Aston Martin DBX

Aston Martin joins the ranks of Lamborghini, Porsche, and Maserati of having an SUV in their super sporty lineup with the first-ever DBX and while some fans are sulking about why a British sports car maker decided to build an SUV, much to the annoyance of many, there's something about Aston Martin's first-ever SUV and why it matters to speedo boys who are prepared to spend over 160 grand for this.

The Aston Martin DBX is the result of when the British sports car maker succumbs to the crossover apocalypse and with crossovers treated like Hollywood superheroes nowadays, this so-called jacked-up supercar wants to take on the likes of the Lamborghini Urus any way it can.

Starting with the design, the DBX shares nothing in common with the concept car as seen in the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. Why? Because Aston Martin wanted different because while the 2015 concept car looks good, they just don't have the ways and means of turning it into a production model so they took the name of that concept car while designing the SUV from scratch. As the teasers went by, the world was shocked to see that the production-spec DBX was way more different than the concept model.

Still, on the styling, the DBX is a bit more like a jacked-up Vantage in Macan-esque silhouette and you can really tell from the questions triggered by those who had their first sight on this jacked-up supercar. 

On the inside, it's anything but basic for this five-seater with some room in the back for some goods waiting to be delivered to specific clients, although I'm still puzzled over the Mercedes-derived tech platooned on the dashboard. Despite that, its practicality is well orchestrated for the DBX and looks like this crossover's on the roll for using it to bring VIPs to the country club and more.

The DBX runs on an AMG-derived 4.0L V8 BiTurbo engine mated to a 9-speed automatic gearbox that works like any other. With a power output of 542BHP of power and 700Nm of torque, it's capable of going from 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 181mph. At that rate, it's annoyingly slower than the Urus.

On the dynamics side, the DBX, despite being a crossover, behaves like an Aston Martin and when you get a hold of it, you can really fall in love with the way it goes. Not bad. That's because it's got active all-wheel drive with variable torque distribution and height-adjustable air suspension, so you can take it anywhere if you like as long as you don't get stuck in the mud by accident because if you do, you don't really know what happens next.

On the road, it's a pleasure to drive because of its very sophisticated suspension setup that most luxury crossovers adorned but tuned for sportiness, and off the road, it's almost as good as the other guys and like a rugby player, it's not afraid to get itself dirty.

The DBX may have sparked tons of questions but by the way, it behaves, looks like jealousy's in the air because, like it or not, this is the sporty crossover that will get us warmed up for more.

Photo: Aston Martin