What's the best riding car you've experienced?

[A.J.]

I think it was probably a Shadow II when I was a car salesman in a top end car dealership. I've not driven any later RR's but i suspect they have improved vastly since then

 

[ChrisHGTV]

I remember them. My mate's dad had a CX then a 2.2 Princess. Both had soft, long travel suspension and deep-sidewalled tyres.

Great primary ride but the body control was a bit lacking in the Princess, anyway. The Citroen used to get a but floaty at times but this was before computer control, of course.

My first car was a Princess Special 6 (2.2). I inherited it from my folks when i'd passed my test. I loved it! Black with sorrel velour, webasto roof, folding armrests, auto, hydragas suspension. Great when my friends were driving things like Renault 5's and Fiestas at age 17! It was seriously comfy, but yes body roll was a bit of an issue! I found that you could adjust the ride height though with the hydragas so mine used to sit quite a bit lower than stock!

The most amazing ride though was when i was doing my Geology degree. Mapping in Coniston. We were staying at a youth hostel up this rocky, steep track covered in big rocks, galia melon sized. Inevitably it was pelting down so the farm owner offered us a lift to the pub at the bottom of the track - in his series 1 Range Rover. It was incredible - it just floated over everything and he wasn't hanging about. Very impressive.

The desert spec Landcruisers we used in the ME were really good as well, especially when you deflated the tyres for soft sand but i'll always remember that astonishing Range Rover.

 

[sgregory124]

Easy answer this - Citroen Xantia, an old work car I had use of, rode like you were on silky smooth roads no matter the surface. Everything else was horrendous about it.

 

[Gbrowncls55]

Bentley T1 and later Lexus LS460

 

[Doodle]

Both French - Citroen Xantia and Peugeot 405. W202 C250TD Elegance on steelies would be a close #3.

My Landcruiser Amazon was also very comfortable, but a bit too boat-like on the tarmac - it had long travel Fox shocks were very much tailored for off road.

 

[E55BOF]

Citroen CX. Since I started buying Mercedes, S211 E500 Elegance with Airmatic and 18" wheels.

 

[DrNick]

Never had a Citroen, but I had a Peugeot 405 which was very impressive all round (GRD 1.8 turbo diesel). Fantastic suspension, amazing economy for a big car, shifted a bit too and was well kitted out. Possibly the best all-round car I've had, although the 2007 E320CDi runs it close but falls down on economy in comparison!

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

My BMW E38 7-series. Not only more comfortable, but somehow the handling was better than my W212, as well.

Some genius decided to make the fuel tank out of metal though, so it inevitably rusts away...

 

[mercmancdi]

Probably best for me was my V W Touareg. So smooth and silent
in the cabin.

 

[mercmancdi]

Easy answer this - Citroen Xantia, an old work car I had use of, rode like you were on silky smooth roads no matter the surface. Everything else was horrendous about it.

Memory now of my old B X lovely smooth car great engine , even though it used to drop down over night now and again. Lol

 

[Mactech]

This is so difficult to answer because it is almost all subjective rather than objective.
A bit like asking what music is best. 'Ride' and 'best' are both remarkably 'woolly' terms in engineering terms.

I think the answer to the question is a Citroen CX estate from the early 80's. This one was a car that Martin Brundle couldn't sell off the forecourt and became part of his F3 budget contribution in '83. I inherited it as a company car. The pure ride, on long travel suspension and tall sidewall tyres was wonderful.
However, if you showed it even a photo of a corner at speed, it got very upset. Small yacht in a swell comes to mind.
So we have to have a compromise, and some of the current computer controlled air systems get very close on ride quality and are light years ahead in retaining control the car in extreme situations. The infamous 'Elk test' did ride quality no favours as car safety climbed higher up the priorities list.

There have been a number of really good shouts on here already for 'best riding' cars and I remember my Mercedes 124 being a really good compromise of it's time. Interestingly, the trend in modern compromise of ride and handling was illustrated by my change from a 2008 ML (20'" wheels and Airmatic) and the 2017 GLE (20" wheels, Airmatic) The pure ride quality of the ML was better, but the GLE was more composed in cornering and rolled much less.

My current A8 on air and 20" is a really good compromise. The 20" forged wheel/tyres are actually lighter than the standard 19" and this contributes.

I car vouch personally that the German roads are 'better engineered' than British ones. After setting a lap record for a road car at Nurburgring with an XJ220, we assessed the ride quality on roads outside the circuit and found it fine. Driving the same settings back on A and B roads back in Britain and it felt much too stiff.I spent the next 6 weeks revisiting the spring and damper rates!

 

[sgregory124]

Memory now of my old B X lovely smooth car great engine , even though it used to drop down over night now and again. Lol

The Xantia I used was on air i'm pretty sure, it had the sliding control on the centre console to raise and lower it. Remember knackering the exhaust though, when a work colleague and I went to lunch in it whilst working at a customers site, I put it at its lowest setting (to look cool) and promptly forgot the fierce speed ramp leaving the site Needless to say my boss at the time was extremely unhappy about the repair bill.....

 

[Bellow]

FWIW the Citroens being mentioned here are hydraulic/gas systems. The gas is the spring, the hydraulic fluid interconnects the front and rear wheels on each side. The exception is the 2CV which is purely mechanically interconnected. The BL cars (Hydrogas) are also interconnected systems. All of which should be a clue that interconnected systems are a topic in themselves - and do more than just the raise-the-other-end thing the diagrams show.

 

[Trickythemerc]

NSU RO80

 

[AMGeed]

My brother in law's W124 S500. It was the car that got me into owning a Mercedes for myself.
That car was like a rapid magic carpet ride at the time.

 

[Ted]

NSU RO80

That was a strange car to drive.
I remember being sat at the traffic lights, in gear, revving away and going nowhere. My hand was resting on the gear knob which had a microswitch that caused the clutch to disengage (the idea was that you could change gear without using the foot clutch. Iirc the gear pattern was different too.
Lovely smooth high revving engine that lasted around 20,000 miles.

 

[Flyinspanner]

The CL500 (W215 with ABC).

Series 2 XJ6 (owned back in the mid 80s)

P6 Rover. (Back in 80/81, the ride was a relevation after clapped out Vauxhall’s & fords)

 

[Sweetooth]

Citroen GS . I part exed an Avenger GLS for it

 

[SpikyMikey]

I was amazed by a friend's Citroen DS21 Safari. A most peculiar thing, like a very soft sofa on wheels.

If that was anything like the CX, the sofa analogy was probably as much to do with the huge squidgy seats as the suspension.

 

[Stratman]

It may be one of these stories that get exaggerated with repeated telling, but I'm sure I've read that when Rolls Royce were designing the Silver Shadow they approached Citroen to licence their suspension system. Citroen refused.