Aston Martin DBX - my journey
Discussion
bolidemichael said:
Good logic and great selection -- particularly the lighter forged alloys.
Thanks! I know it’s hard to justify these cars sometimes as the cost doesn’t really make practical sense but I do feel certain options are mick taking where others are kinda no brainers.I wouldn’t want to have to replace this lower carbon door garnishes though. They are massive!
Edited by nathwraith1 on Friday 29th July 22:17
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/giYojuVz.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/kmDURB8J" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/kmDURB8J.jpg)
bolidemichael said:
What's the colour? Looks slick.
It’s called “Titanium Grey matte”. Looks more like khaki to me. Cool but not my style. DannyScene said:
Lovely car OP, always liked the DBX, If I could afford one the 707 would be the SUV of choice for me!
Thanks! Yeah the 707 is certainly special. Will be making a full write up shortly. MesoForm said:
nathwraith1 said:
What is the graph below "From start" showing?
The number in the middle is the miles remaining range, I’m not entirely sure on the graph. I think it’s MPG calculated over trips over time. Tbh I’ve not given the graphs much thought!So I’ve handed back the 707 now, back in my “normal” DBX.
Did over 100 miles today, plenty alone(spiritedly) and with the family (leisurely with wife and baby).
So I believe I’ve got a good grasp at how the 707 handles both sides of the coin and also how it stacks up to the “normal” DBX.
As my DBX is one of the earliest, Aston has done plenty of tightening up(sometimes quite literally) to the DBX over it’s production cycle and the 707 is the latest model so here’s my thoughts on the 707 vs my early DBX. These will be related to build quality/small changes and not the obvious fun stuff, I’ll get to that.
Build quality/changes VS early launch spec car
- Front cup holders. Much improved with rubber corners and fold out elements to hold smaller drinks. A welcome improvement!
- Removal of the leather dash/door “flaps”. Many people pointed out these looks rather sexual, these are now smooth leather pieces.
- Steering wheel leather is now spilt. Feels chunkier and has more area to grip.
- Washer jets, these now spray with force whereas the outer two on mine are rather weak.
- Stop/start system is a lot smoother. My car shakes when it restarts.
- Radio seems to hold signal better. I struggle on my car occasionally.
- Leather headlining, much better than alcantara on my launch spec.
- Carbon inlays on all 4 doors. Launch spec only had the centre console in carbon.
- PRND seem to engage with more tactility
- Steering wheel buttons are now matte rather than gloss, much better for staying clean and feel more robust
- Sport+ can now be used with full, half and fully off TC. Before it had to be half or fully off.
Performance impressions
- Sound: Easily 3-5dcb louder to my ears with a solid low down burble opening up into a tuneful top end. Sounded more cultured than the regular car. Much more turbo whooshing towards the top end can be heard too. If anything the “pops n bangs” were less than my car.
- Engine: Yes it’s fast! 1st/2nd are torque limited. 3rd gear really knocks this car into another dimension. The power is addictive and usable.
- Steering: Even sharper than before, feels more precise than the standard car.
- Brakes: Wow, one of the highlights. The longish pedal is gone and with much more bite.
- Handling: You can feel more but without the secondary crashing of stiffness. No doubt thanks to the added lightness of CCB & forged 23” wheels, the turn in is sharp.
- Gearbox: By far the biggest improvement. Feels DCT quick to me. No delay, always ready to deliver another cog. Fantastic, really adds to the enjoyment of flicking through the gears.
- Refinement: Unchanged from the standard car, although those larger wheels do help you to feel more.
Interior/tech changes
The drive modes have reduced from 5 to 4 as the “terrain+” mode was dropped as it probably was never used. I’m sure you can only use it under 30mph in the regular car.
Putting “individual” mode above GT in the selection tree makes sense too. Finally allowing full TC to be enabled in sport+ is great. Enabling sport TC or full TC off disabled the assistance suite & adaptive cruise. So having TC on whilst in sport+ means you can have the best of both on the road.
