Aston Martin DBX vs Hyundai Elexio

What's the difference?

As with all Aston Martins the DBX is a seriously beautiful car with that high-end exotic but restrained exterior styling for which the brand is known. As with all Astons, too, the busy interior design may put some minimalism fans off and those high-placed shifting buttons pose a functionality problem.

As an SUV the DBX is spacious and practical. You could use this daily as a family car. I did and found it easy to adapt to.

The driving experience left me disappointed. I didn’t feel the same close connection with the DBX while driving that I have had with other super SUVs, such as the Lamborghini Urus and more affordable models offered by Porsche and Mercedes-AMG.

But then, you see those other cars everywhere, unlike the DBX which is a rare and beautiful creature, despite the flaws.

The Elexio doesn't really push any boundaries in terms of its exterior design, its powertrain, or its battery. It doesn't drive itself. It doesn't look like a spaceship. And apart from some interior quirks, it's all pretty familiar in the way it goes about its business.

And I think maybe that's the point. Maybe that's what people are really looking for. Because Hyundai says this will be its best-selling EV in the country. And on our short test, we can't find too many reasons to disagree.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number of automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

I'm not one to name drop but I was having a chin wag with Marek, that's Marek Reichman, Aston Martin's Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, the fellow who has designed every Aston from the past 15 years, that Marek. Anyway, before the DBX came out he told me any SUV he designed would be unmistakably an Aston Martin.

I think he nailed it. The gaping Aston Martin grille is unmistakably the same as the DB11's and the tailgate, which although is the back hatch to a large SUV, is absolutely the same as the rear end of the Vantage.

Everything in between has all the family hallmarks. There are those oval headlights and the huge beak of a bonnet, the chiselled side panels with wheel arches that push up towards the sky and those rear haunches.

Not a fan of minimalist design? Then you'll love the DBX's cabin and its dashboard cluttered with dials, buttons, and switches.

It's like the cockpit of a plane and it's a very Aston Martin thing – just look at the layout of the DB5 from the 1960s, it's a mess, a beautiful mess though. The same goes for current models such as the DB11, DBS and Vantage.

Seriously, if there was one area where Marek may have decided not to make the DBX unmistakably Aston Martin, I wish it had been the interior.

Still, I think the DBX has the best cabin design of any current Aston, with its large media screen built into the centre console and more modern styling.

But regardless of what it looks like the feel of the materials is outstanding. There's a thick leather coating on just about every surface, apart from those which are solid, cold metal, like the paddle shifters and door handles.

It's a plush, sporty place, like Batman's suit only it smells a lot nicer.

The DBX is a large SUV at 5039mm long, 2220mm wide with the mirrors unfurled and 1680mm tall. Yep, this thing fills up an entire space in a car park.

The DBX comes in a choice of 53 colours. Yes, fifty three.  There's the 'Onyx Black' my test car wore, but also 'Royal Indigo', 'Supernova Red' and 'Kermit Green.'

I don't want to sound boring, but the thing I really like about the Elexio exterior package is there's nothing too challenging about it. Some of the Hyundai Ioniq cars can be a bit more polarising (and, in the case of the Ioniq 6, a lot more polarising) but there's none of that going on here.

It feels very clean, fairly timeless and like it's going to age pretty well. In short, it looks like a familiar family SUV with only really the full-width light bar, the cubed headlights and a bit of an architectural flourish at the rear three-quarter – which actually reminds me a bit of the Kia EV5 – giving it a more modern edge.

The wheels are 20 inches, there are only a handful of fairly predictable colours and it all just feels really familiar. But, as I mentioned, things do get a bit more out-there in the cabin.

Let's start with the good. I really like the fit and finish. It all feels very high quality and the materials used are lovely, including the velvet-like fabric in the door panels. I also like the square-edged steering wheel.

But the not so good? Now, the central screen looks great, but it controls everything – and I do mean everything. Apart from the steering-wheel controls, I couldn't locate a single physical button in the cabin.

Until the DBX came along the most practical Aston Martin was the five-door, four-seater Rapide which had a huge rear hatch and a boot big enough to swallow an entire matching five-piece luggage set – I saw it with my very own eyes.

