Review: Refreshed Aston Martin DBX 707 is a fresh take on the super-SUV

Logically, if you’re a Scottish sheepherder, you’re not the target market for the 2025 Aston Martin DBX 707. Yet, here we are, test-driving this super-SUV across terrain far better suited to the woolliest of mammals than a $302,100 vehicle.

What in the world, you may ask?

Here’s the reason: Despite riding on all-terrain tires mounted to 22-inch wheels, the DBX 707 can navigate the typical pasture, complete with its deep ruts, mud puddles, slick grass and rocky thoroughfares.

Now, to be sure, the sight of an Aston Martin trudging off-road is, at best, an unlikely occurrence. But this is beside the point. The point is, the DBX 707 is engineered more for the typical race track than average goat path. Yet, the same engineering that makes it such a profoundly fast vehicle also generates capability on unpaved surfaces. Surprising capability.

Like many of the SUVs more renowned for their off-road prowess, the Aston Martin has the bases covered. There’s the all-wheel-drive system that can shuttle 100 per cent of engine torque to the rear wheels on demand or send half to the front wheels. There’s the hill descent control system, operated through the cruise control switches on the steering wheel. And there are five drive modes, including one labelled “Terrain,” which raises the ride height by 45 millimetres.

All of the systems work as advertised during our brief adventure among the sheep, with the exception of the standard carbon-ceramic brake package. This is not to say that the DBX 707 failed to stop at any point, but the 42-centimetre front discs and 39-centimetre rear discs require plenty of heat to perform optimally. Creeping down a gravel path at two kilometres an hour, the brakes squeal in protest but hold their ground.

The Aston is likely far happier at 311 kilometres an hour, the stated top speed for the vehicle, a staggering figure when you consider that it’s an SUV. Under the hood, there’s a twin-turbocharged four-litre V8 engine, which is sourced from Mercedes-Benz.

In this application, the engine generates 698 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque, and is linked to a nine-speed “wet clutch” automatic transmission. The combination allows the DBX 707 to accelerate from zero to 100 kilometres an hour in 3.2 seconds. Again: ridiculous for an SUV.

The drive northwest from Edinburgh to the sheep pasture, a journey of some 80 kilometres, did not allow us to test the veracity of the top speed claim – not even close. But what it did serve to illustrate is that a sizable SUV, when engineered to very high standards, can also contend with narrow Scottish country roads.

Make no mistake: The DBX 707 is sizable. The wheelbase is surprisingly large, longer than any other vehicle in the competitive set, with lots of legroom in the back seat. As a result, it takes some magic to make the Aston bend around corners like a sports car. Yet, that’s precisely what it can do, even more so now that the engineering team has recalibrated the suspension system for the revised 2025 model.

Other changes for the new model year include improved sound quality for the exhaust system at lower engine speeds, a different spoiler that matches vehicle body colour and new side mirrors that incorporate a 360-degree camera that’s useful for manoeuvring off-road and on. The biggest change, though, is to the infotainment system.

The original DBX 707, which was introduced two years ago, used a system from Mercedes-Benz. Developed in-house, the new system incorporates a 12.3-inch screen for the instrument panel and a 10.25-inch central touchscreen integrated into the dashboard.

A number of functions are still triggered by switches away from the screen, including the drive mode selector, gear selector and controls for the exhaust note, stability control and adjustable air suspension. The new model also features three new interior trim packages, two with embroidered patterns and the other with Alcantara trim elements.

Aston Martin has a reputation for listening closely to what their owners like and don’t like in their high-performance vehicles; the revised DBX 707 is the result of this approach. With a new infotainment system, new interior packages and more refined handling qualities, it’s now arguably the most desirable super-SUV on the market. But it’s still not the preferred choice for herding sheep.

The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.

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