I recently purchased a 2019 Disco TD6 SE that was fully optioned including air suspension. I had the vehicle inspected which passed 100% however I'm suspicious of the suspension just based on the wonky way it handles. Since I've never owned a vehicle with air suspension it could just be how they handle but can anyone tell me if significant body roll, rear squat on acceleration, generally soft suspension, etc is normal on these cars? I also drive a 2016 Honda Odyssey that handles extremely well and it's annoying to have such handling disparity from car to car.

 

It's a tall truck meant for off-road. It's a comfy, cushy ride on the highway, but I'll take our DB9 over the Disco on curvy mountain roads. Even our old Benz R350 was a better handling vehicle, but I wouldn't go back for anything.

One thing that helped us out was the 30mm rear and 25mm front wheel spacers. Made it a bit wider and a tiny bit more sure-footed around the curves.

 

I get that it's a top heavy truck but that's not the issue. I bought a D1 new in '95 and put over 200k on it in 12 years. It handled way better than
this truck as does my '97 D90NAS. I'm speaking specifically of the air suspension. Since I haven't driven another identical D5 it's hard to determine if that's just the way they ride or if something is wrong with mine.

 

Sounds like you're driving too slow. You need to pick up speed over a rough roads to really understand how smooth these things are with their glorious wonderful air suspension. You need to drive it to the point where you feel like you're about to abuse it and that's where it really stands out.

 

I haven't even had a chance to drive it off the road. I'm talking about around town, freeway driving

 

Well, I always do random things like park it overnight in off-road height. Sometimes I enable comfort access for a few weeks, and other times I disable comfort access.

The vehicle self levels when parked. Sometimes the vehicle makes adjustments when parked.

Also, if I don't use comfort access mode, the vehicle will adjust after starting in the morning, and if I sit for a minute or two before putting it in gear, the suspension seems to level out and prime itself perfectly for the drive.

If I leave it in comfort access mode, it's low and rough at first but rises when I drive away. However, I can swear the ride is not the same between comfort access on and off.

So with it off, if I wait for 1 or 2 minutes after parking overnight, the ride is superb. If I drive off right away, it's still decent but only if I start the day with the system ready.

However, with comfort access on, even if I wait before driving off in the morning, the ride is a bit bumpier (rather a placebo in me, probably).

Interestingly, if I have Comfort access on, and I drive away immediately, the system will rise. But if I go into office road height and let it go back to normal height on its own at 45mph, the ride feels primed again just like when I kept comfort access off.

So, yes, I could be crazy. But my tire pressures are on point for "light load" and I don't experience any adverse ride quality in offroad mode either.

However, my alignment is also on point. I have the lifetime alignment from Firestone and they have it as straight as an arrow. I do know that when the ride height changes, the suspension moves up and down and the tires change camber in an arc. Low suspension means more camber (top of tire is tucked in) and off-road height means negative camber (top of tire is further out and bottom of tire is tucked in).

If you don't experience any of this, maybe you have ride height sensor or "Johnson rods" modifications you're not aware of?

 

Disco 5 does have a good amount of body lean in the corners, especially on the pre-facelift versions that don't have adaptive dampers. I had a 2017 HSE Luxury for five years and agree it was a bit more than you'd think at first. You get used to it quickly, though. Plus, the ride quality is excellent. My Defender (which has air springs & adaptive dampers) has better body control thanks to the adaptive dampers.

 

That's all great info! Thanks you guys!

 

I also found the "light load" handling to be a bit squishy and uncertain for my tastes. I run at the maximum load tire pressure and find the drive to be a lot more enjoyable. It's not great for off-road, but definitely better for me on the pavement.

 

Good idea