Aston Martin DBX707

We've lived with the 'regular' DBX, now it's the turn of the 697bhp range-topper to spend time on our fleet. Will this super-SUV impress as much in daily use at it did on its launch?

- Stuart Gallagher

IT'S FITTING THAT IN THE ISSUE IN WHICH WE introduce the first all-new Aston Martin road car to be conceived and developed under the watch of current chairman Lawrence Stroll, we also introduce to evo's Fast Fleet a model that was originally conceived by his predecessor, Andy Palmer: a DBX, specifically a DBX707.

A recap on the DBX and the 707, should you need one: the DBX is the volume seller designed and developed at the sort of huge expense that Aston could barely afford at the time, but then neither could it afford not to do so.

And the 707 is the hyper-luxury, mad-performance model for a market that is still a licence to print money.

In the DBX, Aston Martin created one of the few, if not the only bespoke performance SUV, so it is unencumbered by the limitations of group platforms, while also not being held back by having to live up to a legacy of rock climbing and river wading. And it's really rather good, a match for contemporary performance estate cars and an ostrich-sized feather in the brand's cap, highlighting that front-engined GT cars aren't its only party piece.

However, unlike the ranges of its rivals, the DBX line-up was for some time a rather shallow pool for customers to fish in, the only options being the 'standard' 542bhp V8 model and, if you lived in China, a six-cylinder mild-hybrid.

For those wanting to trade-in their Lamborghini Urus, Range Rover Sport SVR or even AMG G63, Aston Martin was lacking a comparable ultraperformance SUV offering.