diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f4686f8c..10bd3af2 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 /.idea/
 /vendor/
 /composer.lock
+composer.phar
diff --git a/src/Codeception/Lib/Driver/Db.php b/src/Codeception/Lib/Driver/Db.php
index fb1a2228..c08b042d 100755
--- a/src/Codeception/Lib/Driver/Db.php
+++ b/src/Codeception/Lib/Driver/Db.php
@@ -32,10 +32,36 @@ class Db
      * @var array
      */
     protected $primaryKeys = [];
+    /**
+     * @var string|null
+     */
+    protected $pdo_class;
+
+    /**
+     * @param string|null $pdo_class
+     * @return string
+     */
+    private static function pdoClass($pdo_class){
+        if (!$pdo_class){
+            // If empty or null we use regular PDO
+            return \PDO::class;
+        }
+
+        if (!class_exists($pdo_class)){
+            throw new ModuleException(
+                'Codeception\Module\Db',
+                "The class with provided config value 'pdo_class' ($pdo_class) does not exist"
+            );
+        }
 
-    public static function connect($dsn, $user, $password, $options = null)
+        return $pdo_class;
+    }
+
+    public static function connect($dsn, $user, $password, $options = null, $pdo_class = null)
     {
-        $dbh = new \PDO($dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+        $class_name = self::pdoClass($pdo_class);
+        $dbh = new $class_name($dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+        self::assertIsPdo($dbh, $pdo_class);
         $dbh->setAttribute(\PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, \PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
 
         return $dbh;
@@ -48,31 +74,32 @@ public static function connect($dsn, $user, $password, $options = null)
      * @param $user
      * @param $password
      * @param [optional] $options
+     * @param [optional] $pdo_class
      *
      * @see http://php.net/manual/en/pdo.construct.php
      * @see http://php.net/manual/de/ref.pdo-mysql.php#pdo-mysql.constants
      *
      * @return Db|SqlSrv|MySql|Oci|PostgreSql|Sqlite
      */
-    public static function create($dsn, $user, $password, $options = null)
+    public static function create($dsn, $user, $password, $options = null, $pdo_class = null)
     {
         $provider = self::getProvider($dsn);
 
         switch ($provider) {
             case 'sqlite':
-                return new Sqlite($dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+                return new Sqlite($dsn, $user, $password, $options, $pdo_class);
             case 'mysql':
-                return new MySql($dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+                return new MySql($dsn, $user, $password, $options, $pdo_class);
             case 'pgsql':
-                return new PostgreSql($dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+                return new PostgreSql($dsn, $user, $password, $options, $pdo_class);
             case 'mssql':
             case 'dblib':
             case 'sqlsrv':
-                return new SqlSrv($dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+                return new SqlSrv($dsn, $user, $password, $options, $pdo_class);
             case 'oci':
-                return new Oci($dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+                return new Oci($dsn, $user, $password, $options, $pdo_class);
             default:
-                return new Db($dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+                return new Db($dsn, $user, $password, $options, $pdo_class);
         }
     }
 
@@ -86,19 +113,37 @@ public static function getProvider($dsn)
      * @param $user
      * @param $password
      * @param [optional] $options
+     * @param [optional] $pdo_class
      *
      * @see http://php.net/manual/en/pdo.construct.php
      * @see http://php.net/manual/de/ref.pdo-mysql.php#pdo-mysql.constants
      */
-    public function __construct($dsn, $user, $password, $options = null)
+    public function __construct($dsn, $user, $password, $options = null, $pdo_class = null)
     {
-        $this->dbh = new \PDO($dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+        $class_name = self::pdoClass($pdo_class);
+        $this->dbh = new $class_name($dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+        self::assertIsPdo($this->dbh, $pdo_class);
         $this->dbh->setAttribute(\PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, \PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
 
         $this->dsn = $dsn;
         $this->user = $user;
         $this->password = $password;
         $this->options = $options;
+        $this->pdo_class = $pdo_class;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param $dbh
+     * @param string|null $pdo_class
+     */
+    private static function assertIsPdo($dbh, $pdo_class)
+    {
+        if (!$dbh instanceof \PDO){
+            throw new ModuleException(
+                'Codeception\Module\Db',
+                "The provided config value 'pdo_class' ($pdo_class) did not resolve to a class that implements \\PDO"
+            );
+        }
     }
 
     public function __destruct()
diff --git a/src/Codeception/Lib/Driver/Sqlite.php b/src/Codeception/Lib/Driver/Sqlite.php
index d33c26be..607df466 100644
--- a/src/Codeception/Lib/Driver/Sqlite.php
+++ b/src/Codeception/Lib/Driver/Sqlite.php
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ class Sqlite extends Db
     protected $filename = '';
     protected $con = null;
 
-    public function __construct($dsn, $user, $password, $options = null)
+    public function __construct($dsn, $user, $password, $options = null, $pdo_class = null)
     {
         $filename = substr($dsn, 7);
         if ($filename === ':memory:') {
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ public function __construct($dsn, $user, $password, $options = null)
 
         $this->filename = Configuration::projectDir() . $filename;
         $this->dsn = 'sqlite:' . $this->filename;
-        parent::__construct($this->dsn, $user, $password, $options);
+        parent::__construct($this->dsn, $user, $password, $options, $pdo_class);
     }
 
     public function cleanup()
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ public function cleanup()
         $this->dbh = null;
         gc_collect_cycles();
         file_put_contents($this->filename, '');
-        $this->dbh = self::connect($this->dsn, $this->user, $this->password);
+        $this->dbh = self::connect($this->dsn, $this->user, $this->password, $this->pdo_class);
     }
 
     public function load($sql)
diff --git a/src/Codeception/Module/Db.php b/src/Codeception/Module/Db.php
index 9414278b..f37d586f 100644
--- a/src/Codeception/Module/Db.php
+++ b/src/Codeception/Module/Db.php
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@
  * * ssl_cipher - list of one or more permissible ciphers to use for SSL encryption (MySQL specific, @see http://php.net/manual/de/ref.pdo-mysql.php#pdo.constants.mysql-attr-cipher)
  * * databases - include more database configs and switch between them in tests.
  * * initial_queries - list of queries to be executed right after connection to the database has been initiated, i.e. creating the database if it does not exist or preparing the database collation
+ * * pdo_class - a fully qualified class name of a class which extends \PDO. This allows for custom stubbing of PDO to provide customised interaction with the database, or alternative implementations which may aid in test debugging or test speed
  *
  * ## Example
  *
@@ -570,7 +571,8 @@ private function connect($databaseKey, $databaseConfig)
 
         try {
             $this->debugSection('Connecting To Db', ['config' => $databaseConfig, 'options' => $options]);
-            $this->drivers[$databaseKey] = Driver::create($databaseConfig['dsn'], $databaseConfig['user'], $databaseConfig['password'], $options);
+            $pdo_class = array_key_exists('pdo_class', $databaseConfig) ? $databaseConfig['pdo_class'] : null;
+            $this->drivers[$databaseKey] = Driver::create($databaseConfig['dsn'], $databaseConfig['user'], $databaseConfig['password'], $options, $pdo_class);
         } catch (\PDOException $e) {
             $message = $e->getMessage();
             if ($message === 'could not find driver') {
diff --git a/tests/data/sqlite.db b/tests/data/sqlite.db
index 6c7c70e4..e43da89c 100644
Binary files a/tests/data/sqlite.db and b/tests/data/sqlite.db differ