Virtually by definition, a profession in automotive journalism results in some pretty unbelievable experiences. Current highlights embody pre-running the Baja 1000, visiting the Dakar Rally after which attending to drive one of many successful racecars, stoically struggling by a Navy SEAL’s snow survival college, and taking a Ford Bronco Raptor out on the King of the Hammers racecourse.
However among the enjoyable issue borders on extra egregious absurdity, too. Someway, I’ve examined a Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato at over 100 mph within the filth, jumped it, and survived. I also can declare to have accomplished a superfecta of kinds that solely maybe a handful of different folks on the planet have: I’ve taken each “Tremendous SUV” in the marketplace, among the world’s costliest 4x4s, off-road in a single capability or one other.
From rallycrossing a Lamborghini Urus, mudding in an Aston Martin DBX707, two-wheel teetering a Bentley Bentayga, snow sliding in a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, and all the best way to spraying gravel in a Ferrari Purosangue.
No one of their proper thoughts ought to ever do any of this stuff to fabulous, luxurious 4x4s that value properly into six figures. And but, I lived to inform the story — and so did all of the autos, I’m joyful to report.
Lamborghini Urus
Lamborghini loaned me the primary Tremendous SUV that I ever drove again in 2022. And it’s becoming since Lambo arguably invented the high-performance SUV with the LM 002 “Rambo Lambo” again within the Nineteen Eighties. (Simply don’t ask about my pal’s Cummins-swapped LM 002; it’s a piece in progress.) I took that first Urus loaner completely able to spew forth judgment and as an alternative got here away duly impressed.
At that time, I didn’t know that Lamborghini’s CTO, Rouven Mohr, is a rally racing fanatic and even owns a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. So he all the time bakes a certain quantity of slidey-sideways enjoyable into any Lambo, which resulted within the spectacular Sterrato as a completely absurd purpose-built off-roading supercar.
Mohr additionally helped to push for a rallycross expertise for the worldwide launch of the Lamborghini Urus Performante variant, which I attended at Autodromo di Vallelunga within the hills north of Rome. In equity, this system primarily included tarmac driving at Vallelunga, however I simply needed to maintain lapping the rallycross portion of the day.
The Performante will get metal springs as an alternative of air suspension, which sounds counterintuitive, however I imagine it truly smoothed out among the rougher sections. Swinging the large SUV’s tail by turns, stomping on the gasoline, and cranking into full drifty oversteer — in a automobile that simply prices north of $300,000 — merely introduced out all my worst childhood instincts.
A Lamborghini With Rally Mode?
The Performante’s new “Rally” drive mode helped, permitting for added yaw angle with out slicing energy. I discovered a clear rhythm quickly sufficient, after seesawing my method by the primary few laps. Ultimately, I trusted the entrance wheels to assist pull me by, and my arms settled down.
All of the whereas, I saved praying to not hear the worst noise potential: a pebble probably getting caught within the brake caliper and scoring a deep gouge within the large carbon-ceramic brake rotors.
Fortunately, the worst by no means occurred, and I loved a day slinging round 657 horses value of twin-turbo V8 Tremendous SUV. Later, I’d recreate that ecstasy within the Sterrato, then additionally at an ice drifting class Lamborghini holds yearly north of Montreal, Canada.
There, studded tires took the Urus ridiculousness to all new ranges, proving as soon as once more how properly Lamborghini combines the day by day driveability of an SUV with the sheer stupidity of supercar efficiency.
Aston Martin DBX707
Second on the listing, and likewise the second Tremendous SUV that I ever drove, comes Aston Martin’s DBX707. However truly, once I first drove the DBX, I got here away dissatisfied. Positive, the design appears to be like spectacular, and on the time, it was essentially the most highly effective SUV on the earth. However the driving dynamics lacked a sure aptitude.
So I wound up concluding that this Aston rode nearer to minivan than supercar. Plus, horrible inside ergonomics ruined the remainder of the expertise.
Then, for 2025, Aston Martin truly listened to the evaluations and revamped the DBX with a large makeover. The 707 now stands as the one mannequin within the lineup, with revisions to the steering, suspension, and transmission tuning that solely remodel the dealing with. Plus, the inside now will get a reliable touchscreen and exquisite buttons, plus Apple CarPlay — superior!
