[ICDP_EV]

There is no agree to disagree, you have been exaggerating and moving the goalsposts of what adpative air suspension does since the start of the thread. You were claiming, "It basically seems to keep the car constantly levelled with no dipping or roll". Now you have moved the goalposts to a much more realistic, 'it helps'. One of your statements is a gross exaggeration, the other is perfectly valid and I will leave other readers to decide which is which.

Adaptive air suspension helps, but it is not night and day different when set to dynamic. That is what I have been saying from the start, so it's nice to see we finally agree on the fundamentals.

 

[electric beagle]

There is no agree to disagree, you have been exaggerating and moving the goalsposts of what adpative air suspension does since the start of the thread. You were claiming, "It basically seems to keep the car constantly levelled with no dipping or roll". Now you have moved the goalposts to a much more realistic, 'it helps'. One of your statements is a gross exaggeration, the other is perfectly valid and I will leave other readers to decide which is which.

Adaptive air suspension helps, but it is not night and day different when set to dynamic. That is what I have been saying from the start, so it's nice to see we finally agree on the fundamentals.

It can't achieve miracles but it does a pretty decent job of keeping the car levelled I think that was pretty understandable I should have added helps to my earlier statement I guess to cater for those some way up the spectrum who may be apt to see things in wholly literal black and white terms, so my bad.

It does a pretty good job of keeping the car levelled in hard driving in my 2 years experience on this car which I assume is longer than the test drive you had.

 

[Delta5]

I chose air because I do drive on tracks and fields occasionally and 18inch wheels to avoid pothole damage also softer ride. Without adaptive suspension it handles really well, hardly any roll or pitch, adaptive may help at the extreme limits but that’s far beyond the comfort level of any passengers.
Although the IPace is very quick it also weighs over 2 tons, it’s not agile like a hot hatch.

 

[ICDP_EV]

It can't achieve miracles but it does a pretty decent job of keeping the car levelled I think that was pretty understandable I should have added helps to my earlier statement I guess to cater for those some way up the spectrum who may be apt to see things in wholly literal black and white terms, so my bad.

It does a pretty good job of keeping the car levelled in hard driving in my 2 years experience on this car which I assume is longer than the test drive you had.

Lol, thank you for the Sunday morning laugh, it is not the first time I have been accused of being on the spectrum.

It may seem I am being pernickety over semantics, but I know from experience that lots of people use forums like this to get decent info. I learned more about the I-Pace from people on this forum, than I ever would from tripe like Carwow, or Whatcar etc. I don't give a crap if a stick goes into a vent or if the exhusts are fake.

When people come on this forum asking questions, they should expect common sense responses without exaggerated half truths. Because as you say, a lot of them will take it very literally.

I chose air because I do drive on tracks and fields occasionally and 18inch wheels to avoid pothole damage also softer ride. Without adaptive suspension it handles really well, hardly any roll or pitch, adaptive may help at the extreme limits but that’s far beyond the comfort level of any passengers.
Although the IPace is very quick it also weighs over 2 tons, it’s not agile like a hot hatch.

I think this matches my own experience of adaptive air suspension and active suspension in general. For the majority it will be about the ability to adjust your suspension to a specific requirement. The additional composed behaviour throughout the range is also a welcome addition but again don't expect a massive difference. People need to manage expectations on what it can and cannot do on a 2.2 ton car.

I have had an E-Tron for almost two years and a few months in it was set at the lowest stiffest setting and left there. I do not like floaty wafty suspension as I find it nauseating as does my wife. When we test drove the I-Pace I asked if it was on air suspension because it was genuinely comfortable and as good as my E-Tron air suspension set to dynamic mode. At that point I knew I could leave active air suspension off the spec sheet, because I would never need to set it softer or stiffer. It's just perfect for my needs, but obviously I always tell people to try before they buy.

 

[JonnyVtec]

Even the passive air suspension is a huge improvement. Less pitch and roll and the steering communicated better. The reduce pitch under power gives a much nicer smooth application of the power. Had one for a week after 18months in my coil car and both on 20”. Only issue was the extra comfort of the air suspension car was someone reducted by those performance seats!

 

[ICDP_EV]

I must have got a different car than you then, or I don't drive it like I stole it. I would hate to be a passenger in your car, if you drive so harshly that your car is pitching and rolling all over the place.

 

[symos]

I must have got a different car than you then, or I don't drive it like I stole it. I would hate to be a passenger in your car, if you drive so harshly that your car is pitching and rolling all over the place.