The mode select click wheel is nice and tactile. So much better than the old up/down buttons.
Manual mode button now means pulling a paddle won’t lock you in full manual mode, it will revert back to Auto after a minute or too. So to use manual gears, you must always press the “M” button. I don’t really like this change being honest but it does give you flexibility to pull the paddles for a few down shifts and then to continue in auto without pressing anything a few moments later.
The suspension mode is now shown in the dash, only if in Sport or sport+ though. Strangely it doesn’t tell you if you have pressed the exhaust flap button other than the LED being illuminated on the actual button. The suspension button also has this illumination, why not make them the same?
Wireless charging is a welcome addition but it’s still wired CarPlay so kinda moot unless you have multiple devices being used/charged in the front.
Soft close doors. Incredible. The DBX door handles are fussy imo. Very annoying to not properly close a door to then have to mess about with the handle again. No longer an issue with the 707, lovely.
Sports seats look fantastic however they do hug tight! I don’t mind so much on a dedicated sports car but for me using this as an everyday car not so much. I mentioned my other spec related reservations in previous posts so happy with my choice of comfort seats.
To summarise the 707 delivers more of everything that the standard car brings to the table.
The handling, braking & gearbox improvements really do make this car supremely energetic. It goads you into feeding more power and rewards you with crisp, precise steering and jackhammer brakes. The car feels alive in your hands and yet so capable. It never feels overpowered or too large to contain the speed it offers you.
I’m genuinely impressed as the early 707 reviews from Sardinia were very favourable and reeked of “pay to win” tbh. I’m glad that I was wrong!
It’s a car I want to wake up early and take for a drive rather than a family car that sometimes can be driven quickly. That’s the difference between the 707 & regular DBX for me.
Did over 100 miles today, plenty alone(spiritedly) and with the family (leisurely with wife and baby).
So I believe I’ve got a good grasp at how the 707 handles both sides of the coin and also how it stacks up to the “normal” DBX.
As my DBX is one of the earliest, Aston has done plenty of tightening up(sometimes quite literally) to the DBX over it’s production cycle and the 707 is the latest model so here’s my thoughts on the 707 vs my early DBX. These will be related to build quality/small changes and not the obvious fun stuff, I’ll get to that.
Build quality/changes VS early launch spec car
- Front cup holders. Much improved with rubber corners and fold out elements to hold smaller drinks. A welcome improvement!
- Removal of the leather dash/door “flaps”. Many people pointed out these looks rather sexual, these are now smooth leather pieces.
- Steering wheel leather is now spilt. Feels chunkier and has more area to grip.
- Washer jets, these now spray with force whereas the outer two on mine are rather weak.
- Stop/start system is a lot smoother. My car shakes when it restarts.
- Radio seems to hold signal better. I struggle on my car occasionally.
- Leather headlining, much better than alcantara on my launch spec.
- Carbon inlays on all 4 doors. Launch spec only had the centre console in carbon.
- PRND seem to engage with more tactility
- Steering wheel buttons are now matte rather than gloss, much better for staying clean and feel more robust
- Sport+ can now be used with full, half and fully off TC. Before it had to be half or fully off.
Performance impressions
- Sound: Easily 3-5dcb louder to my ears with a solid low down burble opening up into a tuneful top end. Sounded more cultured than the regular car. Much more turbo whooshing towards the top end can be heard too. If anything the “pops n bangs” were less than my car.
- Engine: Yes it’s fast! 1st/2nd are torque limited. 3rd gear really knocks this car into another dimension. The power is addictive and usable.
- Steering: Even sharper than before, feels more precise than the standard car.
- Brakes: Wow, one of the highlights. The longish pedal is gone and with much more bite.
- Handling: You can feel more but without the secondary crashing of stiffness. No doubt thanks to the added lightness of CCB & forged 23” wheels, the turn in is sharp.