Even nonetheless, I virtually laughed out loud when an invite arrived providing an opportunity to drive a DBX707 off-road in Scotland. By no means did the considered saying no cross my thoughts, after all. However I guessed {that a} completely tame, completely manicured garden bowling discipline awaited me. As a substitute, Aston took me on the gnarliest day of off-roading I’ve accomplished in any of those Tremendous SUVs.
Axle-Deep Mud With 22-Inch Wheels!
All on 22-inch wheels, no much less! On a rural property, not fairly within the highlands however chock-full of rocks the dimensions of softballs, mud pits rather more than axle deep, and a few hair-raising descents … with, after all, a man in full tartan supervising. However, all through, the DBX707 carried out much better than anticipated.
Permitting a certain quantity of wheel slip after the coarse surfaces began spraying round. Within the mud, even performance-oriented all-season tires discovered some grip as I charged by with out lifting.
Air suspension, on this case, let me elevate up as excessive as potential to avoid wasting among the carbon fiber from taking an excessive amount of of a beating. And but, I by no means felt an excessive amount of of the outdated pucker that hinted a automobile would possibly imminently quit and break down.
A bit extra high-speed stuff, à la Lambo, would have been good, however this demonstration of the DBX707’s prowess — and Aston’s confidence within the SUV’s talents — nonetheless sticks with me to at the present time.
Bentley Bentayga
In distinction, my day without work the asphalt in a Bentley Bentayga corralled me in a way more managed setting. Bentley has a partnership with The Protect, a capturing sports activities membership in Rhode Island the place shoppers can strive one of many world’s costliest 4x4s off-road to get across the property. There, on a purpose-built course designed to suit the SUV, I discovered the Bentayga’s true demeanor a bit tougher to guage.
On one hand, the SUV did nice, holding stable lean angles on berms, crawling steadily over mossy logs, and managing to scrape over elephant tracks exhibiting off entrance and rear axle articulation. Or no less than, some articulation, since I repeatedly lifted two diagonally opposing wheels into the air at a time. That sensation hits in a different way in one thing this costly, let me admit.
The course aimed to satisfy a special objective than Lamborghini achieved with the Urus or Aston had with the DBX. As a substitute, I most felt the Volkswagen AG affect, because the Bentayga’s gradual and regular tempo received the race. Name it a softer Cayenne, since Porsche went stiff and quick with the flagship SUV in its latest generations.
Bentayga’s suspension as an alternative permits extra compliance, extra droop, larger compression, and throughout extra consolation whereas off the crushed path. I’d be very curious to push it somewhat tougher, particularly on some actual tires — one thing that applies universally to all these SUVs, truly.
Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Tire selection got here up most critically for the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, although. First, I have to admit that I solely took the Cullinan a bit off the asphalt. However I did so in critically snowy circumstances, properly under 0 levels Fahrenheit, on a brutal winter weekend in northern Wyoming. There, even rugged Wyoming cowboys pulled out iPhones to movie me drifting throughout frozen intersections, taking part in slip-and-slide in a half-million-dollar eggplant purple Roly-Poly.
I had pushed the Cullinan twice beforehand, and the primary time positively required an adjustment interval. The throttle response appeared laggy, the boat-like steering requiring a ton of enter to truly, you recognize, steer the automobile.
However that’s the entire level: to create the softest, smoothest journey ever for the large boss within the again seat — and it really works. Rolls-Royce actually sits at a special stage of unbelievable engineering and considerate design, set properly aside from the Bentayga that I figured the Cullinan would possibly resemble beforehand.
Comfortable Responses Make For Extremely-Enjoyable Snow Drives
Better of all, these attributes work properly within the snow, the place sudden driver inputs normally trigger sharp automobile actions, which ends up in a lack of management. As a substitute, even on all-season tires in such frigid temps, the beefy Cullinan (which weighs over 6,000 kilos) by no means felt uncontrolled.
Even once I punched the throttle to the ground to unleash each final of the 664 pound-feet from that gargantuan twin-turbo V12, the tires simply wound up and the load settled, after which we received transferring with a endurance that belied my eagerness.
