Denza B8 vs Aston Martin DBS

What's the difference?

There’s a new name in the luxury upper-large SUV segment and it’s one many buyers will be unfamiliar with. Enter the Denza B8, a brand positioned to BYD much like Genesis is to Hyundai, or Lexus to Toyota.

The flagship B8 6S leans heavily into luxury, space and rugged, squared-off styling, but the big question is whether it does enough to stand out against established heavy hitters like the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, Land Rover Defender and Audi Q7.

And then there’s the bigger question - do we actually need an XL SUV with a plug-in hybrid powertrain? More to the point, who exactly is this pitched at?

In mid-2018, to coincide with its global launch, CarsGuide was invited to a hush-hush, behind-closed-doors preview of the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera. 

Hidden within a maze of black velvet drapes at a low-key, inner-city Sydney location sat the famous British brand’s new flagship, a stunning 2+2 GT with the performance, dynamics and luxurious quality to match its exotic looks and $500K+ price tag.

On that day, for whatever reason, I never thought the opportunity to steer it would come my way. But two years later, almost to the day, the key to this ‘Sabiro Blue’ beauty was mine.

The DBS Superleggera sits at the top performance coupe table, mixing it with Bentley, Ferrari, and Porsche’s finest. But maybe you already have one (or more) of those. Which begs the question, does this imposing V12 machine do enough to qualify for an extra space in your garage?