Front suspension operation

FRONT SUSPENSION OPERATION

1. Strut unit
2. Coil spring
3. Damper unit
4. Upper arm - wishbone

The front suspension has been carefully developed to combine refinement with robustness.

The independent swivel hubs and knuckles are located at the top by a wishbone type upper arm and at the bottom by a transverse lower arm and radius arm assembly. The damper and spring units are located between the upper wishbones and attached to the lower arms by damper forks. The anti-roll bar is secured to the lower arms via rubber bushed links and is 18 mm diameter on 1.6 automatic models and 21 mm diameter on all other models.

5. Transverse lower arm and radius arm
6. Swivel hub
7. Anti-roll bar

High longitudinal compliance gives cabin isolation, over high frequency large amplitude inputs (e.g. pot holes), on a par with much larger cars. Geometry is well controlled to give good handling responses. The suspension bump stop is at the top of the damper strut.