Aston Martin DB12 S (2026 - ) review

Even more of the good stuff as Aston Martin upgrades the DB12 to DB12 S, with more power, more luxury and more appeal

Published on 17 August 2026 | 0 min read

The Autotrader expert verdict:

3.5

Available new from £196,745

Aston Martin isn’t stupid: give your customers the option of an 'S' badge on something, and they’ll all want it. Enter the DB12 S, an even sportier version of the DB12 super Grand Tourer. An unsurprising 90 per cent of customers have opted for it, which must surely mean that S now stands for “standard”. Still, is there anything standard about 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds? And does more power mean a better car?

Reasons to buy:

Fantastic Aston Martin engineering
More grown up than the standard DB12
Beautiful interior

Running costs for an Aston Martin DB12

“When you compare costs with that of a Ferrari or a Bentley GT, this thing feels like a lot of automotive attitude for the money”

Yeah, we’re going for a value-for-money argument here. Which isn’t the same as “cheap” (its base price is £205,000), but when you compare costs with that of a Ferrari (a fair comparison based on performance figures and handling) or a Bentley GT, this thing feels like a lot of automotive attitude for the money. The 10-stage traction-control system turns it into a car for the track, as does the increased power, while the design inside and out make it a beautiful cruiser for the ‘gram and Vogue-esque mini breaks in Tuscany. What we’re trying to say is, it’s a bargain. Just don’t think about fuel or insurance or services or repairs. Or options. Nice and simple does it.

Expert rating: 4/5

Reliability of an Aston Martin DB12

“A Toyota this is not, so expect the usual low-volume-manufacturer “quirks” and hiccups”

A Toyota this is not, so expect the usual low-volume-manufacturer “quirks” and hiccups, although that V8 engine and transmission are Mercedes thoroughbreds so you shouldn’t have mechanical issues. Software, however… don’t get us started. The infotainment screen shut up shop about 20 minutes into our hours-long test drive in France, and we couldn’t connect Apple CarPlay for the route on our own phones either, so we just went round in pretty circles in Provence. I mean, there are worst ways to spend a day, but we did get a bit peckish. Most other test cars had the same glitches, and posts on Reddit would seem to confirm our synopsis. Aston may now say all this is sorted, but that was the day we tested the cars, and that was our experience. Caveat emptor. Be sure to ask your dealer what happens when (sorry, if), it goes wrong for you.

Expert rating: 2/5

Safety for an Aston Martin DB12

“We’d strongly recommend keeping that TC button turned to “safe as houses””

Astons have this unnerving design that makes you feel they are far wider on the road than they actually are. Something to do with sight lines and so on, but the result is always a cautious half-hour inching along some winding road before you start to get a feel for the car’s positioning. They are also pretty lairy cars when you put your foot down, so we’d strongly recommend keeping that TC button turned to “safe as houses”. We don’t like the standard carbon-ceramic brakes either; they don’t inspire much confidence on the road, especially without the chance to get heat in them. But this chassis now has uprated this and stiffened that, and quicker those, and the result is greater stability than the normal DB12. Good. You’ll need it if you want to have any fun.

Expert rating: 3/5

How comfortable is the Aston Martin DB12

“For two adults it’s a lovely place to relax while the car devours the next continent”

Don’t go thinking you can take your kids in the back seats: if they are young enough to need a car seat, their little feet will stick straight into the back of your seat like ram rods, and if they’re teenagers… well, forget it. You don’t want them practising the contortions of the Karma Sutra that early in life.

For two adults, though, it’s a lovely place to relax while the car devours the next continent. As long as you don’t have the loud button pressed on those £9,200 titanium exhausts. Yours truly may have a bold personality, but no one has a big enough ego to carry that clatter off. The engine sounds mighty fine, though. Speaking of which…

Expert rating: 3/5

Features of the Aston Martin DB12

“Aston has nailed its interior design with simpler materials, shut lines and changes of direction and pattern”

Aston makes great play of the fact that the DB12 S has inbuilt Apple CarPlay Ultra, which, for the time the screen was playing ball, did seem like a good thing. Basically, you don’t have to switch out of the iPhone display on the car’s screen to access other functions of the car – it’s all integrated, even on the driver’s display. We just really miss the beautiful gunmetal analogue dials on an Aston’s driver display. Not because we’re tech dinosaurs, but because they looked nicer. Digital speedos are ugly.

Everything else is the came as the standard DB12, expect for a big red metal knob for that traction control. Our car was black inside and out, with some red stitching, which looked very mean and cool. Finally, Aston has nailed its interior design with simpler materials, shut lines and changes of direction and pattern.

Expert rating: 3/5

Power for an Aston Martin DB12

“There is a definite maturity to this S version over the standard DB12: it feels like it has grown into the car it was always meant to be”

Aston is just very, very good at engineering cars. That’s all there is to it really. The gearchanges happen faster than you can blink, the twin-turbo V8 remains a monster now with 700 horsepower, but a smooth one, and you can choose whether to stroll round town in this car or beat it up round a circuit: it will happily subject itself to either treatment. There is a definite maturity to this S version over the standard DB12 in that it feels like it has grown into the car it was always meant to be, with calm steering, bold movement and exemplary control. However, with 90 per cent of people opting for this refined beast, the perverse reviewer might hanker towards the more rarefied DB12, just because.

Expert rating: 5/5

Aston Martin DB12 S (2026 - ) review

The Autotrader expert verdict:

Reasons to buy:

At a glance:

Running costs for an Aston Martin DB12

Reliability of an Aston Martin DB12

Safety for an Aston Martin DB12

How comfortable is the Aston Martin DB12

Features of the Aston Martin DB12

Power for an Aston Martin DB12

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