Now there's the DBX which seats five (well, four comfortably, because nobody wants to be in the middle) and has a boot with a luggage capacity of 491 litres under the leather cargo cover.

As you can see it fit our three-piece CarsGuide luggage set, and I also used it to pick up some compost – very likely the first time anybody has done this to a DBX ever in Australia, and probably the last.

Cabin storage is impressive. The floating centre console is suspended like a hammock and under it is a huge bunk for a phone, wallet, and small bags. The split-opening armrest houses a large box, too.

The door pockets are on the small side but there are two cupholders up front and another two in the fold-down armrest in the second row.

Talking of rows, there's no third row. The DBX comes as a two-row, five-seater only.

It’s a roomy second row, with more than enough space for me at 191cm (6'3") tall to sit behind my driving position and headroom is excellent, too.

At just over 4.6m long, just under 1.9m wide, and just under 1.7m tall, the Elexio fits snuggly between the smaller Kona Electric and Bigger Ioniq 5 among Hyundai's electric family. In family vehicle terms, it's marginally shorter than the brand's petrol and hybrid-powered Tucson.

But owing to the magic of EVs and their flat floors, the Elexio feels massively spacious in the backseat. I'm 175cm, and had no trouble getting comfortable behind my own driving position, with plenty of leg and headroom. 

Tech is pretty strong, too. There are twin wireless charging pads up front, a total five USB-C ports, and a household style plug (which car companies call Vehicle to Load) located in the boot.

There's storage in the doors and centre console, including a storage drawer, and cupholders up front and in the pulldown divider that deploys over the middle seat in the back.

But the weirdest thing is the driver screen, which is the only straight-ahead access the driver has to things like speed or navigation directions. It's a very cool 3D-effect display, but it utterly disappears if you're wearing polarised sunglasses. 

That's actually pretty common with all head-up displays, but they usually are projected above a traditional driver's binnacle. In the Elexio, it's the disappearing screen or nothing.

To be fair, the central screen also displays speed and crucial information, but I hate having to turn my head to look at it. It's my least-favourite thing about Teslas, and if you're wearing polarised sunglasses, the Elexio ends up feeling a lot like that.

I do love that there is an actual control to select Drive, Reverse or Park, and I adore the addition of a physical stop/start button, too.

There's also an auto-opening boot which reveals a 506-litre space with the rear seats in place, and 1540 litres with the 60/40 split rear seats folded flat. Keep in mind there's no spare tyre taking up space, though. You'll be leaning on the repair kit should you get a flat.

The Elexio arrives with just the one grade for now, the Elite, and the pricing is a bit weird. It lists at $61,990, but is actually being offered for significantly less than that at launch, with a special $59,990 drive-away deal in place until around the end of March.

There is a cheaper Elexio grade coming sometime in quarter two this year, and it will be $58,990. But I reckon you can expect a sharp drive-away deal there, too, at least at launch.

How does that stack up? I think we have to go on permanent pricing, rather than any special offers, and that puts the Elexio above its main rivals in the BYD Sealion 7 ($54,990 for the Premium), the Tesla Model Y ($58,900 for the Premium Rear-Wheel Drive) and the Xpeng G6 ($54,800 for the Standard Range). Though the cheaper Elexio variant will help to narrow that gap.

There are significantly cheaper electric SUVs that fall into the mid-size category, too. Like the Geely EX5 and Leapmotor C10, both of which are less than $50k on the road.

Anyway, for now the Elite arrives with 20-inch alloys, cube-style LED projector lights, an auto-opening boot and Hyundai’s Digital Key, which allows you and up to 14 other people to use their phone as the key.

Inside, there’s leather seating that’s powered for driver and passenger and heated and ventilated up front. There’s also dual-zone climate, twin wireless charging pads and a household-style power point to power your devices.

Where it gets really interesting, though, is with its cabin tech, which is seriously bleeding edge. The entire dash, from in front of the passenger to pretty much the edge of the steering wheel, is dominated by a 27-inch screen that actually gives the passenger more real estate than the driver.

It's impressive stuff, with high-res games for the passenger to play (including the super-sharp Space Invaders), but there's also wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, twin wireless charging pads, and a relatively small head-up display (only located within the binnacle) for the driver.

