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4C active damping comfort.

Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 12:21 am
by jobyfam
Hi all,
I’m new to the forum and live in Australia. I’ve just ordered a my2020 xc40 R -design (we like the look of this trim),with most of the “bells and whistles”, and am excited.
We are very fit 60 year olds and don’t intend to “thrash”the vehicles around corners but rather mostly normal driving around town or interstate freeway travel , some B grade country roads and now and then dirt roads into country properties.
I am completely unsure whether to get the 4C suspension or stick with the standard r-design suspension. We are looking for a really comfortable ride but and am unsure if 4C helps with this or just helps with performance, road hugging characteristics etc, when the vehicle is pushed.My dealer hasn’t had an XC40 with 4c in to try and there is little first hand info online.
I just watched a youtube where the advice was don’t get 4C. Others just mention it without really conveying what difference it makes to “normal” conservative driving on varying surfaced roads compared to the stock suspension.
How reliable is it? How expensive is it to repair? Can it be deactivated if it fails and the vehicle can still be driven ? (There seems to be an option to deactivate it mentioned in the manual. I’m not sure what that means. If it is deactivated, does the car just run on it’s default suspension?) Is it sensible to “keep it simple”, and stick with the standard suspension.
Bottom line , I wonder if 4C, and it’s added complexity to the car, is money well spent long term, or I am just increasing my risks of headaches if/when it fails down the track.
Would be very interested in your thoughts, especially anyone first hand experience.
Thanks

Re: 4C active damping comfort.

Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 8:26 am
by johnd
Personally I'd be very wary about placing much weight on one single throwaway comment in a video/press review. It's not uncommon for people to express their previously held prejudice that may have come from a completely different manufacturer/model. I think that in general adaptive dampers come in for praise in many vehicles. People debate whether or not they're worth the £700-1000 or whatever they cost but they're rarely criticised for having zero (or even negative) benefits.

FWIW I'd be happy to specify them.

Re: 4C active damping comfort.

Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 10:44 am
by Salmonfisher
I had the equivalent on my Tiguan but hardly used it after the first playing with new toys. I haven't bothered on my new R Design and am happy with ride.

Re: 4C active damping comfort.

Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 12:42 pm
by jobyfam
Thanks for the replies. Is it a feature on the XC40 that can be turned off if not needed? In Australia it’s packaged such that it is only an additional $260 on top of purchasing 2 other options we want separately. So the extra cost isn’t huge. It’s more that I’m not sure really how much subjective positive (or negative) difference it makes. That is, I’m not actually sure what it does?? Does it make the supposedly stiffer suspension of the r-design more comfortable on bumpy roads? To what extent?
If it can be switched off and the r-designs stock suspension takes over, well, that’s not such a risk I guess. Or does it completely replace the standard r-design suspension? Why does the standard r-design suspension need to be improved??
Thanks again

Re: 4C active damping comfort.

Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 1:07 pm
by Ian333
Hi,
In the UK, it cannot be switched off or controlled individually other than by selecting one of the drive modes.
I can tell the difference between the suspension in comfort mode and dynamic mode and actually prefer dynamic as the whole car is less ‘floaty’.
It’s very comfortable in comfort but it’s nice to have a choice... as for whether it’s worth the money, only you can answer that but at a couple of hundred dollars, for me it would be a no brainer!
Hope that helps.

Re: 4C active damping comfort.

Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 11:20 pm
by jobyfam
Thanks Ian333,
Your comments are helpful.
I had a dealer principal over here tell me his staff weren’t aware of a difference in ride between non 4c and 4c xc40’s they were driving. That coupled with another comment re. the cost in repairing these more complicated systems concerned me.
There is just not a lot of “A/B” comparisons out there.
Cheers

Re: 4C active damping comfort.

Posted: Wed May 15, 2019 10:14 pm
by Deleted User 1945
I have the 4C system on my V90 rDesign and it works great - I have driven the non 4C V90 and you can tell the difference in handling. For $260 I would say its a no brainer to get it it makes a huge difference to the drive modes on the V90. I haven't tried the system in the XC40 - I think its more dynamically fun to drive than the V90 which is much more comfort orientated to begin with.

Re: 4C active damping comfort.

Posted: Thu May 16, 2019 12:11 am
by jobyfam
Thanks AnotherXC40,
Out here the 4c suspension is different to the 4c on the xc90 and xc60,ie, it’s not air suspension.
As I’m hearing no real negatives with it, from all your comments, (thanks to all), we will go with the 4C suspension. The order needs to be finalized today. I’ll let you know how it feels in Late August on delivery.
Thanks again

Re: 4C active damping comfort.

Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2020 1:55 am
by Woodleym
The comfort made is most like the standard ride but you can switch it to dynamic providing harder suspension or eco mode with provides software suspension. So there are three setting for general driving condition. The off road setting only available at slower speeds and is a fourth suspension mode.

I have an inscription XC40 with 4C and it works well. I have had the car for a bit over 1 year and really like the suspension control. When I first picked up the car the various modes were very different. The first software upgrade that Volvo installed at the cars 15,000 km service, stoped the 4c control from working. Volvo have now installed the next software update and it is working again but the modes, while all working, are all quite similar with only slight variations. I suspect Volvo are still refining the various modes according to customers feedback.

I would recommend this feature but I think not many XC 40 models in Australia have it fitted and the service centres may not have much experience with it so you will need to check it still works after software updates.

Re: 4C active damping comfort.

Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2020 10:25 am
by Spider62
I have only recently taken delivery of my T4 R-Design with the 4C suspension and I can certainly tell the difference between the comfort and dynamic mode. As Ian333 says the car is a lot less floaty in dynamic mode and comfort is a very smooth ride. As I have just moved from a golf GTI with active suspension I am glad I chose the 4C option which does give the two different styles of ride. The other differences between the comfort and dynamic is that the car holds the gears longer in the dynamic mode which gives a more sporty drive.
If it’s only a small increase in price go for it as you have the choice of rides.