Donuts proved unattainable with out paddle shifters or the flexibility to totally change off stability management. Such shenanigans shouldn’t determine into the lifetime of many Rolls-Royce house owners, although.
For me, would a Rolls-Royce ever function my selection of winter beater? Completely not, however then once more, I’ll by no means have the ability to afford one anyway.
Ferrari Purosangue
I purposefully saved essentially the most controversial of the world’s costliest 4x4s off-road for final: Ferrari’s “not an SUV” Purosangue. Counter to the development of different producers that construct these gobsmacking machines to spice up gross sales volumes — a money seize for household life, you would possibly say — Ferrari went the wrong way.
Therefore why the Purosangue appears small on the within, lacks an infotainment touchscreen within the fashionable period, eschews the usage of turbos on its screaming 6.5L V12, and doesn’t even have sway bars for the suspension.
The objective, as an alternative, is for this SUV to carry out similar to a supercar, solely greater off the bottom and with 4 seats. And actually, the Purosangue manages precisely that fairly properly, even when I don’t see the purpose personally. Nonetheless, nothing may cease me from taking an surprising detour to go for an unsupervised rip on a graded gravel street throughout a drive program within the rural countryside of Vermont.
The Prancing Horse Will get Soiled
I merely couldn’t resist an opportunity to expertise how that V12 and gearbox reply with much less grip, plus how the Multimatic suspension with out sway bars behaves. Admittedly, I cringed whereas flooring it, somewhat fearful of any rocks damaging particularly the large carbon-fiber rear splitter — once more, my finances got here to thoughts.
However the Purosangue’s physique management and roll management impressed me essentially the most. At first, the suspension needed to squat a bit rearward. Then, all of the bazillion sensors wizened up and added a bit extra strain to the rear Multimatics, which helped the entrance tires cease spinning and achieve traction.
Launch management with a V12 all the time sounds nice, however this synthetic potential to let the revs spool up after which the grip catch up sounded even higher. I watched a cloud of mud spray behind me, after which glanced down on the speedo in terror.
Making an attempt to not brake a lot, I wanted to take a mushy lefthand bend at velocity. Cornering, the Multimatics labored even higher. Serving to the tires skitter sideways with out slicing into the communication I felt by the steering wheel. And when the time got here to hammer the brakes, that beak-like front-end nostril dove solely a bit. Till I flipped a barely slidey U-turn and headed again for asphalt earlier than anybody caught me within the midst of such clearly legal actions.
World’s Most Costly 4x4s Off-Highway: Soiled Ideas
If some legal held a gun to my head and compelled me to select a Tremendous SUV, which one would I select? Effectively, arms down, the Urus positively will get the job accomplished for me. The rationality of Volkswagen Group engineering, the recognized portions of that twin-turbo V8, Rouven Mohr’s rally obsession — the Urus is certainly one of the best general automobile.
As a result of, being solely frank, even when I owned one and will afford spare elements, I nonetheless wouldn’t take considered one of these SUVs off-road. I can save that for my Mitsubishi Montero or Pajero Evolution (rally racing obsessions have change into a theme, clearly).
However the level isn’t to be rational right here, clearly. These are among the world’s costliest 4x4s off-road. And to my style, the DBX707’s updates for 2025 make it my selection. Aston shocked me enormously with that drive program. The outside design completely nails svelte energy, the inside now works wonders, and it’s a lot much less widespread round Los Angeles than the almost-ubiquitous Urus.
The Cullinan is available in at a detailed second, although. Every thing about what is definitely Rolls-Royce’s smallest automobile on sale in the present day goes excessive: extreme luxurious, plush efficiency, a ludicrously unaerodynamic design stuffed with concurrently rounded and boxy shapes. Save the sharp edge for one thing extra critically performance-focused, Rolls appears to be saying, even when that twin-turbo V12 can push some severe enhance when requested.
I may make a case for the Purosangue and the Bentayga, too, however private desire dictates such patently fabulous, fanciful imaginings. All of those Tremendous SUVs actually are so good that they make selecting a favourite fairly troublesome — form of like choosing your favourite youngster, shade, or film. Fortunately for me, that is one selection my checking account received’t doubtless ever permit me to make.
