Aston Martin DBX, Track Test

Lo and behold, an SUV is our ‘Performance Car of the Year!’ Emphasis on ‘Car.’ Well, it had to happen...

If it sounds like I’m complaining,believe me, I’m not. It’s just that I never imagined that the DBX would be faster than the Audi RS 5, even if only by three-tenths of a second. After all, that’s a low-slung sports car – albeit one with four doors. But, keep in mind, that the DBX has a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 from AMG that makes a substantial 542 horses and 700Nm – all of which means that it’ll hit 100km/h from a standstill in just 4.5 seconds. And even though it weighs 2.2 tonnes, the handling is sublime. In fact, the first time you throw it into a corner, the agility takes you completely by surprise.

The steering is sharp and immediate – and it just feels good to hold in your hand. But what really takes you by surprise is what happens when you punch the throttle at the exit of the corner – because that’s when its true sport car roots really shine through. Not only does it hunker down and go, but it also rotates its rather pretty rear-end just enough to be the perfect dance partner. It encourages a dab of opposite lock and urges you NOT to let off the gas, which is very un-SUV-like. The photograph that you see here, with the tail stepping out at the apex of a corner, is not the exception, but the rule. Of course, it will behave perfectly gentlemanly as well if you so desire, and that’s the real beauty of a machine like this. You can hustle it around like a sports car when you so choose and, for the rest of the time, drive it around like the luxury car that it is. And you don’t even have to worry about grazing the underbody against the many undulations on our roads. With the DBX, you really can have your cake and eat it too!

And just look at it! The pictures simply don’t do it justice – it looks SO much better in the flesh than it does in photographs. Of course, then, there’s the cabin. It just smells expensive. The driver’s seat is fitted like a Savile Row suit – one that, in this case, is made from several hides of the finest leather.Let’s just say that the entire experience feels very special indeed. Now, the downsides. Well, there is one. Actually, there are 3.82 crore – because that’s how much it’ll cost you. Very, very few of you, who have the means to put this car in your driveway that is. But, if you do have the means, and have even a drop of petrol in your veins, and any taste at all, that’s exactly what you’ll do. Do remember to invite me, though, so that I can show you some of its dance moves...

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