carandbike Awards 2021: Aston Martin DBX Crowned Luxury SUV Of The Year

The Aston Martin DBX simply charmed all our jury members with its elegant design when it arrived at our jury round. It just looks downright gorgeous and then there is more to it. It is essentially a crossover rather than a true blue SUV, but has got enough capability and elements to take on challenging terrain and beaten surfaces in its stride. Elements like silver inserts on the fenders, fine chrome detailing on the window line and minimalist piano black detailing on the wing mirrors enhance its looks with the way they have been balanced. And the same impression continues at the rear where the sloping rear windscreen merges with duck-tail kind of treatment on the boot and the conjoined sleek taillights very appealingly covers the entire width, slightly extending towards the sides.

Even in the inside, it offers one of the most opulent interiors and everything here is highly customisable with trims and inlays and is draped in soft touch A-grade material. The cabin is finished in dual-tone beige and indigo colour while you get dual contrast stitching on the upholstery and Aston Martin logo the seats' headrests. The central console is finished in piano black in this particular model but again can be personalised with your choice of wood inlays as well. You do get several buttons on the central console to toggle driving modes and operate other functions along with a rotary dial and home buttons for the 10.25-inch TFT infotainment screen.

It offers Apple Carplay and is coupled with a 14-speaker (13 speaker + 1 subwoofer) Aston martin has custom built surround sound system, but it doesn't get Android Auto or connected car tech which in our opinion is a big miss in today's day and age. Then there's a 12.3-inch instrument cluster offering super sharp graphics along with a sporty layout and is very detailed with almost all information from driving modes, to navigation display, real time fuel economy, cruise control info, infotainment display and driver assist guidance among others. You also get a heated steering wheel as an option on this the DBX while standard features list includes, heated and ventilated perforated seats, three-zone climate control, surround camera view, a huge panoramic glass roof, 64 ambient lighting power adjustable seats and steering wheel (both reach and rake) among others.

The Aston Martin DBX is underpinned by an all-new bonded-aluminium platform, especially design for this model. Under the hood of the Aston Martin DBX sits a Mercedes sourced 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 petrol motor that puts out 535 bhp at 6,500 rpm and 700 Nm of peak torque at 2,200 - 5,000 rpm, while is mated to a nine-speed torque convertor automatic gearbox. And at 4.5 seconds to triple-digit speeds, this mammoth crossover is up there in super SUV territory, especially given that it tips the scale at 2245 kg. Moreover, it can clock a top-speed of 291 kmph and abetting its dynamics at higher speeds are air suspension at all four corners. It's coupled with active dampers and a 48-volt anti-roll system that applies 1,400 Nm of pressure on each wheel to maintain its agility and sustain body rolls and lateral movements.