The time has come to let go of my 2010 Aston Martin Rapide. I’ve recently become a grandfather and the missus insists I need a larger boot and proper back seats to carry my grandchildren around in. However, I won’t get out of bed for anything that has less than 400kW. Looks to me like a performance SUV is the way to go. That new Aston Martin DBX707 has caught my eye. Thoughts? - Jack, Sydney, Australia
Do the world a favour and do not purchase a DBX707. Yes, I know it’s quick but it looks like a cheese grater with wheels and is thus a serious risk factor for early-onset macular degeneration. Moving on. Which SUV should you go for, then? The answer is obvious: you don’t. Save those pennies, swallow your pride and opt for the driver’s choice: a sports wagon. The Audi RS 6 Avant will do. With a lower centre of gravity and 441kW (600hp) and 800Nm at the helm, the Aud will outhandle just about any super SUV you care to name.
Want something a little more avant-garde and with a sprinkle more oomph? Check out Porsche’s electric Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo, complete with 460kW and 850Nm. That ought to do. Of course, if your heart is set on the SUV form factor then I suspect you’ll find my suggestions deeply unsatisfying. Fear not. I’ll compromise.
The Lamborghini Urus is mega, and as a signal of wealth it is perhaps second only to the Rolls-Royce Cullinan... but I’d recommend saving the best part of $100,000 and opting for the brilliant Audi RS Q8. It’s based on similar underpinnings to the OTT Lambo albeit with—at least to my eyes—more refined and attractive sheet metal. That means you get a retuned twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 identical to the engine in the aforementioned RS 6, rear-wheel steering, and Audi’s famed Quattro all-wheel-drive system that can send up to 85% of the power to the rear.
Just promise me you’ll try an RS 6 first.