How do you know we are the ones that drive too fast or too harshly and not that, just maybe, you're the one driving too slow? Especially when talking about a sports oriented car/brand? Who will be the judge of that? You?

I'm saying "we" because I also have a steel suspension I-Pace with 20" wheels and feel that cornering behavior is not very good. Going in a straight line it feels rock solid at any speed but cornering performance is mediocre, leaves a lot to be desired. Yes, it's a 2.2 ton car, it will never drive like a Lotus Elise, but I guess air suspension and AD should improve things. Haven't drove a car with those, but it's logical to assume as much.

Also, people say that air suspension also improves the sideways bounciness of the car, when on dynamic mode or when combined with lowering links. Wish I had the option to try those out because this is my one real complaint about the car.

 

[ICDP_EV]

I tend to stick to the speed limits on B roads, or slightly slower. I would not call the I-Pace great for sporty driving (stock or I would bet even air with active) but it is a 2.2 ton car. It is certainly among the best for sporty EVs, (a low bar) though still good.

I just believe that while adaptive air suspension will help, it is not going to transform a 2.2 ton EV into a Porsche 911. As a sporty car it gets a 6 out of 10 on stock suspension and adding adaptive air is not going to make it a 10 or even an 8 IMHO.

 

[electric beagle]

So it's all entirely subjective.

I came to the iPace from 3 Nissan GTRs all owned from new. The iPace is clearly not as fast but in day to day practical use it feels quite close when in Dynamic. For a high riding car I am frankly amazed at how it behaves in high speed cornering. I live in a rural location and love high speed drives on country A and B roads and feel much more confident carrying more speed in the iPace than I would in the GTR on country roads.

I simply do not believe that a steel sprung car could behave like this and also give me the options to make the ride significantly softer and higher riding when I want it.

I haven't lived with a steel sprung car for 2 years like I have with mine but cannot imagine how it achieve the same level of suspension performance.

For me ASAD allows the car to flex around my needs and behave as I want it in any given situation. I think on steel you are going to have to live with the consequence of the lack of adaptability. You carry more of a compromise permanently I think with steel because the car simply cannot optimise itself for how you want it to behave today Vs what you wanted yesterday. When I drive it hard it levels well avoids dipping and rolling to a serious extent and yet when I want a floaty ride over a rough surface I can have that too.

For me this is exactly why I bought this car as a slightly more practical alternative to what was a highly practical sports car but which also has more flexibility in daily use (like driving down a friend's private road without ripping the splitter off the front or losing several fillings).

I just would not have felt the same about the car I think on stock steel.

 

[ICDP_EV]

No, it's not all subjective. An I-Pace is sporty for a 2.2 ton EV, even on steel wheels it's OK. But adding adaptive air suspension, does not not transform it into something that can be thrown around a B road as well as a hot hatch that is one ton lighter.

What is subjective is individual driving needs. I never go off road and the majority of my driving is motorways, carriageways and B roads, with a small bit of urban. I rarely ever push a car to its limits, especially on B roads where people walk and cyclists are potentially around every blind corner. So for me stock suspension is perfectly adequate for my needs and adaptive air on my previous cars has been next to pointless.

 

[nickground]

I'll add my opinion here having just had the 'opportunity' to drive all three options almost back to back. My MY20 on air with 22" wheels suddenly refused to charge and so I spent a few weeks in a coil-sprung loan car with 20" wheels followed by two weeks with the original and now replaced by a new MY22 with air and adaptive suspension on 20". I then managed a 1000-mile week in the new one.

I live in Dorset, so plenty of rural roads, some great open-sighted drivers roads and a long way from anywhere that I need to go for business! I also live at the end of a rutted unmade lane. Oddly, even though I can raise the car for the home lane I didn't because the suspension runs out of travel and made the ride less comfortable.

The difference between the coil and the air (without AD) is subtle and to me is mainly that the air suspension seems to take the 'edge' off sharp shocks making the coil car seem a little harder but which is probably more of a function of the spring compression than it is of the damping. (The difference might be more noticeable but remember that my original car was fitted with 22" wheels).

The new car, when collected from the dealer, seemed to be very sensitive and tense. Delving into the menu revealed that the Active Dynamics was set up for a hard ride, sporty steering and hair-trigger throttle. The steering and throttle are much the same as driving the standard car in Dynamic mode. Duly set to comfort and long-distance commute mode returned.

