Aston Martin DBX S review: Aston’s super SUV turns up the volume

Some cars arrive like a polite dinner guest – charming, gracious and utterly aware of their manners. Others roll up like they own every postcode from Mayfair to Mykonos. No prizes for placing the just-landed Aston Martin DBX S.

Look, the prior DBX 707 flagship was already a statement. A sizeable, super-luxe SUV with a supercar soundtrack that said “Yes, I can do family car, but I’m also a little bit horny.” And yet, as with many things in life (soap operas, bottomless brunches, sequins, that greedy kid Oliver), there was always someone who wanted more.

Enter the DBX S – Aston Martin’s musclebound answer to a question the world didn’t quite know it was asking: what if that 707PS of the older car was 727PS (717bhp) in a new one?

Aston Martin DBX S’s design

From the outside, the new car is all gym membership, skincare routine and a jab of Mounjaro. Lower stance, wider haunches, bigger air intakes, the option to remove 47kg from the frame (by specifying the carbon-fibre roof, magnesium alloy wheels and polycarbonate grille), plus an aggressive front splitter that wants a chat in the car park. The silhouette is still pure Aston: sleek, long-bonnet, athletic – but there’s no doubt it’s pumped and dressed to thrill.

Inside? Think less SUV and more private club. Fine leather, contrast stitching that could double as art and an ergonomically perfect driver’s seat that hugs you from behind like someone who knows you. It’s a cabin where indulgence is made physical – well screwed together, awash in tactility.

Here’s where things get really interesting, though. The earlier (and still available) 707 was/is rapid. But the DBX S? Aston Martin has turned the wick up in all the best ways. A twin-turbo V8 that’s not shy about letting you know it’s there. 

What is the Aston Martin DBX S like to drive?

But that’s not the clever bit. The power isn’t just for straight lines. The DBX S dances. With recalibrated suspension, all-wheel drive that actually earns its name and a degree of pliancy about its ride that is genuinely astonishing, it grips, goes and turns like it’s reading your mind. It’s precise where precision matters, playful where you’d least expect it and remains astonishingly assured even when you forget you’re driving a 2-tonne+ SUV with moon-sized wheels. It just shouldn’t work this way, and yet it does.

Powerful SUVs can be as graceful as boxed wine at a sommeliers’ dinner. Not this one. Steering is communicative, body control is exceptional for something this size, and whether you’re threading it through the twisties or launching it on open roads, the DBX S feels connected. Not buzzy or gimmicky – but genuinely sorted. 

In GT drive mode especially (Sport and Sport+ settings become increasingly more aggressive), the ride is compliant – perfect for long motorway miles, school runs in silk scarves or that arrival at dinner where you glide in like you’d rehearsed it.

The DBX S interface is technology-forward but not complicated

The DBX S has a decent infotainment setup with Apple CarPlay Ultra, seamless connectivity, a great sound system and, thankfully, as many buttons as touchscreens. The transplanting of the DB12 era switchgear into this car a model cycle back was a gamechanger. The interface is clean, the displays industry standard. And most importantly – nothing feels like it’s trying to pretend it’s a spaceship.

Here’s the real delight, however: the sense of special that abounds makes everyday driving feel elevated without being exhausting. Traffic? Still comfortable. Supermarket run? Still luxurious. Weekend trip? Blissful. But if you get the chance to stretch its legs – holy cow, this car comes alive.

All of that power is perennially bubbling under; the car wants to run. It’s noisy enough on idle, pumping through the stacked quad exhausts, but it becomes rich and intoxicating under load and very, very shouty under duress. 

The roar of the Aston Martin DBX S

Some might say it’s obnoxious, but not to these ears – I say it’s a charismatic life force. Moreover, it’s one of the brand’s points of difference. You choose a Rolls-Royce for serenity, a Bentley for cross-continent capability, but you choose an Aston Martin for the noise it makes – that hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck-standing-to-attention moment.

There’s no hiding the car’s intentions here, is what I’m saying. The DBX S doesn’t apologise for its appetite: for fuel, for sound, for fury, for life. It’s fast, it’s luxurious, and it’s exquisitely engineered – love it or leave it, it’s some way beyond caring either way. And it’s a graphic reminder why Aston Martin still matters.

In a world full of pragmatism, electric SUVs and faceless crossovers, the DBX S is a brightly coloured, bespoke suit at a tracksuit party or an air horn at a wake. It’s glorious, it’s over-delivered, and it answers the question of more power that nobody asked for in the best possible way.

Honestly? If cars were personalities, the DBX S would be the guy everyone ends up talking about long after they’ve left. And amen to that.

This is a feature appearing in Attitude’s March/April 2026 issue.