When it came to giving the DBX an engine Aston Martin chose the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that's in the Vantage only they made it more powerful – 25kW more at 405kW (542hp). There's 15Nm more torque as well, at 700Nm.

Shifting through a nine-speed automatic transmission the DBX's 0-100km/h time is 4.5 seconds, which is almost a second slower than the Vantage's 3.6 seconds.

That said, the DBX weighs more than 2.2 tonnes, has a maximum ground clearance of 190mm, can wade rivers to a depth of 500mm and has a braked towing capacity of 2700kg. Oh yeah, and it's all-wheel drive.

That engine is one of the world's best V8s. It's light, compact, efficient and can produce enormous grunt. It's also made by Mercedes-Benz. Yup, it's the same (M177) 4.0-litre V8 found in the Mercedes-AMG C 63 S and a stack of other AMG-badged beasties.

There's just one thing, the V8 in the DBX doesn't sound as good to me as the one in a Mercedes-AMG. Aston's version has a less guttural and breathy exhaust note.

Sure, it still sounds amazing and when pushed hard it screams like Boudica charging into battle, but how often will you drive like that?

Most of the time we're in traffic in the suburbs and city trundling around at 40km/h. But even with the ‘loud’ exhaust mode set the note is still not as deep and brash as the AMG, which sounds delicious even at a standstill.

You probably already know why Aston Martin uses Mercedes-Benz engines. But just in case, it's because the brand with the star has been a part owner since 2013. Aston saves money and in return gets some of the best engines in the world.

There’s just the one powertrain on offer here — with a front-mounted electric motor, so front-wheel drive, that produces 160kW and 310Nm. That makes the Elexio feel spritely enough, but it’s no rocket ship.

In my fuel test of the DBX I took in open roads and city streets and measured 20.4L/100km at the pump.

On the same test loop the Urus I drove used 15.7L/100km and the Bentley Bentayga consumed 21.1L/100km.

It's not surprising these super SUVs are thirsty, but if you're spending all your time on city roads you can expect the consumption to be even higher.

What is surprising is Aston Martin thinking anyone could really get 12.2L/100km, but then all carmakers tend to claim overly ambitious fuel economy figures.

Just think, your next car after this will probably be electric, so enjoy the petrol while it lasts.

Delivering the driving power is an 88.1kWh LFP battery, which Hyundai says equates to a WLTP driving range of 546kms.

The Elexio’s E-GMP platform is a 400-volt architecture, which does limit DC fast charging to around 120kW – the Ioniq 5, for example, will charge in excess of 230kW. 

Hyundai says you’ll go from 10 to 80 per cent in around 38 minutes plugged into our fastest chargers. AC home charging is capped at 10kW.

The DBX is a circa 550 horsepower giant that can reach out and almost touch 300km/h. But testing it on Sydney's roads is like having a champion racehorse in your backyard and your neighbour asking you what it's like to ride.

A racetrack wasn't handy at the time and I'd signed a form saying I'd not put any more than 400km on the clock during its stay with me, which meant having to choose my test loop carefully.

Fortunately, this was before Sydney was plunged into the current COVID lockdown, which makes that 400km now seem vast.

First, the DBX is an SUV anybody could drive, every day. Visibility is great and the ride is fine considering it rolls on 22-inch wheels and wears rubber as wide as some doorways and as thin as my socks (285/40 front and 325/35 rear Pirelli Scorpion Zero). Power delivery is smooth and predictable.

I did drive it every day, doing the shopping, school pick ups, a trip to the garden centre to fill it with plants and (ahem) compost, and it performed exactly as a large SUV should.

A source of frustration was the location of the shifting buttons high on the dashboard. Have a look at the images. Even with my chimpanzee-like long arms I had to stretch to change from Drive to Reverse. And with a not so small turning circle of 12.4m, three-point turns were a bit of an arm workout.

But the bigger frustration was the driver-car connection which didn't feel quite right. A good car-driver connection is essential for any great performance car.

Yes, there wasn't a race circuit where I could get to know the DBX quickly. But a good road, driven often with test cars, reveals a lot, too.