On my home lane, the AD car is more compliant and smoother riding noticeably so. On normal roads (non-dynamic), and normal driving there is no discernable difference and if I only ever had a coil-sprung car I would be quite satisfied. When making progress then I think the active suspension car probably has the edge even over a standard air suspension car but as I am no Matt Becker (Lotus/Aston handling guru) I cannot analyse what specifically that is. Suffice to say the only real way would be to put the cars back to back on a track where you could push to the absolute limit.

Finally, to put this into context, I used to compete in tarmac rallying and have had a few must-have cars along the way (jealous of Electric Beagle as never a GT-R) which include Integrale, Guilia Quadrifoglio and RS4 (2018) and MX5 track car. I would say that point-to-point that the Jaguar is as quick as the RS4, more comfortable than the RS4, quieter (!) than the RS4 but has to stop for refuelling sooner (just).

Where the air suspension really wins is in the parked car stakes, so much better looking when in access mode

 

[ICDP_EV]

Absolutely agree with you there Nick. Adaptive air on the cars I have owned and do own has been more, 'takes it up a level' rather than a major improvement. You get less ptiching and rolling when you push the car to the limitsand it dampens out the road imperfections more. But for the majority of needs the I-Pace stock suspension is perfectly fine, it gives a decent sporty feel while remaining comfortable.

You are 100% correct on the looks though, the stock coils have a very raised stance.

 

[electric beagle]

No, it's not all subjective. An I-Pace is sporty for a 2.2 ton EV, even on steel wheels it's OK. But adding adaptive air suspension, does not not transform it into something that can be thrown around a B road as well as a hot hatch that is one ton lighter.

What is subjective is individual driving needs. I never go off road and the majority of my driving is motorways, carriageways and B roads, with a small bit of urban. I rarely ever push a car to its limits, especially on B roads where people walk and cyclists are potentially around every blind corner. So for me stock suspension is perfectly adequate for my needs and adaptive air on my previous cars has been next to pointless.

How can you compare adaptive air suspension on a car you have previously owned with one you have never owned (i.e. an ASAD iPace), sorry that isn't subjective it is nonsense I know how steel springs behave even on very hard suspension cars and a GTR weighs circa 2 tonnes and has a little less torque than an iPace).

Maybe there is a little comparability if it was a closely aligned JLR implementation like a RR Evoque but if it's a different car entirely it's just noise.

My opinion is borne out of owning a car with the feature yours is borne from other cars you own.

By this measure my experience is that my GTR used to average 23 MPG does this mean all ICE cars do?

Am really tired of the sniping from someone extrapolating experience rather than actually having it.

I shall skip this thread henceforth but I would seriously advise anyone who enjoys driving and likes to push the car hard to get AS and AD. Most who think it isn't worthwhile are trying to justify to themselves their own decision to spend money or lack of opportunity to personalise a spec due to their leasing deal.

How can you compare adaptive air suspension on a car you have previously owned with one you have never owned (i.e. an ASAD iPace), sorry this is nonsense I know how steel springs behave even on very hard suspension cars and a GTR weighs circa 2 tonnes and has a little less torque than an iPace).

I don't care what the car looks like (if I did I would have specced the ludicrous 22" wheels) I care how it drives. JLR make a very poor job of selling AD and to a lesser extent AS they should make far more of both.

The relative rarity of ASAD in the used market (see above re: poverty spec restrictions) will also help the used valuation too as there are far fewer examples available to the discerning used car buyer.

 

[ICDP_EV]

Lol, get you with the hissy fit and the personal attacks about us plebs just being annoyed about not being able to afford an I-Pace, unless it is low spec special on a lease deal. I was able to customise an I-Pace with adaptive air suspension but chose not to because I personally find it a pointless add on.

I’m not justifying a thing because your opinion is based on different criteria than mine. You just seem annoyed that someone would dare to claim adaptive air suspension is not all that special to them. I mean how dare they think an I-Pace on stock suspension is good enough.

 

[Cineman]

I bet if you guys met over a pint in the local you wouldn't be talking to each other like this.. weirdly uncivilised. 3 Post Uberpace asked a perfectly reasonable question - and there's lots of good info here - but lighten up the tone please!

 

[JonnyVtec]

I must have got a different car than you then, or I don't drive it like I stole it. I would hate to be a passenger in your car, if you drive so harshly that your car is pitching and rolling all over the place.

You’d probably learn more than you think.