FIRST LOOK: Aston Martin’s debut SUV, the DBX

After 106 years of making gorgeous, sexy sports cars, Aston Martin has finally settled down and become a family man with its first SUV. The British carmaker has unveiled the DBX, which the brand’s Middle East chief calls “curvaceous and beautiful, but also spacious and practical.”

Equipped with a boot space of 632 litres (that’s four golf bags to you and me), the DBX is fat. But, thanks to the 4-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine found in the DB11 and Vantage, it’s also fast.

Dan Balmer, Aston Martin’s president in the Middle East and North Africa, spoke to EDGAR at the car’s launch in Oman. “When I drove the DBX I was amazed at how it felt like the DB11 and the Vantage. The handling is neat and tidy but if you’re feeling a bit fruity and you want to go into a corner pretty fast, it’ll put a smile on your face.”

An SUV is, of course, new territory for Aston Martin and Balmer admits some were sceptical. “Initially, when we first released information about DBX on our social media, we received comments that told us people were shocked. But now they’ve have seen what we’re trying to do, and they get it.”

Balmer is six foot five and insists his knees don’t graze the driver’s seat when sitting in the back of the DBX. It’s undoubtedly a stunning piece of machinery, but can it ever be as beautiful as the Vantage for example? And does that even matter?

“I don’t think direct comparisons can ever be fair,” Miles Nurnberger, director of design at Aston Martin, tells EDGAR. “But it’s clear that our heritage and experience with DB11 and Vantage played a clear role in pushing the boundaries of the SUV segment. The principles that make a great sports car also make a great SUV – proportion, stance and sculpture.”

The DBX will be priced at AED 848,000 and orders are now being taken with delivery expected for spring 2020. “In an SUV the word ‘sport’ is important,” adds Balmer. “An SUV can be unique and different – it doesn’t have to be a box.”