Harsh ride quality

I am happy with most aspects of my 2011 Vauxhall Insignia 1.8 SRI Sports Tourer except the ride quality. My last vehicle was a Citroën C5 – a car with an exceptionally smooth ride – and although I did expect a firmer ride with the Inignia, I was surprised by how harsh it was on roads in the UK.

While I understand that the SRI is a sportier model, I would like to soften the ride a little. Would changing the shock absorbers improve the situation or would I have to change the road springs as well? The tyres fitted are not particularly low profile (55), so they should not be contributing to the harsh ride. I have checked the pressures and they are as required.

Some internet forums suggest swapping the springs and shockers with the ones from the SE model, but that sounds a bit expensive and rather radical. The rear end seems a bit harder than the front end, so could I get away with changing the rear shocks and/or springs?

I appreciate that I will never get close to the ride quality of the C5, but I am struggling to get used to a car with the ride quality of a skateboard! The car went through its MOT recently without any adverse comments from the tester, so I assume all is well with the suspension. Robert Luttman

This is a question I am asked quite often and there’s no simple answer. While there are many options on the market to either lower a vehicle or stiffen the suspension, there are no such conversions to soften the ride. The SRI is a sports model, thus the suspension is set to allow the vehicle to remain stable at speed while cornering. I am assuming that your Insignia is not fitted with electronic stability control, which would allow the suspension to be altered.