"Ride and handling". Its present in almost all car reviews, somewhere in between the sections on interiors and cost. A lot of people probably glance over it. It is a testament to technology that almost every new car on the road rides and handles "pretty well". Of course there are cars that have exemplary handling, or a soft cosseting ride. But they tend to be exceptions, rather than the norm. They tend to be class benchmarks, the yard stick for comparisons.
Take the example of the Ford Focus, especially the first generation model that was launched in 1998. It was the undisputed class leader in its ride and handling, and there was very good reason for it. While all its immediate competitors came with unsophisticated, beam type solid rear axles, the Focus came with a 4 link rear suspension that allowed far better geometry control. This allowed the Focus to corner with more stability, and be less prone to road surface differences. Independent suspensions have multiple benefits over solid axle type suspensions, but the downsides are packaging and cost. Ford solved both these problems by using a trailing arm with the hub carrier, typical to what is used on torsion beam equipped cars. They had three more links controlling the camber and toe, which set the Focus apart from its competitors. The success of the Focus, especially in the European and South American markets, meant that rivals such as the VW Golf and Opel/Vauxhall Astra also changed their rear suspension types. Such is the effect on the product quality, brought about by a great invention.
This is a great example of how competition improves a segment as a whole. No one wants to be left behind. If one car maker introduces a new feature, practically every other car maker jumps to integrate it into the next facelift or new model. Take for example the LED Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) that Audi started using on their cars in 2010. These days, I struggle to think of any car at any price point that doesn't come with DRLs. But coming back to how ride and handling has evolved on cars through out history. It has as much to do with competition as it has to do with a few pioneering ideas, and a lot of calculated hard work put in by the designers, engineers and test drivers. Of course, these days massive computing systems also contribute significantly to design, build and tune cars.
What got me hooked to vehicle dynamics (or ride and handling in simpler terms) as a young teenager is the sheer complexity, and number of factors affecting it. Do a quick search on Google if you wish. Literally every component of the car has an ability to affect the vehicle's dynamics. Want big, comfortable powered seats in the car? Thats increased weight, and a different weight distribution. That can potentially affect the spring, damper and anti-roll bar setups. Want a car with all wheel drive as well as front wheel drive options? That will probably need two completely different suspension designs for the rear. Along with significantly different set ups.
Its quite amazing that we get as much choice as we do within car models. I can only assume that each combination of powertrain and body style will require changes to the car's suspension to make them all feel safe and enjoyable. In fact, take an example of a BMW 5 series. Its available as a saloon or a estate, with 4 cylinders, 6 cylinders or 8 cylinders. Its even available as a hybrid with electric motors. Then there's the basic rear wheel drive versions, the X-Drive All Wheel Drive version, and then the M5 with its own super complicated All Wheel Drive. But wait, that's only the different drivetrains. BMW offer different trim levels with varying degree of "sporty-ness". So the M-Sport version has a slightly firmer setup with lower ride height than the standard setup. The M5 has a completely bespoke setup again. That includes most components being beefed up to handle more power and more "enthusiastic driving". But wait again, we aren't close to finished. BMW also offers many types of suspension on the basic 5 series. You want adaptive dampers? Fine. Perhaps you want a wafty ride, like a mini Rolls Royce? Then there's an air suspension option. If you would rather not spend so much on things you'll likely never see on your car, then you can opt out of the expensive options an go for the basic metal springs and dampers. Lets also not forget that wheel and tyre sizes as well as the brake sizes change from version to version depending on the weight and power of the car. If at this point you expect me tell you the number of combinations, then sorry. I lost count long back. And all of this is for one generation of one particular model of car. BMW also make the 3 Series, the 7 Series, many SUVs and some hatchbacks.
So, what can we conclude from all this? It takes an immense amount of man power, computing power and time to sort out a car's ride and handling. The fact that its possible to jump into almost any regular car for the first time, and drive it straight out of the car park as if you've been driving it for years is truly an amazing achievement. The fact that every car is so different from each other, yet they all react predictably to such a large extent is an achievement best appreciated by those working on the cars themselves. Because vehicle dynamics is extremely complicated, and truth be told more like magic than science.
So the next time you glide over a broken patch of road doing 60 kmph in comfort, spare a thought to the poor test driver who had to drive thousands of kilometers over simulated potholes and bumps until the engineers declared the car comfortable. His back has seen a lot worse, so that your's doesn't have to. Or the engineer who was told that the new car would come with 5 different engines and 3 different transmissions. And 3 different suspension types. And 2 different body styles. And then told to go make all of them behave similarly to each other, and every other car on the road. Yet still retain enough of an unique feel that the "brand identity" could be preserved. And that's not even getting started with different tyres and how they react to different surfaces and loads and temperatures. But that will be for next time's blog.
