Whenever I compare the Aston Martin DBX and the Cupra Formentor VZ5, it reminds me of a match between England and Spain in a certain finals match where one point will determine the winner, minus the post-game you-know-what.
England and Spain are itching for a rematch, this time as crossovers at Horizon Mexico. The Aston Martin DBX and the Cupra Formentor are ready to play ball and determine which crossover is the winner. But first, some introductions...
The DBX is Aston Martin's first-ever sports utility vehicle that competes with the Porsche Cayenne and the Lamborghini Urus. With styling heavily inspired by the Vantage sports car, this luxury five-seater SUV is powered by an AMG-derived 4.0L V8 BiTurbo engine mated to a 9-speed automatic gearbox. With a power output of 542BHP and 700Nm of torque, it goes 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 181mph. The DBX was produced in Aston Martin's Wales plant.
The Cupra Formentor VZ5 is a limited-edition model, limited to 7000 units worldwide. Under the hood, the VZ5 is powered by a 2.5L 5-cylinder turbocharged engine with a power output of 390PS. Mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG and 4Drive all-wheel-drive, the Formentor VZ5 goes 0-100kph in 4.2 seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 250kph.
Shucks, the DBX is Welsh-made, and England and Wales are different even though they're part of the UK. But anyway, with their quick introduction done, both the DBX and the Formentor VZ5 are ready for a one-lap duel worthy of being called a rematch between England and Spain.
This should be interesting because, like the teams themselves, the DBX takes pride in its raw power while the lightness of the Formentor VZ5 is its trump card. Yes, the DBX is more powerful than the Formentor VZ5 but the latter is lighter and easy to get through than the bulky British crossover. Anyway, no time for jibber-jabber because as the whistle blows, the action begins.
Roll the tape.
And now the results...
DBX - 1m09.002s
Formentor - 1m08.018s
Like the finals, it's a point victory for Spain against England. I guess the Formentor VZ5 proved its worth against the more powerful DBX by a razor-thin margin.
There you have it. England vs. Spain but crossovers. The Formentor VZ5 defeats the V8-powered DBX just like Spain beats England by a point. It's a victory for Spain minus the you-know-what. The folks from Cupra should really be proud of their instant classic that pushed the Formentor to ascension. Those 7000 drivers who drove the Formentor VZ5 weren't wrong about its all-around performance that won the day in style and comfort, no doubt.
Still, having respect to these two crossovers, it's time for a little epilogue to spice things up.
With a little "mirror in", the DBX crossover is getting its Horoscope vibes because, you guessed it, it's festooned with Q-Pit respect all over the bodywork. Thanks, Q-Pit. Hope I can look forward to today's horoscope.
The Formentor VZ5, meanwhile, has 765 million reasons to be idolized because the face of Million Live's Kaori Sakuramori took center stage in my latest makeover for Cupra's instant classic.
With their crossovers becoming "people's idols" for the day, it's time for their moment of fame with these two crossovers as the DBX tackles a somewhat re-enactment of a sprint race from a certain 90s racing game while the Formentor VZ5 takes on a near re-enactment of Sydney Motorsport Park envisioned by a certain game master. That's the magic of EventLab to you. Roll the tapes.
Who says crossovers can't race?
Having enjoyed our little epilogue with the DBX and the Formentor VZ5, these crossovers proved to me that they've proven to be as much as enjoyable as sports cars, like it or not. I know, most people don't agree, but this is the new normal. In the new normal, crossovers and SUVs are like Hollywood superheroes. The more heroic they are, the more sales will generate and that's how crossovers rule the motoring world by a firestorm.
With the whole England v Spain behind me, it's time to do some more Horizon stuff as the adventure continues...
Aston Martin joins the ranks of Lamborghini, Porsche, and Maserati of having an SUV in their super sporty lineup with the first-ever DBX and while some fans are sulking about why a British sports car maker decided to build an SUV, much to the annoyance of many, there's something about Aston Martin's first-ever SUV and why it matters to speedo boys who are prepared to spend over 160 grand for this.
The Aston Martin DBX is the result of when the British sports car maker succumbs to the crossover apocalypse and with crossovers treated like Hollywood superheroes nowadays, this so-called jacked-up supercar wants to take on the likes of the Lamborghini Urus any way it can.
Starting with the design, the DBX shares nothing in common with the concept car as seen in the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. Why? Because Aston Martin wanted different because while the 2015 concept car looks good, they just don't have the ways and means of turning it into a production model so they took the name of that concept car while designing the SUV from scratch. As the teasers went by, the world was shocked to see that the production-spec DBX was way more different than the concept model.
Still, on the styling, the DBX is a bit more like a jacked-up Vantage in Macan-esque silhouette and you can really tell from the questions triggered by those who had their first sight on this jacked-up supercar.
On the inside, it's anything but basic for this five-seater with some room in the back for some goods waiting to be delivered to specific clients, although I'm still puzzled over the Mercedes-derived tech platooned on the dashboard. Despite that, its practicality is well orchestrated for the DBX and looks like this crossover's on the roll for using it to bring VIPs to the country club and more.
The DBX runs on an AMG-derived 4.0L V8 BiTurbo engine mated to a 9-speed automatic gearbox that works like any other. With a power output of 542BHP of power and 700Nm of torque, it's capable of going from 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 181mph. At that rate, it's annoyingly slower than the Urus.
On the dynamics side, the DBX, despite being a crossover, behaves like an Aston Martin and when you get a hold of it, you can really fall in love with the way it goes. Not bad. That's because it's got active all-wheel drive with variable torque distribution and height-adjustable air suspension, so you can take it anywhere if you like as long as you don't get stuck in the mud by accident because if you do, you don't really know what happens next.
On the road, it's a pleasure to drive because of its very sophisticated suspension setup that most luxury crossovers adorned but tuned for sportiness, and off the road, it's almost as good as the other guys and like a rugby player, it's not afraid to get itself dirty.
The DBX may have sparked tons of questions but by the way, it behaves, looks like jealousy's in the air because, like it or not, this is the sporty crossover that will get us warmed up for more.