- Gearbox: By far the biggest improvement. Feels DCT quick to me. No delay, always ready to deliver another cog. Fantastic, really adds to the enjoyment of flicking through the gears.
- Refinement: Unchanged from the standard car, although those larger wheels do help you to feel more.
Interior/tech changes
The drive modes have reduced from 5 to 4 as the “terrain+” mode was dropped as it probably was never used. I’m sure you can only use it under 30mph in the regular car.
Putting “individual” mode above GT in the selection tree makes sense too. Finally allowing full TC to be enabled in sport+ is great. Enabling sport TC or full TC off disabled the assistance suite & adaptive cruise. So having TC on whilst in sport+ means you can have the best of both on the road.
The mode select click wheel is nice and tactile. So much better than the old up/down buttons.
Manual mode button now means pulling a paddle won’t lock you in full manual mode, it will revert back to Auto after a minute or too. So to use manual gears, you must always press the “M” button. I don’t really like this change being honest but it does give you flexibility to pull the paddles for a few down shifts and then to continue in auto without pressing anything a few moments later.
The suspension mode is now shown in the dash, only if in Sport or sport+ though. Strangely it doesn’t tell you if you have pressed the exhaust flap button other than the LED being illuminated on the actual button. The suspension button also has this illumination, why not make them the same?
Wireless charging is a welcome addition but it’s still wired CarPlay so kinda moot unless you have multiple devices being used/charged in the front.
Soft close doors. Incredible. The DBX door handles are fussy imo. Very annoying to not properly close a door to then have to mess about with the handle again. No longer an issue with the 707, lovely.
Sports seats look fantastic however they do hug tight! I don’t mind so much on a dedicated sports car but for me using this as an everyday car not so much. I mentioned my other spec related reservations in previous posts so happy with my choice of comfort seats.
To summarise the 707 delivers more of everything that the standard car brings to the table.
The handling, braking & gearbox improvements really do make this car supremely energetic. It goads you into feeding more power and rewards you with crisp, precise steering and jackhammer brakes. The car feels alive in your hands and yet so capable. It never feels overpowered or too large to contain the speed it offers you.
I’m genuinely impressed as the early 707 reviews from Sardinia were very favourable and reeked of “pay to win” tbh. I’m glad that I was wrong!
It’s a car I want to wake up early and take for a drive rather than a family car that sometimes can be driven quickly. That’s the difference between the 707 & regular DBX for me.
Edited by nathwraith1 on Friday 5th August 22:20
Thanks for the write-up, it's always good to hear from real owners of the model in addition to the journalists. I'm not surprised it's good tbh, the fundamentals are right, Aston has some good chassis engineers and that V8 has reviewed favourably in every car it's in.
The camo green demonstrator is well pictured against the natural backdrop, and the oversize front vents don't look so disproportionate as I'd feared.
Hope your new car arrives soon and proves to be less of a 'development prototype' than your launch model was!
Thank you for your review.
I’m considering part exchanging my Range Rover SVR for a DBX 707 I have been test driving.
You mentioned the Range Rover wasn’t an option as you like a spirited drive.
Well, I love Range Rovers, I’m on my sixth, four full size ones and two Sports, the latest being a SVR I purchased new last year.
Did you consider the Range Rover SVR at the time you went for the DBX?
I know that in the UK the SVR suffers from an image problem although this isn’t the case in mainland Europe.
Also, mine could be mistaken for a standard Sport as it is black on black and most people don’t know the difference between all the Range Rover variants.
The DBX is of course something that stands out and more “in your face” so kind of less under the radar which could be important for a daily driver.
I’m considering part exchanging my Range Rover SVR for a DBX 707 I have been test driving.
You mentioned the Range Rover wasn’t an option as you like a spirited drive.
Well, I love Range Rovers, I’m on my sixth, four full size ones and two Sports, the latest being a SVR I purchased new last year.
Did you consider the Range Rover SVR at the time you went for the DBX?