And the DBX didn't feel as good as the Lamborghini Urus, which is not only more comfortable but feels more dynamic and offers a superb connection between the driver and the machine.

The DBX is fast, it's powerful, the huge brakes pull it up quickly (almost violently so, if required) and handling is incredibly good.

It's just that I didn't really feel a part of it much at all. You know, the whole driver and car becoming one, thing. I felt like the third wheel on a date.

That connected feeling has been mastered by Porsche with its SUVs, but I feel the DBX needs more work. It felt unfinished.

I was told at the start that the DBX I was testing was a pre-production vehicle, but I'm sure that doesn't cover the shortcomings in the way it drove.

It's disappointing. I was hoping for better, but I think further development will see that come later.

Ok, let's skip to the good part quickly. I really like the way the Elexio drives. Honestly, Hyundai (and, to be fair, Kia, Porsche, Polestar, Tesla, some German brands and Leapmotor with the new B10, amongst others I'm surely forgetting) are restoring my faith in how an EV can feel from behind the wheel.

It turns out they don't have to feel soft and saggy and come with a light sense of seasickness as standard. They can be engaging, connect you to the car and to the road below, and attack corners with some athleticism, too. 

And so it is with the Elexio, which – to be fair – has a spec sheet that reads a bit like a bedtime story, such is the lack of excitement in the numbers. A two-tonne-plus, front-wheel-drive family SUV that produces less power than a Toyota Camry doesn't exactly quicken the pulse.

And it's true that the flat-footed acceleration on offer won't knock your cap off (though it feels perfectly perky enough to get you up and moving). But the numbers don't tell the whole story here.

A sports car this ain't, but its driving nature perfectly suits the ethos of the car. The ride can feel a little harsh at times, but irons out most road imperfections to the point that you notice them, but they're not uncomfortable.

The steering is direct without being overly aggressive –though I prefer the sportiest setting with the heavier feel – and the body roll is minimal, too.

In fact, you can push the Elexio harder than you might think along twister roads, with plenty of confidence-inspiring stability and without too much complaint from the tyres. Because there's not a huge amount of power underfoot, and this is going to sound absolutely crazy, but it gave me (much-heavier) Mazda MX-5 vibes, in the sense that you can really feel like you're driving it without feeling like you're going to get yourself in too much trouble.

There’s a long list of safety stuff aboard the Elexio, including nine airbags and just about every active safety system you can imagine.

They seem better tuned than some of Hyundai's competitors too, without being too overzealous. That said, overspeed warnings remain an auto industry scourge.

Particularly clever is a system Hyundai calls 'Forward Collision-avoidance Assist 2', which shows just how far modern AEB (or autonomous emergency braking) systems have come. 

Once, and not so long ago, a vehicle could automatically apply the brakes if it sensed a collision ahead. Hyundai's system, though, not only works in both directions, but also detects pedestrians and cyclists as well as cars, and works when you're pulling out of a junction and it detects fast-moving oncoming traffic. It also detects traffic coming in either direction when you're travelling straight through an intersection, and when you're changing lanes.

The Hyundai Elexio wears a full five-star ANCAP safety rating, though one stamped 'tested in 2024'. The data was actually taken from the crash-test result of the related Kia EV5.

The DBX is covered by Aston Martin's three-year-unlimited kilometre warranty. Also included is roadside assistance.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 16,000km.

Aston Martin doesn't have have capped price servicing for the DBX nor can owners purchase a maintenance plan for the SUV.

We asked Aston Martin for an estimate of how much owners can expect to pay for servicing over the life of the warranty, but a spokesperson told us, "We are unable to provide an estimate on the cost of servicing over three years."

With Aston Martin unable or unwilling to give us any guidance on servicing costs, maybe there are recent model Aston owners out there who can. Let us know in the comments section below.

The Elexio is covered by Hyundai’s new seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, provided you service with Hyundai. If you don’t, then it's five years of coverage.

Service intervals are a pretty luxurious 24 months or 30,000kms, and Hyundai’s service plans will see you paying $779 at the two-year mark, and another $1118 at the four-year mark, which puts your annual cost at around $475.

I'd say that's about average, with the happily extended service intervals counterbalanced by slightly higher servicing costs than you might find with some competitors.