The suspension combines tires, springs, shock absorbers, and tire pressure that connects a car to its wheels and regulates the motion between them. The suspension is one of the most important factors when it comes to buying a car, especially in India. India’s road conditions are not exactly driver-friendly, with potholes and speed bumps acting as regular obstacles on practically every street. While most car manufacturers target fuel-efficiency and space for the Indian market, the suspension is often overlooked. However, more than a handful of car manufacturers have suspension-focused vehicles in their lineup. So, if you are in the market for a new car, here are some of the best cars available that offer extraordinary suspension.
The difference between a good suspension and a bad one can only be noticed when you’re behind the wheel or riding in the car. A car with good suspension offers a smoother drive and keeps the car in good condition for longer. When you have a great suspension car, the springs and shock absorbers absorb the bumps and jerks and reduce the shock across the entire vehicle. While it is easier to get better suspension on a new car, one must be extremely careful when buying a used car. The suspension of a car can only be tested when driven – you can’t really see a weaker suspension just by inspecting the car. This is where you must be careful when buying a second-hand vehicle because the suspension is important when driving on Indian roads.
With the Indian automobile market booming at the moment, it is quite difficult to pick out a car with superior suspension without doing a great deal of research. Nevertheless, we have some of the best suspension cars for you to pick out from that are available in India today.
The third model in our list here is the latest-gen Maruti WagonR, which is based on the advanced HEARTECT platform. The new-age architecture results in well-sorted dynamics and greater high-speed stability in spite of the tallboy architecture. Also, the suspension is tuned for comfort, and the WagonR easily swallows most of the irregularities. Other attributes of the WagonR include high practicality, great reliability, and easy affordability.
The Maruti Baleno is the highest-selling B2-segment hatchback in our country’s car market. While it’s no more the most modern option around, it’s definitely the car with a great suspension. The Baleno offers matured ride quality despite being a small car. Thanks to this, it easily keeps passengers comfortable over long drives. Other attributes include a spacious cabin, high fuel efficiency, and easy maintenance.
The Hyundai Grand i10 Nios is one of the most well-sorted hatchbacks in the B1-segment of the market. Among its biggest highlights is the great ride comfort it offers. However, much of this is due to the softly sprung suspension, which leads to an underwhelming handling experience. The Grand i10 has a spacious cabin, offers some great features, and has been available with both petrol and Diesel engine options.
The Maruti Dzire is the highest-selling sedan of India. One of the reasons for its great success is the decent ride quality it offers. Also, thanks to the HEARTECT platform, it even offers good high-speed stability, which is something that works in the driver’s favour during spirited driving. Other highlights of this model include a spacious cabin, frugal engine and low cost of maintenance.
The Maruti Ciaz is not only the most spacious sedan in its segment, it’s also the most comfortable, which is directly due to the great suspension setting it comes with. The Honda City and Hyundai Verna-rival even offers a frugal petrol engine that delivers a reasonably punch performance. Another highlight is the easy maintenance of the vehicle.
The first model in our list of best suspension cars in India is also the a vehicle that defies laws of depreciation. Easily the most popular premium SUV in the market, the Toyota Fortuner offers a great ride that easily keeps all the occupants happy over long drives. Of course, its powerful engines even make it quite a breeze to drive.
The advent of Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet has driven the Maruti Vitara Brezza out of the limelight. However, that doesn’t take away the fact that the Brezza is the most comfortable car in its segment due to the well-tuned suspension that not only pretty much swallows most of the potholes, but even offers a confident handling at high speeds. Other attributes include easy maintenance, sufficiently spacious cabin and a design that doesn’t polarises opinions.
The Hyundai Creta is the most popular model in the compact SUV segment. It offers a range of engine options and a comfortable ride that can easily keep all the occupants happy over long drives. Also, it offers a pretty spacious cabin with some great features on the top-end model.
The Ford Endeavour has not been anywhere as popular as the Toyota Fortuner but it’s definitely at least as comfortable owing to the well-tuned suspension it comes with. Moreover, other than offering a pliant ride, it even offers confident handling manners, which makes it dynamically better than the Fortuner. Other qualities of this SUV include a strong road presence, good off-road prowess, feature-packed cabin with top-notch safety and comfort-enhancing equipment.
Another car that has made it to the list and even enjoys a great resale value is the Toyota Innova Crysta, which has pretty much redefined the MPV market in the country. In its second generation now, the Crysta offers a very comfortable travel experience due to its well-tuned suspension. Other highlights include powerful engines and unparalleled reliability.
One of the common questions asked about suspension is, “Can suspension be customized?”. The simple answer to that is yes; however, there are many variables that go into the customization of a car’s suspension. The type of car, the type of terrain driven on, and the speed at which the car is being driven are just some of the things we have to consider when picking out a suspension. If you have ever driven a car or know the basics of one, you would be familiar with the terms “soft suspension” and “hard suspension.” What do those terms mean? Simply put, it means the height at which the coil springs are set at.
This type of suspension is normally used for slow drives on relatively good roads. The springs in a soft suspension are adjusted to be taller so that even the smallest bumps are absorbed gradually, and the passengers don’t feel anything. However, if the car faces a bar road or big bumps, the vibrations are easily felt throughout the car.
Hard suspension is the opposite of what soft suspension has to offer. The springs are adjusted to be shorter and thus lowers the center of gravity of the car. This type of suspension is normally found on high-performance cars that are designed to be driven at high speeds. The lower suspension also means that the car is easier to handle and offers a better grip around tight corners.
There are basically two types of suspensions available in cars in India. Independent and Non-Independent suspensions are quite different from one another and offer a different type of driving experience. What exactly is the difference between the two suspensions?
As the name suggests, Independent Suspension is a system that allows individual wheels on the same axle to react to bumps and other obstacles independently. This ensures that the car offers a smoother drive no matter what type of road surface it travels on. In India, most car manufacturers install Independent Suspension systems in the front wheels, which some cars come with Independent Suspension on all four wheels. The most commonly used Independent Suspension in India is the MacPherson Strut suspension used by most car manufacturers in India.
A Non-Independent Suspension is a system wherein the shock from a bump is absorbed by both the connected wheels on an axle. If the left side of a car hits a bump, the car’s right side also feels the shock in this type of suspension. While this suspension is also considered quite comfortable, the Independent Suspension system is far more superior. The Non-Independent Suspension system is often used in India’s rear axles, and the most commonly used type is the Torsion Beam suspension.
Are you planning to purchase a used car with good suspension? CARS24 offers a wide range of used cars from which you can opt for a model of your liking. What’s more, we even sort out all the required documentation, including the RC transfer, entirely free of cost. You can even use our used car value calculator to find out the accurate resale value of any car on sale in the country. You can contact us to sell your used car and get the best price for it.