I know that in the UK the SVR suffers from an image problem although this isn’t the case in mainland Europe.
Also, mine could be mistaken for a standard Sport as it is black on black and most people don’t know the difference between all the Range Rover variants.
The DBX is of course something that stands out and more “in your face” so kind of less under the radar which could be important for a daily driver.
CSK1 said:
Thank you for your review.
I’m considering part exchanging my Range Rover SVR for a DBX 707 I have been test driving.
You mentioned the Range Rover wasn’t an option as you like a spirited drive.
Well, I love Range Rovers, I’m on my sixth, four full size ones and two Sports, the latest being a SVR I purchased new last year.
Did you consider the Range Rover SVR at the time you went for the DBX?
I know that in the UK the SVR suffers from an image problem although this isn’t the case in mainland Europe.
Also, mine could be mistaken for a standard Sport as it is black on black and most people don’t know the difference between all the Range Rover variants.
The DBX is of course something that stands out and more “in your face” so kind of less under the radar which could be important for a daily driver.
I did consider the SVR sport but it’s an “older” car relatively speaking now, especially as the new Sport has just been released and a new SVR will no doubt follow. The image and susceptibility to being stolen put me off hugely.I’m considering part exchanging my Range Rover SVR for a DBX 707 I have been test driving.
You mentioned the Range Rover wasn’t an option as you like a spirited drive.
Well, I love Range Rovers, I’m on my sixth, four full size ones and two Sports, the latest being a SVR I purchased new last year.
Did you consider the Range Rover SVR at the time you went for the DBX?
I know that in the UK the SVR suffers from an image problem although this isn’t the case in mainland Europe.
Also, mine could be mistaken for a standard Sport as it is black on black and most people don’t know the difference between all the Range Rover variants.
The DBX is of course something that stands out and more “in your face” so kind of less under the radar which could be important for a daily driver.
I’ve not driven an SVR to compare it to the DBX (or 707), those who have no doubt would favour the handling dynamics of the Aston I’m sure.
nathwraith1 said:
I’ve not driven an SVR to compare it to the DBX (or 707), those who have no doubt would favour the handling dynamics of the Aston I’m sure.
Well I have been able to compare both.707 is on another planet handling wise while remaining very comfortable should you not be in the mood.
But as you said the SVR is an older concept and also much cheaper.
Let’s see if I can make the man maths work!
Really enjoy reading a proper ‘real life’ review, especially when it mentions the problems that don’t often get a chance to surface in a short-term road test.
Glad to hear quality has improved for the 707, I presume if you had an early car it was a brand new model from a new factory so things may have taken time to bed in production-wise.
I have driven a number of Aston Martin products (that weren’t DBX) and they often had little bits of ‘interior character’ that fell off which I found disappointing.
Looking forward to hearing how you get on with the 707
Glad to hear quality has improved for the 707, I presume if you had an early car it was a brand new model from a new factory so things may have taken time to bed in production-wise.
I have driven a number of Aston Martin products (that weren’t DBX) and they often had little bits of ‘interior character’ that fell off which I found disappointing.
Looking forward to hearing how you get on with the 707
Collected the car today! Wow, what a machine! I'll do a larger write up once I've calmed down 
Exterior: Gloss AMR Green w/Gloss black upper & lower packs, 23" Forged wheels w/ Bronze calipers
Interior: Inspire Comfort Duotone - Sandstorm & Onyx black, carbon fibre inlays & dark chrome jewellery
No edit on the pics either, just an Iphone 13 camera.
Exterior: Gloss AMR Green w/Gloss black upper & lower packs, 23" Forged wheels w/ Bronze calipers
Interior: Inspire Comfort Duotone - Sandstorm & Onyx black, carbon fibre inlays & dark chrome jewellery
No edit on the pics either, just an Iphone 13 camera.
Edited by nathwraith1 on Saturday 5th November 18:18
Edited by nathwraith1 on Sunday 6th November 04:57
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