Smoothest riding car?

[Timewaster]

As per title, one of my kids gets horribly car sick, always has done and she is now 11 and no sign of improvement. 

It doesn't help that the roads around here are bloody awful. I live in the fens and every tree has a dip in the road alongside. Plus the repair budget for roads seems to be in pence so we have dips and humps and broken surfaces. 

Our route home has a load of cobbled speed humps which look nice but feel like Miras Belgian pavè. This is usually the final straw for her.

So using AS logic, I'm thinking I might be able to justify an older Lexus  or E class?  I've never been all that impressed by hydropneumatic Citroens.

What else might work? What are big Volvos like over the rough bits? Not sure if I can stretch to the running costs of a Jag.

Also need to seat 5, 2 still in booster seats and they take up a lot of room.

An estate would be handy (and yes, I know I said Lexus)

Recent vomit comets have been a mk2 Galaxy,  a 4 door Ranger,  and an Outlander. None of which were particularly smooth.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

E39 BMW 5 Series SE ? 🤔 

[Kringle]

The only thing I noticed about a xantia for example was that you could travel around corners pretty quickly yet it felt much slower.

I'd say something exec but with the smallest wheels and largest tyres possible?

[Barry Cade]

Peugeot 604.

[Timewaster]

5 minutes ago, Barry Cade said:

Peugeot 604.

Nice idea, but  number currently on sale in the UK would appear to be 0.

[LightBulbFun]

Toyota Century V12?

I dunno I just want to see someone on the forum get one  

[barrett]

26 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

E39 BMW 5 Series SE ? 🤔 

Absolutely dreadful on anything other than glass-smooth surface, I'm afraid. Or my one is totally fucked (I don't think it is).

The smoothest riding car I've ever experienced is a Renault 16. Much better than a hydro Citroen. Apparently, Peugeot 204s are brilliant too, but I'm not sure an R16 or 204 would fit the bill here...

[eddyramrod]

Seriously?  OK, Huggy might not be for you but anything roughly similar will do the job; I had a 1980 Buick Century with the 3.8V6 and that rode just as nicely on 205/75 tyres (Huggy wears 235/75).

Big squashy tyres and soft suspension are your way forward.  Don't go as low as 65% profile, and always buy the luxury models over any sport-type variants.  Older will be better and American better still, because they come with lovely thick soft seats.  If not American?  Jag or Volvo.  Lexus LS if you really can't get any of the above.  After that, Disco or Rangie, but be sure to buy automatic!  It makes a difference.

[Dobloseven]

Try a Zafira C(Tourer), loads of space,7 seats, Isofix, etc. Not just my opinion as an owner, Jeremy Clarkson borrowed one belonging to Bono and couldn't believe how good the ride was. 

[camryv6]

Smoothest ride i ever remember was in a Renault 16, a combination of the seats and suspension i presume.

A Toyota Camry was comfy though 

[Conan]

Do NOT get older Volvos. Especially the 850 and S70/V70 (P80). The later generation P2 (S60/S80/V70) are much much better riding. P3 are even more smooth.

 

Lexus. The LS are all very smooth. The GS are only truly smooth if you go pre-2005, 1st and 2nd generation. But post-2005 are still pretty good.

 

E-Classes of all generations I don't find to be particularly smooth to be honest. Especially after 2000. Not that they're harsh riding, but compared to some Lexi I find them to be a bit firmer.

[Cento16v]

Peugeot 406 rides just as well, if not better than a Xantia.

My 9-5 was a much nicer riding car than my P2 S60, even when it had a grand of springs and dampers chucked at it.

Skoda Superbs ride nicely as well.

[DoctorRetro]

W124 Mercedes was probably my best riding car, with the W123 being in close second 

 

[Low Horatio gearbox]

I can vouch for jags being  the smoothest and most cosseting of rides.  You can pick up  an older one for not much (2-3k) tho they are not cheap to run.

Bar that Lexus or Volvo, my old S70 was a lovely place to be -provided you didn't want to corner too vigorously .

[motorpunk]

My E61 SE has air suspension on the back and is wafty without being lurchy. I like ‘em, but seem to be in a minority.

[sutty2006]

Anything with air suspension. Last two motors are on air, disco 3 and A6 Allroad. Both ride very nicely. Plus 1 for huggy, nothing rides smooth like a yank. 

