What makes a car ride well?

[nsa]

I took Ubers to and from a restaurant this week.

Way there: Toyota Alphard, luxury seven seat MPV
Way back: Toyota something family seven seat MPV

They were both about five years old, we were six up, and the ride difference between the two was night and day. The family MPV crashed over bumps and you could feel all the road imperfections. The Alphard was a lot smoother.

They are both monocoque, similar independent suspension setup etc, so what is it specifically that makes a luxury car ride so well? Is it bodyshell stiffness, quality dampers, suspension tuning? Is there any way you could get the family MPV to have a luxury ride?

[E-bmw]

nsa said:

what is it specifically that makes a luxury car ride so well? Is it bodyshell stiffness, quality dampers, suspension tuning?

Is there any way you could get the family MPV to have a luxury ride?

Yes, and yes are the simple answers.

MPV may well be more down to "appeals to soccer mum on the school runs", second use of vehicle being a van, built to carry more weight & down to a price.

Just a thought.

[andygo]

Tyres

[Mave]

Assume the MPV is taller? Higher C of G = stiffer suspension to control roll?

[Panamax]

Stiff suspension helps cars go round corners and simultaneously wrecks ride quality.

"Sports suspension" is the kiss of death on UK's pot-holed and rutted roads.

[Smint]

Long travel soft springs, quality damping, large high profile tyres, long wheelbase, the right tyre sizing makes a world of difference.

Chances are the vehicle won't have that concrete sprung elastic band tyred instant steering feel that road testers fetishise over, but you can't have it both ways.
You'd be surprsied just how well Landcruisers in standard form ride on our ruined roads, probably on a par with that Alphard.

[cptsideways]

Cars with proper ride require more tuning to make them handle well. Cars with st ride & no travel and heavy damping require relatively little tuning as you the average numpty thinks it's good.

If you've ever been in a proper wrc rally car you'd be astonished at the ride and compliance (at speed) on par with a RR Ghost just twice as nimble.

The Citroen hydro system is still the best by far.

[nsa]

andygo said:

Tyres

I had A/T (all terrain) tyres on my 4Runner, changed them to M/T (highway) specifically to improve the ride but it made bob-all difference.

I just installed a set of adjustable dampers on the front. That helped a lot when they were on the softest setting. I'm increasing them to find a balance between ride quality and handling. I've replaced almost everything rubber on this car over the past few years and the dampers are the only things that had an appreciable impact on the ride.

[Dave Brand]

cptsideways said:

Cars with proper ride require more tuning to make them handle well. Cars with st ride & no travel and heavy damping require relatively little tuning as you the average numpty thinks it's good.

The average numpty has been conditioned by the Germans to equate hard ride with good handling.

The best-riding car I've ever had was my Peugeot 405SRi; coincidentally it was the best-handling & had the best steering feel.

My current DS3 is a good example of how suspension tuning can make a big difference. When it was in for its first service I had a C3 as a courtesy car, basically the same car with a couple of extra doors. Compared to the DS3 it was soft, wallowy & ill-handling - 10 mph slower on a favourite twisty!