Watch out Urus, Aston Martin's SUV is nearly here

Monday, 24 February 2020

It is recognisably an Aston Martin, but the DBX is something completely different for the company - an SUV.

It might be aimed directly at the Lamborghini Urus, but Aston Martin's regional manager for Australia and New Zealand, Kevin Wall, doesn't expect his company's first SUV - the DBX - to be the volume leader for the British brand here, unlike how the Urus is for the Italian car maker.

'It's wont necessarily be the volume seller,' Wall said at a recent preview of the DBX in Sydney, 'but it will open up new markets for us. And the reaction has been excellent.'

And unsurprisingly so, because in the metal the DBX is spectacular. Photographs don't do the sheer amount of presence the DBX actually has justice and its swooping, aggressive lines are quite striking in the metal.

Ignore the panel gaps - this is a pre-production model, but it still looks incredibly sexy.

Sitting down at its lowest suspension setting in the Aston Martin showroom in Sydney the DBX looked almost more like a station wagon than an SUV, but that adaptive triple-volume air suspension moves a remarkable 95mm across the various modes - it drops 50mm from standard when in its lowest mode, while rising 45mm above it in its most extreme off-road setting.

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Not that Aston expects DBX owners to be doing any serious bush-bashing, but it is nice to know they have blessed it with a wide range of abilities and not just searing performance.

And that performance is searing, because the DBX packs an impressive line up of numbers - the Mercedes-AMG-sourced 4.0L twin-turbo V8 pumps out 405kW of power and 700Nm of torque, propelling it to 100kmh from a standing start in just 4.5 secs and on to a top speed of 290kmh.

On its lowest suspension setting the DBX looks almost more like a station wagon. Which is not a bad thing at all.

The engine is matched to a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive, including an active centre differential and electronic limited-slip differential at the rear, as well as a 48-volt electric anti-roll system called 'eARC'.

And the DBX isn't just fast on paper - it has been impressively fast off the showroom floor, even though it isn't actually on sale yet.

While Wall doesn't necessarily expect the DBX to be the volume seller, it is the fastest-selling Aston Martin, with 1800 units having been pre-ordered globally already and in record time.

'We've sold out our initial allocation for Australia and New Zealand,' said Patrik Nilsson, president of Aston Martin Lagonda Asia Pacific, 'it's my job to head to the UK and convince them to give us more now!'

New Zealand is one of the first markets in the world to get the DBX, largely because of Aston Martin's success here.

'NZ waves the flag well above its average, because it has enjoyed world leading market share for at least the last seven years,' said Nilsson.

'In 2019, we were over 30 per cent of our stated target market. We're very proud of this performance. NZ is just a total gem for us.'

The car has attracted plenty of interest from existing Aston Martin owners, with Nilsson saying 73 per cent of Aston Martin owners already have an SUV in the garage, offering a solid base of prospective customers eager to switch, but it's also drawing in buyers new to the brand.

'In Asia Pacific almost 60 per cent of the orders we've taken are from conquest – so new to brand. That is way beyond my expectations,' he said.

With demonstrators arriving in into showrooms as early as April, Wall said we can expect to see DBXs on the road around June.

The DBX is priced at $330,000, putting it at similar money to the Lamborghini Urus, while a vast range of options are available.