Aston Martin DBX 707 2023 review

You can see it. Just have a look at the pictures. Like it?

It certainly has presence but some of the applications of the traditional Aston Martin styling cues seem a bit overdone. To my eye, it looks more like an Aston Martin that’s an SUV rather than an Aston Martin SUV, if you get me?

The gaping maw of a grille, for instance, still looks too small for the width of this truck.

And it is a big old thing, measuring 5039mm long on a huge 3060mm wheelbase, while the width including the mirrors is 2220mm (2050mm with them folded), and it’s 1680mm tall. 

The gaping maw of a grille looks too small for the width of this truck. (Image: Matt Campbell)

I’m also unconvinced about the rear-end design. That duckbill-style rear feature is just a bit oddly shaped, for a traditional SUV at least, but not convincing enough to be a really decisive element, in my opinion.

The optional wheels fitted to this car are exceptional, though. They are 23-inch rims, and tyres included, they’re almost at hip height for a lot of people. Massive, but they fill the arches beautifully.

Perhaps more eye-catching is the interior design, which - in this bespoke two-tone black-and-blue leather trim - is astounding. I think the blue inside is at odds with the exterior hue (and so did my art teacher mother-in-law)

The inside is also a bit of a mix of “it needs to be an Aston” and “it needs to be modern”, and there are some practical considerations, too. I’ll touch on those below.

The optional 23-inch rims are exceptional and fill the arches beautifully. (Image: Matt Campbell)

There is easily enough space in the second row for two adults to be seated, and if you needed to, three could fit in. I had my forward-facing child-seat in the back passenger side, and there was ample room for an adult to sit.

Both front and rear passengers have some storage options - there are cup holders in both rows (the back seat has a fold-down armrest with holsters) - but the door storage in all four doors is limited. The rear occupants score small map pockets on the front seatbacks, and there’s some loose item storage up front, but not very much.

Boot capacity isn’t class-leading for a SUV this large. The stated figure is 638 litres, but the dipping rear roof-line means it is quite a shallow load area with a very high load-in lip. Still, I managed to fit a suitcase, pram and a few other bags in for a family trip, and there was room to spare. Speaking of spare, there is a space saver under the boot floor, too.

Now, the tailgate design is a bit of a doozy, because the shape of it means taller occupants may (will, trust me) bonk their head. I did. 

The door handles confused everyone who came with me in the car this week. They are known as ‘handshake’ handles, and you have to push in one part to extend/lever the rest of the handle out - but honestly, they’re more hassle than the stylistic benefit justifies, if you ask me.

Parking could be easier. The Aston’s 12.4m turning circle means it is a bit of a handful to park, and being conscious and cautious about those $11K optional 23-inch wheels probably also played a part in my “maybe I’ll find a different spot” mindset while driving this.

The DBX has a turning circle of 12.4m. (Image: Matt Campbell)

There are a few lovely convenience features, such as buttons in the boot area to raise or lower the rear end for loading/unloading, and the second-row features air vents in the centre console area and in the B-pillars, with fan controls and heating and cooling for the window seats. And yes, there are USB charge points to keep those devices juiced up.

I also liked the button actuation of the split-fold rear seats - there’s a trigger at your fingertips in the boot, and also up above the head restraints in the rear seat, making it easy to drop the seatback to fit a child seat, should you need. And there is a piece that pulls away from the ISOFIX points to allow super easy access, and it velcros back in place when you need it as a seat for adults, too.

There is no ANCAP or Euro NCAP crash test rating for the Aston Martin DBX SUV, or the 707 variant. But it does have an array of high-tech safety equipment fitted as standard.

There is adaptive cruise control, AEB with pedestrian detection (but not cyclist or junction capability), traffic sign recognition and a speed limiter (a nice plus for a car like this!), lane keeping assistance, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

The DBX is yet to be ANCAP tested. (Image: Matt Campbell)

It has six airbags - dual front, front-side and full-length curtain. That seems a pretty low number of airbags, considering some newer rivals offer knee protection for front occupants, front-centre airbag to prevent head clashes, and rear side-thorax airbags. 

There are dual ISOFIX attachment points (outboard seats) and three top-tether points, and the front seat has an ISOFIX point, too, but no top-tether point.

With a list price of $428,400 before on-road costs, this isn’t going to be for everyone. And this particular car had a host of optional kit, pushing its as-tested price to $526,000 before on-roads.

Yes, almost $100K of options. I guess that’s the price you pay to be different.

Now, fuel consumption is one thing you probably won’t care about if you’re buying a super-SUV like this, so the official combined fuel use figure of 13.5 litres per 100 kilometres won’t be that big of an issue. At the very least it has a 87-litre petrol tank (which needs premium unleaded, of course).

With a list price of $428,400 before on-road costs, this isn’t going to be for everyone.

For what it’s worth, I didn’t achieve a number that high, with my testing including a fair bit of open road driving, my at the pump fuel use number was 14.1L/100km. 

The Aston Martin new car warranty is comparatively light at just three years/unlimited kilometres, and there's no fixed price servicing for the DBX 707. Customers will need to chat to their dealer about costs.