SUVs are ten-a-penny - but those that can tackle a forest track, as well as a Land Rover and then power around a race circuit with the aplomb of a true sports car, are few and far between. In fact, we'd go so far as to say that no other car pulls off that particular Jekyll and Hyde performance quite so well as Aston Martin's impressive DBX.
Launched last year, the DBX came late to a party that was kicked off by the Porsche Cayenne in 2001 and which has since become crowded with well-appointed, 150mph-plus all-wheel-drive models from Maserati, Jaguar, Mercedes AMG, Range Rover, Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Lamborghini and even Rolls-Royce. But Aston's effort was certainly worth the wait.
The first model to emerge from the marque's plant in St Athan, Wales, the DBX is new from the ground up, with a bonded aluminium chassis and aluminium bodywork, a four-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine and air suspension that can drop the car by 45mm for truly leech-like high-speed handling or raise it by 50mm for mud-plugging and wading.
It could easily have ended up with compromised performance both on the road and away from it - but Aston's chief engineer, Matt Becker (previously with Lotus for 26 years ) was never going to let that happen, and he and his team seem to have succeeded in creating an SUV that can both hold a perfect racing line and demonstrate a useful level of all-terrain capability.
Luxuriously appointed in standard form, it's the marque's first-ever five-seater and follows the trend for personalisation through a vast range of options that include no fewer than 11 accessory packs offering everything from a portable washer for hosing-down mud-encrusted dogs to electric ski boot warmers, a six-piece luggage set, a picnic hamper and a gun cabinet.
And to demonstrate what the DBX is all about, Aston Martin has just released a carefully crafted four-minute film featuring flavour-of-the-moment British actor Josh O'Connor.
Connor shot to fame in 2016 for his portrayal of the young Lawrence Durrell in TV series The Durrells, playing to perfection the part of the budding, soul-searching and sometimes irascible young author who went on to pen classics such as The Alexandra Quartet and the Revolt of Aphrodite.
The 31-year-old has since gone on to win a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Prince Charles in The Crown and a Best Actor award for his role as Johnny Saxby in Francis Lees gritty romantic drama God's Own Country set in the West Yorkshire countryside.
For this latest cinematic effort, O'Connor found himself on the island of Sicily to star in Aston's somewhat dreamy 'short' made by the acclaimed Italian director, producer and screenwriter Luca Guadagnino, best known for his work on films such as Call Me By Your Name, A Bigger Splash and the 2018 remake of Suspiria.
The film won't, however, be coming 'to a cinema near you' any time soon, because it can only be seen on Aston's YouTube and social media channels. O'Connor didn't have to learn a single word of dialogue for the part, because there isn't any - the only audio being proved by British composer Devonte Hynes's ethereal soundtrack and the occasional, subtly muffled growl of the Minotaur Green DBX's exhaust pipes as the actor demonstrates the car's on-road agility around the sweeping bends of Sicily's blissfully empty roads before bringing its all-wheel-drive capability into play on a dirt road during the closing scenes.
The camera artfully follows O'Connor on a drive that takes in some of the island's vineyards, bridges and tracks. In his usual style, Guadagnino encourages the viewer to 'bring their own interpretation to the narrative' - but the most likely explanation is that O'Connor is playing the part of a father, excitedly driving across the island on a mission to be reunited with his young daughter (who is found sitting in a tree in the villa's lush garden).
Personally, I was left thinking that O'Connor might make a surprisingly good James Bond. After all, he's shown himself to be entirely at one behind the wheel of an Aston Martin.... what more does he need to do?
The Aston Martin DBX starts at £158,000 - but adding extras such as special paint (£12,995), a sports exhaust £1,495), a carbon fibre body pack £16,990) and a 'designer key' (£695) can easily push the price to £200,000 - plus.