That hard ride ((

I keep getting into the car and thinking, "maybe the ride isn’t as bad as I think". Then I drive it.
It’s fine on smooth, well tarred roads, well, what wouldn’t be? But show it ridges or undulations, cement motorways and becomes hard, loses composure and I notice now, lots of road noise. I’m always adjusting the music volume to cope with the road noise.
The garage gave me a manual Prestige coupe while the door trim was properly aligned (done successfully).
It was such a different car in feel and touch, it was hard to compare. I think the ride was better damped although still fairly jiggly on ridges but while you're changing gear and in control of the revs it is hard to focus on the differences.
Does anyone think suspension will settle in with time ? The dealers suggested it might.
Does anyone know if the shocks/dampers can be viewed by the technicians to see if they are installed correctly and are the right ones ?
The dealer is very open to offer help, but I feel a prat asking them to do stuff that isn’t feasible.

After the Freelander, I’m finding this car beautiful but tiring and flawed. The FL is a big old tonka toy but with a super smooth and pliant ride that makes you feel great and is so comfortable.

I’m already thinking, well the prices have gone up, I could probably sell and not loose too much but I don’t want to have to.
Oh dear.
The loaner :

   

The comfy tin can :

   

(02-06-2012 08:40am)Belvoirbloke Wrote:  I keep getting into the car and thinking, "maybe the ride isn’t as bad as I think". Then I drive it.
It’s fine on smooth, well tarred roads, well, what wouldn’t be? But show it ridges or undulations, cement motorways and becomes hard, loses composure and I notice now, lots of road noise. I’m always adjusting the music volume to cope with the road noise.
The garage gave me a manual Prestige coupe while the door trim was properly aligned (done successfully).
It was such a different car in feel and touch, it was hard to compare. I think the ride was better damped although still fairly jiggly on ridges but while you're changing gear and in control of the revs it is hard to focus on the differences.
Does anyone think suspension will settle in with time ? The dealers suggested it might.
Does anyone know if the shocks/dampers can be viewed by the technicians to see if they are installed correctly and are the right ones ?
The dealer is very open to offer help, but I feel a prat asking them to do stuff that isn’t feasible.

After the Freelander, I’m finding this car beautiful but tiring and flawed. The FL is a big old tonka toy but with a super smooth and pliant ride that makes you feel great and is so comfortable.

I’m already thinking, well the prices have gone up, I could probably sell and not loose too much but I don’t want to have to.
Oh dear.
The loaner :



The comfy tin can :

+1
But--- my Dynamic corners flat on some of the fantastic sweeping roads we have up here where our FL2 would have been on two wheels and a door handle. After 4 months I am just getting used to it and starting to enjoy the car much more. Prefer the FL2s bulk though especially when using single track passing place roads, even some of the more stupid or arrogant tourists think twice about arguing with 2 tonne + of black FL coming the other way.

+1 belvoirbloke, I had the Fl2 and found it to be a lot more comfortable on the road than the Evoque. I now also have rattles creeping in around the instrument binnacle (which the Fl didn't have) after 4 months of happy ownership I now have regrets and wished I had stuck with the Fl2.

It's one of the first things I noticed when I took one for a testdrive. The ride wasn't much smoother than the Golf we own, which surprised me. I then took it to some rough roads where it did a great job compared to the Golf. It also corners just as good as the Golf.

In all, for me it's an improvement. Maybe you should compare cornering to your FL, which probably handles more like a ship.

I'd agree the ride is fairly firm, with the associated trade-off that the on road handling is way better than it ought to be with a really flat cornering. Personally speaking I like it - after years of Audi S-Line suspension setups the Evoque is more than tolerable.

That's said I had a FL2 loaner for 4 days prior to the Evoque and the ride in that was superior - but the rest of it was rather quaint in comparison - though I did like the big loadspace at the back to be fair.

There's inevitably a trade off between ride and road holding. My Evoque is the best riding car I have ever had though, of the 5 I currently own, it's the one with the worst road holding.

Having driven a good time in the Evoque today, I still love driving it, rough bumpy roads can be a little unsettling, with a bit of noise and it can thud over speed humps, I don't use the Dynamic mode much except if driving fast winding roads but the driving experience along with the comfort level in normal mode is fantastic.

Went out for a run in the Evoque today, and despite its new rattle, not actually a rattle more a creek, I loved every minute of it. It corners well with minimum body roll and people still stop and stare as you drive past. I've fallen back in love with it, we were just having a lovers tiff this morning .

Mine had a rattle from passenger door side for a few miles and then disappeared again, something inside the door/trim as very intermittent. Had a bizarre rubbery squeak over bumps for a while too, which turned out to be my shoe!

(02-06-2012 11:22pm)PhilSkill Wrote:  Mine had a rattle from passenger door side for a few miles and then disappeared again, something inside the door/trim as very intermittent. Had a bizarre rubbery squeak over bumps for a while too, which turned out to be my shoe!

Love it...!