Aston Martin Bets Big on Its Quarter-Million-Dollar SUV

Scotland’s rural roads were simply not designed with modern SUVs in mind. The narrow ribbons of shoulderless, undivided asphalt twist and turn through the countryside. Whipping around them in a small car is a hoot, but in vehicles with more girth, the experience can be maniacal.

The Aston Martin DBX707 is an exception to this rule. Even with oncoming traffic barreling at us well north of 120 mph, the hulking DBX feels in charge and poised as we blast through the bends. “You’re holding the line really well,” my driving partner says from the passenger seat. I’ll happily steal a compliment that should have gone to the Aston.

For super-SUV fans, it’s easy to fall for this luxurious offering from Aston Martin — and clearly customers are happy to shell out. Even at the substantial 2024 starting prices of $197,000 for the DBX (the base model) and $242,000 for the DBX707 (a more powerful upgrade), the vehicle now represents half of all Aston Martin’s global sales after four years on the market.

Despite its popularity, there have been some criticisms of the model — namely, that the technology baked into the DBX is a bit outmoded. Aston took this to heart and upgraded the interface’s hardware and operating system for their 2025 iteration. That was enough to pique our curiosity and book some more seat time. But the folks in Gaydon have also deleted the original DBX’s engine from production and will now only offer the more expensive DBX707 going forward. Obviously our inquiring minds needed an explanation, so off I went to Scotland.

What’s New for the DBX707 in 2025?

On the outside, the DBX is virtually unchanged from its 2020 debut iteration. New side mirrors deploy cameras to give the driver a better view of what’s around the car. Door handles now slide out when the car is unlocked, but that’s about it.

The interior, on the other hand, is a major departure. There’s still high-end leather everywhere, but a new dashboard and center console feature a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster as well as a physical gear selector switch. A rotary toggle is used to select the dynamic drive modes and there are buttons for altering adaptive damper stiffness and exhaust volume.

The focal point, though, is the refreshingly restrained 10.3-inch touchscreen display with a Unix-based system, which is the same found in the new DB12 and Vantage coupes. The interface, like all digital controls, requires a learning curve, but probably wouldn’t take more than a week to become rote. The software is mostly intuitive, including a 360-degree camera system, which you can rotate by tracking with your finger on the screen. Plus, it interfaces with both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The only significant issue with the setup is the way the angle of the screen sits. It can produce a fair bit of glare, especially if the sun is beaming through the massive panoramic moonroof. That said, the technology package now feels more befitting of a car that costs a quarter of a million dollars.

The 707 is still powered by a 697-hp (or 707-ps, thus the name) twin-turbo V8, sourced from Mercedes-Benz AMG and tuned by Aston Martin. The all-wheel-drive SUV flies to 60 mph in a breathtaking 3.1 seconds and can get to 193 mph if you dare — and if you can find a straightaway long enough. Air springs, adaptive dampers and a 48-volt active anti-roll system work together to make the 4,950-pound curb weight feel much lighter and more nimble than the laws of physics should allow. But much like good lawyers (no, it’s not an oxymoron), the engineers have bent the rules to create a high-performance SUV befitting the Aston badge.

While the physical components of the powertrain and chassis remain the same, the team in Gaydon has made some tweaks here to enhance ride comfort both in daily driving situations and times when you want to get after it.

Andy Tokley, a chief engineer for Aston Martin, says the exhaust is throatier at lower RPMs and the bespoke nine-speed wet-clutch transmission has been refined for more seamless shifts. The steering tuning now offers more assistance in GT mode, so it’s easier to live with day to day.

“On the opposite end of that, in Sport and Sport Plus, I’ve taken a bit more assistance away so the steering builds effort a bit more nicely and cleanly,” Tokley says. These upgrades are certainly noticeable behind the wheel and to some degree as a passenger. When the roads opened back up during my drive, I popped the DBX707 back into GT mode and my co-driver caught a short nap on the route back to Edinburgh.

Off-Road Capable

By my own unofficial estimate, approximately zero owners will take their DBX707 overlanding and most off-road action will be limited to activities like schlepping a horse trailer to a steeplechase competition (the DBX can haul up to 5,940 pounds). But part of our testing in Scotland included a modest off-road course at an estate accessed via the famed Gleneagles Hotel. Switching the drive mode to Terrain raises the ride height 45mm for extra clearance to cover water-filled ruts and rocks the size of a snowman’s head.

Even on the massive 23-inch wheels and all-season Pirellis, the DBX managed its way up and down some nasty little hills with very little slippage and relative ease, though the massive front end obscured the view on descents.

Only the Strong Survive

When it launched back in 2020, the original DBX came with a 542-hp V8 engine. Two years later, Aston kicked the power up a few notches and introduced the 697-hp DBX707 as an option for customers who wanted more oomph. But in 2025, Aston will only offer the 707 version, which will now start at $253,000. Why?

“A couple years ago, we weren’t entirely sure where the mix between the two would eventually settle,” says Alex Long, Aston Martin’s director of product strategy. “But in the last 12 months, customers voted with their feet 85 to 90% in favor of the 707.” So it makes little sense for Aston to keep on with the less powerful option from an economic standpoint.

The base model already starts at over $200,000, so buyers seemed to decide in for a penny, in for a pound. (For what it’s worth, the resale value for the 707 is also appreciably higher.) Plus, the DBX currently accounts for more than half or Aston’s sales globally and three quarters of DBX customers are new to the brand, which makes the SUV the most important vehicle in their lineup.

That fact seems a bit odd for a company that built its reputation making sports cars and grand tourers. But we live in a world where everyone wants an SUV in the garage and well-heeled buyers demand as much performance as they can get.

“When we’ve gone that little bit extra on powertrain and dynamics, the customer base says, yeah, yeah, more of that,” Long adds. “So, we’ll go in that direction.”

Who can blame them?