Right.

Super SUVs have an impossible job.

They need to be super, which means fast and exciting and exotic, while simultaneously being SUVs, which means practical and comfortable and capable of transporting five people plus luggage without making anyone question their life choices. T

hese are fundamentally opposed concepts, like trying to make a soufflé that's also a brick or a ballet dancer who moonlights as a rugby prop.

Yet here's the 2026 Aston Martin DBX S, attempting exactly that impossible task and somehow succeeding.

The DBX has been around for five years now, which in supercar terms is practically ancient, but it's only just reached its stride. Last year Aston fitted it with the vastly improved infotainment system from the DB12, replacing the old Mercedes electronics that were about as intuitive as filing your taxes in Mandarin. Now it gets another round of upgrades, this time focused on performance rather than just making the touchscreen work properly.

Normally, throwing hardcore performance at an SUV is an excellent way to make it utterly irritating.

The Lamborghini Urus Performante proves this brilliantly, being so stiff and uncompromising that you'd genuinely rather walk. But at Aston Martin, the "S" designation doesn't mean hardcore, it means more performance with the same grand touring recipe. More power, less weight, but still civilized enough that you won't arrive at your destination with your fillings rattled loose.

Aston Martin DBX S performance upgrades and specifications

Let's talk about what's actually changed. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8, built by AMG because even Aston Martin recognizes German engineering excellence when they see it, now produces 717 horsepower.

That's up from 707, which already seemed like plenty.

The extra grunt comes from fitting the turbochargers destined for the upcoming Valhalla hypercar, because apparently regular turbochargers weren't exotic enough. Torque remains at 663 pound-feet, unchanged from the DBX707, and Aston claims this is because they pursued peakier power delivery. Oddly, the zero to 60 mph time hasn't changed, but zero to 124 mph is 0.3 seconds faster, which suggests the extra power manifests at higher speeds where turbos really get cooking.

Weight savings are genuinely impressive for what's still a proper luxury SUV. In its lightest specification, the DBX S weighs up to 103 pounds less than the 707. Forty pounds comes from the carbon fiber roof, 42 pounds from magnesium wheels that look brilliant but cannot be used for towing, 15 pounds from an optional carbon diffuser, and the rest from Alcantara upholstery, a lighter front grille, and a new exhaust system with stacked tips like a Lexus IS-F. At 4,845 pounds, it's still not exactly a lightweight, but removing over 100 pounds from something this size is genuinely significant.

The steering ratio has been quickened by four percent, but not by installing a new steering rack like most manufacturers would do. Instead, Aston's engineers reengineered the front uprights to have slightly different geometry, which quickens the effective steering ratio while also decreasing the turning circle. It's the engineer's way around the problem, arguably the hard way, but undeniably clever. Mix in updated gearbox tuning and overall suspension recalibration for the lighter wheels, and you have what appears on paper to be a modest upgrade over the 707.

Except modest doesn't paint the full picture.

Testing the DBX S around California Wine Country's backroads, roads arguably too small for something this substantial, the S felt significantly different from its predecessor. The horsepower increase is barely noticeable because 707 horses was already absurd, but the suspension and handling improvements are genuinely transformative. Those lightweight magnesium wheels are critical to this, being unsprung and rotational weight, and the DBX S rides impeccably while handling with an ease that belies its 4,845-pound mass.

The full suite of active sway bars, air suspension, adaptive dampers, and Bosch electronic handling systems keeps the SUV rigidly composed through corners while maintaining incredible suppleness over bumps. It's the sort of magic that shouldn't be possible according to physics, yet here we are.

But the most significant experiential change, strangely enough, is the exhaust and transmission tuning. It's slightly louder than before, but more importantly, the V8 tones are much more pronounced.

The DBX S delivers a delightful thundering growl, complete with whip-cracks on upshifts that make the V8 genuinely engaging where it was relatively muted before. It's a full-on case of what the reviewer calls PDK-itis, where you find yourself shifting manually just for the satisfaction of hearing that bark and feeling that kick, even when the automatic gearbox would do a perfectly adequate job on its own.

The DBX S proves itself more than the sum of its parts. It delivers an easy, flowing driving experience through challenging backroads while remaining tremendously comfortable and quiet during long highway stints. It has substantially more character than the 707, more personality, more of that intangible quality that makes you want to drive it rather than just use it as transport. You don't lose anything by choosing the S over the standard DBX. Well, except for an extra $20,000 in base MSRP, bringing the starting price to $270,500 before you've ticked a single option box.

The luxury SUV space is crowded with heavyweight contenders.

The Lamborghini Urus prioritizes maximum visual impact and performance.

The Bentley Bentayga focuses on luxury above all else. The Ferrari Purosangue is the most extreme, shoehorning a thirsty V12 into a package that leaves little room for practicality. The DBX S sits somewhere between the Purosangue's extremity and the Bentayga's comfort, offering genuine sports car dynamics in an SUV body without completely sacrificing usability.

At $270,500 base price, rising to over $362,000 as tested with options, the DBX S isn't exactly affordable. But in this rarefied segment where rivals cost similar money, it represents genuinely compelling value.

You get Aston Martin's gorgeous design, that spectacular V8 soundtrack, genuine performance capability, and crucially, real emotional engagement.

Most super SUVs feel like compromises, vehicles that do everything adequately but nothing brilliantly. The DBX S feels like Aston Martin actually solved the impossible equation, creating something that's genuinely super while remaining convincingly SUV. That's rather remarkable, and worth every penny of that eye-watering price tag.