I know that two swallows don’t make a summer, but there’s definitely something afoot in the car industry. Earlier this month both Steve Cropley and I attended different new technology presentations promising much greater comfort and ease for future drivers.
Steve’s drive was in a Citroën Cactus equipped with a new damping system which company engineers say will be a cost-effective replacement for the classic hydraulic suspension. Citroën also told him that a big effort would be made on reducing the level of noise and vibration entering the cabin and on a new generation of ultra-comfortable seats.
A couple of days later, I was also in France to try out Mazda’s new torque vectoring system. This hasn’t been designed to make a car turn more aggressively into a corner, but to make driving through bends and across harsh surfaces a much less taxing experience.
Mazda’s engineers pointed out that drivers don’t realise just how often they have to enter steering corrections in such circumstances and that endless corrections over the course of a journey is surprisingly fatiguing. The telemetry from the day proved it.
Also, like Citroën, Mazda is also working on a new design of seat that will be ‘significantly’ more comfortable and will also hold the driver much more firmly. Mazda says that being joggled can, among other things, cause stress in the major neck muscles that try and keep the (very heavy) human head straight and level.
Ever since the launch of the Ford Mondeo in 1993 and - to a greater extent - the Ford Focus in 1998, there’s been a general move towards improving the dynamic performance of cars. Both Fords had the huge benefit of sophisticated rear suspension systems, but also ushered in an era that wiped away the general slack, slop and stodge of experienced when operating earlier vehicles. If you have ever driven a 1990 Escort or a 1994 Astra, you’ll know what I mean.
The other big trend of the last 20 years has been the influence of the premium movement, which has lead to a big push on interior quality and fit and finish. However, I’m getting a strong sense that we’re on the cusp of a new trend. One that re-interprets the idea of ‘luxury’ as an expensive aspiration and one that will start a move away from dynamic prowess being among a vehicle’s most important attributes.
Somebody very wise once said that true luxury was ‘the removal of irritation’. I think that’s a brilliant definition. If you’ve ever been in a top-notch hotel, the whole point of the experience is to make it as seamless as possible. Nothing is too much much trouble and your every whim - virtually - will be catered for.
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I have always wondered how
Car companies spend a fortune developing cars and employ the best engineers they can get their hands on, and do extensive market research. So when car mags say, for example, that the latest Audi A5 or S4 are not great driver's cars, they must be good enough for the majority of ordinary drivers. I bet Audi could easily make their cars brilliant at lift off oversteer if they desired.
Yes si73, I think we cracked
I think you've hit the nail
Maybe?