Take the example of the Ford Focus, especially the first generation model that was launched in 1998. It was the undisputed class leader in its ride and handling, and there was very good reason for it. While all its immediate competitors came with unsophisticated, beam type solid rear axles, the Focus came with a 4 link rear suspension that allowed far better geometry control. This allowed the Focus to corner with more stability, and be less prone to road surface differences. Independent suspensions have multiple benefits over solid axle type suspensions, but the downsides are packaging and cost. Ford solved both these problems by using a trailing arm with the hub carrier, typical to what is used on torsion beam equipped cars. They had three more links controlling the camber and toe, which set the Focus apart from its competitors. The success of the Focus, especially in the European and South American markets, meant that rivals such as the VW Golf and Opel/Vauxhall Astra also changed their rear suspension types. Such is the effect on the product quality, brought about by a great invention.
This is a great example of how competition improves a segment as a whole. No one wants to be left behind. If one car maker introduces a new feature, practically every other car maker jumps to integrate it into the next facelift or new model. Take for example the LED Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) that Audi started using on their cars in 2010. These days, I struggle to think of any car at any price point that doesn't come with DRLs. But coming back to how ride and handling has evolved on cars through out history. It has as much to do with competition as it has to do with a few pioneering ideas, and a lot of calculated hard work put in by the designers, engineers and test drivers. Of course, these days massive computing systems also contribute significantly to design, build and tune cars.
What got me hooked to vehicle dynamics (or ride and handling in simpler terms) as a young teenager is the sheer complexity, and number of factors affecting it. Do a quick search on Google if you wish. Literally every component of the car has an ability to affect the vehicle's dynamics. Want big, comfortable powered seats in the car? Thats increased weight, and a different weight distribution. That can potentially affect the spring, damper and anti-roll bar setups. Want a car with all wheel drive as well as front wheel drive options? That will probably need two completely different suspension designs for the rear. Along with significantly different set ups.
Its quite amazing that we get as much choice as we do within car models. I can only assume that each combination of powertrain and body style will require changes to the car's suspension to make them all feel safe and enjoyable. In fact, take an example of a BMW 5 series. Its available as a saloon or a estate, with 4 cylinders, 6 cylinders or 8 cylinders. Its even available as a hybrid with electric motors. Then there's the basic rear wheel drive versions, the X-Drive All Wheel Drive version, and then the M5 with its own super complicated All Wheel Drive. But wait, that's only the different drivetrains. BMW offer different trim levels with varying degree of "sporty-ness". So the M-Sport version has a slightly firmer setup with lower ride height than the standard setup. The M5 has a completely bespoke setup again. That includes most components being beefed up to handle more power and more "enthusiastic driving". But wait again, we aren't close to finished. BMW also offers many types of suspension on the basic 5 series. You want adaptive dampers? Fine. Perhaps you want a wafty ride, like a mini Rolls Royce? Then there's an air suspension option. If you would rather not spend so much on things you'll likely never see on your car, then you can opt out of the expensive options an go for the basic metal springs and dampers. Lets also not forget that wheel and tyre sizes as well as the brake sizes change from version to version depending on the weight and power of the car. If at this point you expect me tell you the number of combinations, then sorry. I lost count long back. And all of this is for one generation of one particular model of car. BMW also make the 3 Series, the 7 Series, many SUVs and some hatchbacks.
So, what can we conclude from all this? It takes an immense amount of man power, computing power and time to sort out a car's ride and handling. The fact that its possible to jump into almost any regular car for the first time, and drive it straight out of the car park as if you've been driving it for years is truly an amazing achievement. The fact that every car is so different from each other, yet they all react predictably to such a large extent is an achievement best appreciated by those working on the cars themselves. Because vehicle dynamics is extremely complicated, and truth be told more like magic than science.
So the next time you glide over a broken patch of road doing 60 kmph in comfort, spare a thought to the poor test driver who had to drive thousands of kilometers over simulated potholes and bumps until the engineers declared the car comfortable. His back has seen a lot worse, so that your's doesn't have to. Or the engineer who was told that the new car would come with 5 different engines and 3 different transmissions. And 3 different suspension types. And 2 different body styles. And then told to go make all of them behave similarly to each other, and every other car on the road. Yet still retain enough of an unique feel that the "brand identity" could be preserved. And that's not even getting started with different tyres and how they react to different surfaces and loads and temperatures. But that will be for next time's blog.
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