The xA has a pretty stiff ride compared to many other economy cars. There are two main reasons for this:

1. It is a short wheelbase car. The Lotus Elise and Mazda Miata are the only new US cars with shorter wheelbases, while the Echo has an identical wheelbase. Even the Mini, which is 11 inches shorter in length, has a longer wheelbase. Shorter wheelbases mean harsher rides. Ever driven a Miata or Mini on the freeway? They make the xA look supple and smooth. If you've driven an Elise, :P on you.

2. The xA has inexpensive suspension designed more for passenger/cargo space and decent control than comfort. Double wishbones all around would make it a much better performer, but would also cut into interior space or make it a larger car. Softer springs and less damping would mean more body roll and less grip. Higher quality components would mean a more expensive car.

What you're left with is a tiny car with massive amounts of interior space and a decent ride for its size.

 

well they do say that the xA does have a sports car ride to it

 

I've driven the mini and it did feel harsher, but it had much better cornering abilities compared to a stock xA.

Now that I added new tires and springs the xA feels more harsher on bumps, but corners like a mini ^_^;;

Guess you can't have the best of both worlds =p

 

I owned a Mini for almost 2 years. Mine had the Sport Plus suspension and run flat tires. The ride was much smoother than my xA RS. It was a bit harsh over bigger bumps mostly because of the run flats extra stiff sidewalls.

The Mini uses the same suspension type as the 3 series BMW so it's no wonder it handles better than an xA. The rear suspension on the Mini is a multi-link set up which is actually designed for RWD.

The xA is no where near the Mini is cornering and I have 17" rims, spacer shims and TRD springs. The xA does corner flat and does hold very well but it's very jittery on uneven pavement. Also the Mini's steering is much better and requires less wheel movement to turn the car. It is more precise and gives great feedback.

On a smooth race track with drivers with even skill it would be a good race. On real world roads there is no comparison. The Mini wins.

Of course my xA was $7000 LESS than my Mini. :D

 

I wasn't a fan of the Mini when I test drove it. I drove a Works model, which supposedly had 200HP, but it felt like much, much, much less. The interior was pretty tasteless and the back seat was a joke. The ride on the freeway was cruel punishment.

Course, today, with a baby coming, I didn't even consider the Mini. I need 5 doors, and don't even talk to me if you get less than 30mpg in the city.

 

um k 30mpg is bad now? geez guys lol. but yeah i figured the mini s to be quick , never drove one tho wow . considering size , weight and hp it's a very fast lil fun car , guess only on paper.

 

Change the tires to something softer and it will ride better. My STis ride changed significantly when I put my softer snow tires on.

 

>1. It is a short wheelbase car. The Lotus Elise and Mazda Miata are the only new US

To a degree. But if you think about it, it's basically a Honda Civic in size with the trunk lopped off, so the short length itself isn't the primary factor for the bumpy ride, IMO.

>2. The xA has inexpensive suspension designed more for passenger/cargo space and >decent control than comfort. Double wishbones all around would make it a much better

This and the weight go in hand. Low weight = a car will bump around more if the suspension isn't setup right. A heavy car is like a heavy boat - takes a lot to upset it or to even feel anything under the car -- assuming the suspension is decent.

But, I would bet that once Mercedes and BMW comes out with the mini's, you'll see how much can be done in a small package. Addition of sophisticated dual setting shocks and/or electronically controlled shocks, more complex suspension setup and tuning, and so forth will let you have a luxury car in a mini. Here, the electronically controlled setup will probably make a big difference -- sports car stiff, but w/o transmitting through the mini bumps.

Still, if it'll cost $5k to drop in a suspension like this, who's going to pay for it in a mini-sized car in the USA? Hard to say if they can break even. (buyers in Japan would for sure)

Here, I think what they did was basically take a setup similar to the last gen Toyota Tercel (which I've driven), tuned it a bit, and dropped it right into the xA. Both feel about the same over roads & freeways - stable and sure on smooth surfaces, but the xA, lacking any trunk weight to keep the butt down, hops around a bit.

Still, not to say the mono-beam design isn't good -- it does keep the rear in place in regular driving if it's properly adjusted for the car it's in.

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But it could also be that they're trying to keep the younger male target market from killing themselves by whipping a softer suspended xA around corners too fast, so legal might have stepped in and said, go with the stiffer setup and keep them out of trouble?

Anyways, it isn't that bad -- seems on mine, with only <200 miles, it's starting to settle in some and it's not that bad as the beginning over the daily roads I take to work.

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Here, you may also want to start with tire pressure -- make sure it's set at the relatively soft 29psi the xA recommends (same as the Tercel I drove), and go up form there to see (I'm not going to say down because you might pop the tire, but lower = softer if you get new tires that'll handle that).

You WILL want to check the tires in the morning, let's say 10am on a bright sunny weekend, with an accurate tire guage, and make sure all of the tires are within 1psi of each other. Then, run them for a while and see how it feels.

(My crazy dealer set them up, or just plain didn't, at 32 psi front, 36 psi rear!)

Higher PSI will = better performance with some tires, a stiffer ride, and more communicative cornering (not so squishy) to a degree. On my Sentra, I routinely had them around 34-36psi w/o a problem, and I tell you, the difference was huge vs. recommended - like a go-kart!

So if you haven't checked, do it first!

 

it's rougher with lower springs.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
depends on the spring.

 

[quote="adorable
But, I would bet that once Mercedes and BMW comes out with the mini's, you'll see how much can be done in a small package. [/quote]

Well, the Mini is made by BMW and Benz has the Smart.

 

As I said before, the Mini, which is a BMW, rides pretty roughly. Never been in a Smart, but I know it understeers like crazy and they need ESC and low grip tires to keep it from rolling over. Same with the Mercedez A-Class.

 

The Mini with run-flats isn't as rough as the xA RS w/17". Also the Mini doesn't bounce around like the xA. There's a couple of nice curves on my ride to work that I would take quickly in my Mini The xA bounces so much that I have to slow down to keep if from jumping around on the same set of curves.

If it didn't add to the price of the car, having BMW do the suspension for the xA would be sweet! :D