What's the difference?
The world was ready for an Aston Martin SUV. Yes, by the time the Aston Martin DBX debuted Bentley had given birth to the Bentayga, Lamborghini had sired the Urus and even Rolls Royce had realised its Cullinan.
Still, the arrival of another ‘super SUV’ is always a bit exciting. Would it be a true Aston Martin, how would it compare to its rivals and is it even a good SUV?
Well, that's what I wanted to know about Aston Martin's DBX anyway, and I found out, along with everything else you should know: from its performance to practicality in this review.
Australia hasn't had what you'd call a love affair with the Porsche Panamera. Especially compared to the on-going romance with its iconic sibling, the 911 and even its SUV stablemates.
The Panamera straddles the fence between high-performance sports car and family sedan and it's a position rivals like the BMW 740i, Maserati Quattroporte and Mercedes-Benz S450 have sometimes found difficult to balance.
This new-generation 'base' Panamera model is on test to see if this sedan's 2025 redesign will launch an arrow from Cupid's bow for Australian families?
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 Panamera is the ‘have your Porsche and drive it too’ model.
It encompasses the fun of the 911 while still being a comfortable daily driver that can easily fit a family of four. The cabin is sumptuously styled and not hurting for features, either.
Could the ownership costs and storage be better? Probably, but if you’re looking at this model, those items will probably be lower priorities for you.
For my little family of three, the base model Panamera is a win.