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As in, when you load up the car it pumps up the rear springs so it stays level - what cars can you get it on? Probably some SUVs and I think Volvo do it. What else? Passats used to have it as an option but I don't think they do any more.
Subarus have it. Hence there's quite a few old ones driving around like speed boats...
(neither of my subarus have it)
Various mondeos do but I think it was always either an option, or only on higher end cars.
Think it was an optional extra on some Ford Mondeo estates. Seem to remember a mate ripping it out when dampers needed replacing as the self levelling ones were alot more expensive than the stock passive ones.
My Disco 3 does that.
In some cars the dampers pump themselves up to a pre-set height regardless of load, others have a compressor that does it.
My Jag XF Sportbrake has it - I stuck nearly 300kgs of sand / cement in the boot a while back and it didn’t look like there was anything in there
Er, Citroën do, (or did) a lot.
Mini metro 🙂
Hydro-pneumatic self-levelling suspension first appeared on the Citroen Traction Avant in the 1950s. Common on lots of large estates.
My old v60 Volvo had it. Not hydro pneumatic. Made the rear suspension quite hard when there was no load but useful when towing.
Rolls Royce
5 series touring (estates) do it.
Think some BMW touring motorbikes do it too to prevent dazzling of oncoming drivers when there is a pillion on board or alot of weight in panniers. Seems motorbikes don't really seem to care or even know they are often dazzling oncoming drivers. especially those BMW GS riders with those additional fairing mounted spot lights that seem to be deliberately aimed into the retinas of oncoming drivers.
I remember a mate getting his parent's Citroen BX wedged between a couple of garden walls when he was badly negotiating a driveway. It was a highly unlikely situation and if he hadn't had the ability to raise the suspension he'd still be stuck there now. 25+ years later.
Opened thread thinking this was about hebtroco starting to sell braces for their jeans 🙄
All the Range Rovers (when it doesn't fail)
my 2007 E61 BMW Estate had it too. assume the newer 5 series also have it
saw this thread and immediately remembered the joy of our old citroen GSA, and the magic carpet CX
Opened thread thinking this was about hebtroco starting to sell braces for their jeans
Hand made vegan leather made from 100% British Vegans and hand stitched in a shed in Yorkshire. £499 a set.
An option on Ford Galaxys, or at least was a couple years ago.
saw this thread and immediately remembered the joy of our old citroen GSA, and the magic carpet CX
I still maintain that the BX's I owned were the most comfortable cars I ever had for a long, swift, (this was before making progress was frowned upon) motorway and main road journey.
The big Lexus have(had?) it. Great when it worked but pricey when it fails.
Hyundai Santa Fe 2010 reg 7 seater had it, but only in 7 seat version. Suspect the Kia Sorrento did it too.
Subarus have it. Hence there’s quite a few old ones driving around like speed boats…
My Forester did. But the cost of new dampers when they go was eye-watering - something like £1,400 a side.
So it doesn't any more.
Audi A6 Allroads with the air suspension do this - not the A4 Allroads as they have standard coil springs IIRC.
My T5 has it 😉
My Prado has it. Worked great with 150kg tow ball weight.
My Citroen C4 Picasso had it. Stopped working due to leaky 'springs' and pretty much wiped the entire value off it. Citroen were doing warranty replacements however I bought mine second hand and didn't have the right paperwork and was about 3 months out of the window in which you could get it done.
Wouldn't willingly get another car with it...
As above, my A6 allroad self levels with it's air suspension - main reason why I bought it.
Hand made vegan leather made from 100% British Vegans and hand stitched in a shed in Yorkshire. £499 a set.
Only available in garish colours and modelled by rotund middle aged men on motorbikes. 👌
I'm reminded of the time when I parked my Citroen GS with the driver's side against a tall kerb. When I got back the suspension had settled down, as they did, so I couldn't open the door.
Mercedes E Class Estates have self levelling rear suspension..
Vauxhall certainly used to on higher spec vectras. Think they might still on insignias etc
Most E-Class/5 Series/A6 Avant and other similar sized Estates have it. Any other Merc with Airmatic (optional on the saloons for instance) does it.
Mini metro
Have you ever driven one after the hydro-gas (or whatever the hell it was) unit had failed? I drove mine (very carefully) to the garage with a hugely jacked up rear end that bounced along at an alarming rate after mine had failed.
@molgrips given your car issues in the Merc thread, I would be avoiding self-levelling like the plague. It’s a when, not if, fail item. There’s a reason that you can find air springs and compressors on the shelf in just about every motor factors. Fine if your first owner, rolling the dice on anything 5yrs old plus
Used to have a BX, I remember coming back to find it grounded in the mud and an imprint of the underside of the car. And a relative trying to handbrake turn his into a grassy parking spot and nearly crunching it on some posts (handbrake is on the front wheels)
Anyway, all I wanted to say was I saw a pristine BX estate yesterday on the road, you don't see many, I hope there are plenty tucked up in garages.
Wasn't it someone on here that repaired their leaky hydropnuematic suspension with Stans fluid?!
Had two BXs. Very comfortable, only sold the second as my son grew too tall to sit in it. Very useful to get out of a ditch when push off a narrow lane. Unfortunately, while camping in Austria, dumped all its fluid on a day trip in Germany, and RAC wouldn't recover it across the border.
Tesla model s and model x both have rise & fall and adaptive air suspension that self levels.