling cues seem a little excessive, it still has a lot of presence. If you understand what I mean, it appears to me more like an Aston Martin crossover than an actual Aston Martin SUV.

For example, the enormous grille still appears inadequate in comparison to the truck's width.

It's also quite large, measuring 5039 mm in length on a massive 3060 mm wheelbase, 2220 mm in width (including the mirrors; folded, it measures 2050 mm), and 1680 mm in height. 

Furthermore, I'm not convinced by the rear-end design. I don't think the duckbill-style rear feature is particularly compelling enough to be a deciding factor, but it is a little strangely shaped—at least for a conventional SUV.

However, the optional wheels that come with this vehicle are really great. With the tires included, these 23-inch rims are nearly hip height for many individuals. Huge, but they exquisitely fill the arches.

The interior design, with its amazing two-tone black and blue leather trim, is arguably more striking. My mother-in-law, an art teacher, also felt that the interior's blue tone contrasted with the outside color.

Along with some practical considerations, the interior design also veers towards the "it needs to be an Aston" and "it needs to be modern" camps. I will discuss those below.

How is it powered?

Although some may believe an Aston Martin should be a multipurpose performance vehicle, I contend that this one excels at just one specific task. That is the pace.

Quickness. Sure. Though some may find it derogatory, this family SUV is absurdly quick. It boasts a powerful 4.0-liter twin-turbo petrol V8 engine with 520kW and 900Nm of otherworldly output, which is roughly five times more than the majority of people actually need. The metric horsepower figure is indicated by the "707" in the name, in case you were wondering.

With its powerful V8 engine, intelligent nine-speed automatic transmission, excellent all-wheel drive system, and excellent tires, this vehicle can propel itself towards the horizon with remarkable boldness.

The speed from 0 to 100 km/h is only 3.3 seconds. That's pretty crazy for an electric vehicle, but for an SUV that weighs 2245 kg and still has a gasoline engine, it's almost unbelievable.

It sounds incredible as well: in Sport+, the fastest driving mode, there's a Race Start mode that lets you quickly accelerate from a standing start to speeds that could threaten your license.

Even though it might be excellent in a smooth, linear fashion, some parts might not be to everyone's taste. For example, there are moments when the weighting of the steering feels uneven, making the SUV feel unwieldy and excessively heavy.

Additionally, the ride comfort isn't as luxurious as you might anticipate from an SUV at this price range, particularly if it has air suspension that can be adjusted in height. When the road is smooth, it can be somewhat uneven, probably due to those enormous wheels.

In my opinion, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Coupe outperforms the Aston in practically every driving aspect, and if that's important at least, it's at least $70K less expensive. Granted, not nearly as exclusive as the 707.

I'd find it difficult to choose this over, say, an Audi RS Q8 ($220,491 MSRP) or even a Lamborghini Urus ($391,968 MSRP). Perhaps that says more about me than it does about you.

How much room is there?

If necessary, three adults could fit in the second row, as there is more than enough room for two adults to sit there. There was plenty of space for an adult to sit in the back passenger side where I had my forward-facing child seat.

There are cup holders in both rows for the front and rear passengers, and the back seat has a fold-down armrest with holsters. However, there isn't much storage space in any of the four doors. There is some, but not much, loose item storage up front, and the rear passengers have tiny map pockets on the front seatbacks.

For a large SUV, the boot capacity isn't the best in its class. Although the stated capacity is 638 liters, the load area is actually fairly shallow with a very high load-in lip due to the rear roof line's dipping. For a family vacation, I was still able to fit a suitcase, stroller, and a few more bags inside, and I had extra room. In relation to spares, the boot floor also has a space saver.

The tailgate design is a bit tricky because of its shape, which means taller passengers may—trust me—blow their heads off. Yes, I did. 

Could you use it on a daily basis?

Everyone who accompanied me in the car this week was perplexed by the door handles. Known as "handshake" handles, you have to push in one section in order to extend or lever the remaining portion out. In my opinion, though, the hassle is greater than the aesthetic value.

It could be simpler to park. Because of its 12.4-meter turning circle, the Aston can be challenging to park. Additionally, my thought process of "maybe I'll find a different spot" while driving likely stemmed from being aware of and cautious about those $11K optional 23-inch wheels.

A few great convenience features include the boot area's buttons, which raise and lower the rear end for loading and unloading, and the second-row's air vents, which have fan controls, heating and cooling for the window seats, and air vents in the center console area and B-pillars. Indeed, USB charging stations exist to maintain the battery life of those gadgets.

The split-fold rear seats' button actuation system was another feature I enjoyed. It's easy to drop the seatback to accommodate a child seat if necessary, with a trigger located at your fingertips in the boot and above the head restraints in the back seat. Additionally, there's a component that detaches from the ISOFIX points for incredibly simple access, and it velcros back into place to serve as an adult seat when necessary.

Is it safe enough?

The Aston Martin DBX SUV and the 707 version do not have an ANCAP or Euro NCAP crash test rating. However, a number of cutting-edge safety features are installed as standard.

This car has adaptive cruise control, adaptive emergency braking (AEB) with the ability to detect pedestrians but not bikes or intersections, traffic sign recognition, a speed limiter (which is a nice feature! ), lane keeping assistance, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert.

Six airbags are included in it: two front, two side, and a full-length curtain. Given that some more recent competitors provide knee protection for front passengers, a front center airbag to prevent head collisions, and rear side-thorax airbags, that seems like a fairly small number of airbags. 

The front seat has an ISOFIX point but no top-tether point, and there are three top-tether points and two dual ISOFIX attachment points (outboard seats).

How is the technology?

This car's technology is going to irritate you if you believe that Apple CarPlay should only be used with a touchscreen.

It has a rotary dial system that you have to use to navigate through menus and controls. It's okay once you get used to it, but there were a few times when the "cursor" completely vanished, leaving me unable to move the song or make phone calls and stuck on the Google Maps screen.

It's fair to say that the 10.2-inch display screen looks decent, but a touchscreen would make it much simpler to use. 

The digital instrument cluster is user-friendly and of good quality.

The steering wheel controls are generally very intuitive (despite the "one stalk" mentality for blinkers and wipers), and I like that there are lots of buttons and control dials. However, the push-button gear selector setup feels a little dated. 

What is the cost of ownership?

This isn't going to be affordable for everyone, with a list price of $428,400 before on-road expenses. Also, this specific vehicle had a ton of optional equipment, which increased its as-tested cost to $526,000 before on-road costs.

A hundred and ninety-k options, indeed. That's the cost of being unique, I suppose.

Considering that you're purchasing a super-SUV like this, fuel consumption is probably not something you'll be concerned about, the official combined fuel use figure of 13.5 liters per 100 kilometers won't matter all that much. It has an 87-liter gasoline tank, which requires premium unleaded, at the very least.

To be honest, I didn't get that high of a number; during my testing, I drove on open roads quite a bit. My at-the-pump fuel consumption was 14.1L/100km. 

The DBX 707 comes with a fixed price servicing plan and a relatively short three-year/unlimited-kilometer Aston Martin new car warranty. Consumers who want to discuss prices should speak with their dealer.

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