2026 Aston Martin DBX S, front | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden

Key Points in This Review:

• The most powerful, capable and expensive Aston Martin DBX, the S is the best of the breed.

• The new DBX S is lighter than the DBX707 if equipped correctly

• Short of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT, it feels more capable than any SUV available today.

In the market for an SUV? Lucky you: So long as you’ve got the cash, you can find just about every type of lifted four-door imaginable. We’ve got it stupid good these days; just 15 years ago, sourcing an SUV that handled curves with any composure restricted you to a BMW, Porsche or Mercedes-Benz. If you wanted to haul the fam in a four-door Aston Martin, your only option was the lovely but cramped Rapide sedan. Now, the everything-to-everyone Aston Martin DBX is the British brand’s top (bull)dog in sales — and performance-oriented SUVs are everywhere.

Related: 2026 Aston Martin DBX S Adds Power, Carbon Fiber

Even so, SUVs are almost universally consumer-grade stuff. Most automakers aren’t investing in low-production, experimental few-offs here — just give the people what they want. But what the people want in the upper-luxury performance SUV segment, according to Aston, is more of everything; more options, more personalization and more performance. Enter the Aston Martin DBX S. A new variant based on — and positioned above — the DBX707, it’s the sharpest and most powerful version of the brand’s SUV.

2026 Aston Martin DBX S, rear angle | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden

What’s the Difference Between an Aston Martin DBX707 and DBX S?

• Takeaway: The S gets a bit more power, retuned steering, revised transmission tuning and a comprehensive options list with lightweight components.

The formula here is the same as in Aston’s past S variants: less weight, more power. Compared with the 707, some 104 pounds are cut by selecting certain options — 42 pounds from the magnesium wheels, 40 pounds from the carbon-fiber roof, 15 from carbon-fiber exterior trim and 7 from the front grille. The lightest DBX S commands the heaviest sticker; the magnesium wheels alone add $22,300 to the final tally.

Aston’s online configurator is coy on pricing — if you have to ask, etc. — but based on the decadent build sheet for my $397,900 test car, these lightweight components will cost you roughly $500 per pound saved. More into creature comforts and style? Aston will gladly bring your books into the red with an options list that includes a $12,000 Bowers & Wilkins sound system and a $14,900 unique S pinstripe livery.

If you wish, you can configure your new S to look a lot like an upfitted 707, but there’s a raft of under-the-skin stuff that ensures the changes go well beyond a simple badge job. New turbos sourced from the Valhalla hypercar push the boosted 4.0-liter V-8 to 717 horsepower and an unchanged 664 pounds-feet of torque, keeping the 707’s claimed 3.3-second 0-62 mph run. Its 0-124 mph run, however, is shaved down by 0.3 second, and the S takes a full second off the 707’s 62-155 mph gauntlet.

It’s nothing mind-blowing in the (extra) power department, but this, in concert with everything else, is what earns that crimson “S” badge. Its steering is retuned and quicker; engineers say the new ratio is 5% faster than before and negates the need for rear-wheel steering, a function found in other performance SUVs. The 707’s shocks are tweaked to balance the new steering setup, as are Sport and Sport+ drive modes that are now more aggressive and holistically sharper than before.

2026 Aston Martin DBX S, front row | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden

How Is the 2026 Aston Martin DBX S to Live With?

• Takeaway: An indulgent interior and well-composed air suspension cut a perfect balance between Bentley luxe and Ferrari sharpness.

That’s the new-new, but the DBX’s prior dynamic genes carry over. The SUV’s proprietary platform still incorporates a double-wishbone front and multilink rear air suspension, backed by standard carbon-ceramic brake discs measuring a whopping 16.5 inches in front and 15.4 inches in back. The 285-wide front and 325-wide rear summer performance tires are equally at home summiting the driveway at your Malibu (maybe Miami, maybe Monaco) manse as they are tackling a track day.

Our first crack at the DBX S saw us far from a pit lane. We pointed this uber-SUV toward a web of squiggled country roads rushing northwest of Santa Barbara into the Santa Ynez area of California, crisscrossing a network of meandering two-lanes that cut equally between open crop fields in the foothills to tight, technical passes hung cliffside. Tacked onto both ends was a good half-hour on the highway, where the DBX’s mundane side shined.

S or not, the heart of the DBX remains in step with Aston’s indelible grand-touring ethos: Aside from some faint tire noise, a firm suspension, slightly grabby brakes and the unmistakable background roil of the V-8, this nuclear-grade SUV is about as comfortable in traffic as a Porsche Cayenne Turbo or BMW X5 M Competition. The interior, though, is a cut far, far above those mass-market sleds, with acres of primo cowhide, matte carbon fiber and metal trim that matches the automaker’s $400,000-plus Vanquish for fit, finish and presentation.

2026 Aston Martin DBX S, wheel | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden