I've now sold my Superb.

 

The suspension was too hard for me, especially at low speeds, but I'm still wondering why this should be with Dynamic Chassis Control.

 

Looking at the car configurator, on the less expensive models there is a 'Drive Mode Selector' at £100 and 'Dynamic Chassis Control' at £750.

 

The info for each is:

 

Drive Mode - Allows the driver to adapt the car’s behaviour to their preference or needs. Four driving modes are available; normal, sport, eco and individual (which allows the driver to configure customised settings).

 

Dynamic Chassis Control - Allows the driver to adapt the chassis properties to their preference or needs. The system continuously evaluates and responds to various driving situations, adapting the damping and steering characteristics. The available modes for DCC are normal, comfort and sport. Also includes drive mode selection.

 

Reading the above suggests that, even when you select comfort with DCC, the car will provide it's own interpretation of comfort based on various factors, which may or not be what you had in mind.

 

But with simple Drive Mode Selector, what you select is what you get.

 

Can anyone throw any light on the difference between the two?

 

 

 

 

Drive Mode Selector on a car without DCC, all it means is a ECO map and dull throttle, light steering and low aircon and slow response on ACC /  Normal is a mix of ECO and sport, Sport gives a sharper throttle, weighted steering, faster ACC and normal Aircon.

 

The suspension on a non DCC is Very soft in my option.

The suspension on a non DCC is Very soft in my option.

 

Sounds good to me.  Superb engineers have apparently said that without DCC the car is basically always in comfort mode.

 

However, once you have DCC it looks as though the car decides it's own interpretation of 'comfort'.  It's most noticeable at lower speeds. Drive over a speed bump with DCC

and unless you reduce speed to around 2mph it's like driving with concrete wheels.

 

Maybe for those wanting a softer suspension a car without DCC is the better option.

My god man, what are you talking about? I have DCC and it's permanently set in Sport mode. Anything else is just too soft! And I live right next to a road with speed bumps!

Edited 29 October, 20169 yr by l4wrence

My god man, what are you talking about? I have DCC and it's permanently set in Sport mode. Anything else is just too soft! And I live right next to a road with speed bumps!

 

If it works for you, great.

 

Hopefully there are excellent orthopedic surgeons working in your neighbourhood.

I must admit i am actually shocked anyone can find the Superb harsh its basically very soft indeed, comfort is too soft even on the Motorway, normal is acceptable and sport is better if you need to move on a bit or you are loaded up, with in my case camping gear.

I got my L&K with DCC a couple of days ago. Prior to getting it, I expected to have it set to comfort all the time as I was seeking a car with a soft ride. I have to say that the comfort setting is almost too soft though and any undulations in the road surface lead to the car bouncing about in a way that could lead to motion sickness. Normal setting is still soft and while the bounce is reduced it is still there. No bounce with Sport but you do feel the imperfections in the road a lot more than with the other settings. I think I'll end up switching between the three depending on the type of road I'm using.

Comfort setting is like being on a boat! very soft and wallows through the corners.

 

I suffer with back issues and sport is not too harsh for me 90% of the time, the rest of the time normal mode is fine, however i drive around as many of the potholes as possible and not just crash through them like most people I follow seem to do.

 

OK the Fabia’s I usually get as a curtesy car rides though potholes better... but then it will not go through a corner anywhere near as quick as what the S3 will (or at least it feels less ‘planted’ and therefore you drive much slower)

Comfort = sea sick mode! Fine on a motorway but not othwise. Mine lives in Sport too.

Yes, it's a shame they couldn't have made it a bit less floaty as it is great at soaking up the bumps, but I was starting to feel a bit queasy with it after a recent drive and as the driver of a car I'm never usually affected by motion sickness. My son is much more susceptible, so I don't think he'd last long with it.

Auto Express described the ride as "In Comfort there’s an old Citroen-like quality to the way it floats over dips and crests and bobs around on its springs in a straight line, but the resulting body roll means corners are best taken slowly. Normal tightens up the body control and is the mode best suited to everyday road conditions, while Sport keeps things much flatter and means you can have some genuine fun stringing together a few fast corners and making the most of the lateral grip. When the surface breaks up though, Sport is a bit too brittle and sends jolts and bangs through the bottom of your seat."

 

That describes mine to a tee. I don't mind the softer ride and don't do much 'pressing on' stuff; not really possible with the traffic. But to describe it as too hard is strange. Do you mean the fact that you can hear the thump in comfort mode or that the car pitches and bangs as if it were on sports suspension?

 

It's barge, a comfortable one but a barge nonetheless. So the design is tilted towards a slidey, glidey ride. Even in sport mode it is still far softer than say a Merc or Audi. There must have been something wrong with your car or your idea of too hard is really soft. 

 

 

Each to their own as ever I guess.

One thing I have noticed is that it feels more comfortable ( for the driver at least although SWMBO hasn't complained ) if you run in individual mode and use the sport setting for the steering along with whatever choice normal or comfort settings for other stuff. 

One thing I have noticed is that it feels more comfortable ( for the driver at least although SWMBO hasn't complained ) if you run in individual mode and use the sport setting for the steering along with whatever choice normal or comfort settings for other stuff.

Agreed. I have DCC and most of the time run in individual mode with everything set to sport other than the DCC which I leave in comfort. I always thought I would never like the comfort mode but now I find it really quite relaxing other than when wavy road surfaces cause it to start to pitch. Generally, I switch to sport mode for the twisty bits. It corners quite flat in sport and with a reasonable degree of accuracy but in an ideal world could do with more sensitive steering.

Would have been great if the dcc had five rather than three settings as I'm always looking for something in the middle of comfort/normal for motorway use and normal/sport for general use,perhaps it will be tweaked in the face lifted 2017 model.kevin.

Having driven a superb courtesy car on 18 Inch wheels as opposed to my 19's I did notice a vastly different ride on the individual ride settings,comfort on my car is like normal on the one with 18's normal is like sport,and when I set it to sport my 19 Inc wheeled breaks you're teeth,very wheel sensitive.

That's usually due to the extra stiffness in the tyre sidewalls on the lower profile sizes so there is less bump absorption by the tyre itself.

From the symptoms described I wouldn't be surprised if Columbo's car still had some or all of the suspension shipping pucks in place. I just picked up my car on the weekend, every small bump on the road was apocalyptic during the drive home, jacked it up and checked and sure enough all 3 shipping pucks still in each front strut. Am now driving around on sport and it's fantastic.

I had the same problem - on one wheel only which made the car bouncy, obviously, but also made it feel unstable.

This was negligent and potentially dangerous on the part of the dealer, particularly as before the pdi I was aware of the risk of this happening and had asked the sales lady to specifically mention to her service department about removal of the suspension blocks.

I am advised the car was attended to by two senior technicians during the pdi and then had a quality control inspection. Another garage found and removed the blocks in ten minutes.

Negotiations continue.........

From the symptoms described I wouldn't be surprised if Columbo's car still had some or all of the suspension shipping pucks in place. I just picked up my car on the weekend, every small bump on the road was apocalyptic during the drive home, jacked it up and checked and sure enough all 3 shipping pucks still in each front strut. Am now driving around on sport and it's fantastic.

 

I've had that checked, thanks. Maybe it's me. My biggest problem is the comparison with my last car, a 14 year old Camry.

 

It's just so annoying that the ride in a new car, packed with the latest technology not available back in 2002, is so obviously inferior.

 

I'm not the first on these forums to note older cars were better in this area. Maybe the manufacturers have a reason for the change in emphasis to a firmer ride.

Maybe it was just the shocks that were knackered on the Camry ? ;-)

I've just gone from a Subaru Legacy Spec B to the 280tsi L&K. In comfort it's really wallowy, in normal it's ok for normal driving, in sport it is just about firm enough for "brisk" driving but even in sport it is a good bit softer than the Subaru.

I've just about settled on normal for mine now, with the occasional foray into sport when I fancy throwing it about a bit more. I think comfort is just too soft to be of any real use.

Colombo, have you been in any other Superb's just to compare the ride quality? Maybe ask the dealer for a test drive in one of their cars then you will be able to tell if it's a problem with your car?

Colombo, have you been in any other Superb's just to compare the ride quality? Maybe ask the dealer for a test drive in one of their cars then you will be able to tell if it's a problem with your car?

 

He's already sold it.

It's a funny thing but I would swear that since the weather turned colder a few days ago, each of the three DCC settings have firmed up a little on my car. I'm now running round with it set to comfort and it feels like normal did last week.