[Spiny Norman]

A smooth wallowy ride is the last thing a car sick kid needs. I know, I regularly turned green in the back of Dad's Renault 16.
The ride quality of the car has little to do with motion sickness as I understand it, it's something a lot of kids go through and seems to be exacerbated by not looking forwards in the direction of travel. Can an 11 year old sit in the front seat?
Reading or sitting on the phone looking down where the eyes are extra conscious of having to keep following a moving target don't help either.

[spike60]

3 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

My E61 SE has air suspension on the back and is wafty without being lurchy. I like ‘em, but seem to be in a minority.

I used to have a high mile e39 estate with rear air bags that was choppy as is my son's e61 estate to a lesser degree, I now have e320 w211 Merc estate with a very similar set up which is very smooth by comparison.  My Merc is an Aventegard which is kinda half sport suspension and is still more comfortable than the e61 BMW standard suspension.

[Mrcento]

This is no help, but i can rule out the Mk8 Honda Civic for you.

[Inspiral_Mondays]

My daughter was car sick more often in cars with a very smooth ride. Only ones she never threw up in were an E92 335d and an A4 3.0 S-Line, both rode like they had square wheels. Other than that, she was sick in an E90 320d, an E61 530d, a Q7 with air suspension, a VW Touran and an F34 330d, oh and my wife‘s Panda. We cured the problem by letting her sit in the front.

[Jazoli]

I've been mooching around in an old ('03) Volvo S80 and that has a very comfortable ride, it handles like a boat though so could well induce seasickness if driven enthusiastically.

[motorpunk]

3 minutes ago, Inspiral_Mondays said:

My daughter was car sick more often in cars with a very smooth ride. Only ones she never threw up in were an E92 335d and an A4 3.0 S-Line, both rode like they had square wheels. Other than that, she was sick in an E90 320d, an E61 530d, a Q7 with air suspension, a VW Touran and an F34 330d, oh and my wife‘s Panda. We cured the problem by letting her sit in the front.

Haha!

One of my kids spewed in every single car I owned, until I let her ride in the front. I had to sell a Golf as she puked egg sandwiches and milk all into the cloth seats. It stank forever….

[captain_70s]

15 minutes ago, Spiny Norman said:

A smooth wallowy ride is the last thing a car sick kid needs. I know, I regularly turned green in the back of Dad's Renault 16.

This was along my line of thinking, in that sickness isn't aided by the smooth and undulating movements of a softly sprung car.

Certainly Girlfriend_70s gets ill if she spends too long in the Doloshite due to it's soft suspension and it's tendency to pitch and roll.

[anonymous user]

When I was a child a very long time ago I suffered with car sickness. I was OK in the back of the Morris Minor Traveller, but was always sick in the Cortina Mk1 that replaced it. I was never sick in my grandfather's Morris 1100. We still had the Cortina but then tended to use the Transit Mk1 minibus as it had more room, I wasn't sick in that. My car sickness only lasted a few years before I grew out of it.

I do remember my friends' daughter was always sick in their Mercedes, but not their other cars. They thought it was due to the smell of the leather upholstery (which did have the benefit of being easier to clean up)

[Timewaster]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. 

My Mrs is also a bit queasy in the car so sitting the queasy kid in the front doesn't really work. 

My other idea was a Honda HRV  so they can both sit in the front. 

I could also cure the problem by buying a Multipla. The family would disown me and refuse to travel anywhere in it. 

 

 

Edit. Its an Frv not an Hrv.

 

 

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

The one I'm in:

 

[Three Speed]

My first CX, a Mk1 2500D, got complaints from my travel-sickness prone passengers for being too floaty. I never offered them a ride in the CX GTi Turbo which was a bit less floaty. I was very impressed with ride in the Saab 900 - firm but smooth.

[leafsprung]

I could nearly puke on demand as a kid. It really wouldn't make a difference what car I was in either and can still get it now. 

The only thing to lessen it is plenty of cool fresh air and good forward visibility. Something with three abreast seating that isn't a multipla? VW T4/T5? 

[Matty]

2 hours ago, barrett said:

Absolutely dreadful on anything other than glass-smooth surface, I'm afraid. Or my one is totally fucked (I don't think it is).

The smoothest riding car I've ever experienced is a Renault 16. Much better than a hydro Citroen. Apparently, Peugeot 204s are brilliant too, but I'm not sure an R16 or 204 would fit the bill here...

It's fucked. Or must be . Mine on 150000  was definitely comfy

[Lacquer Peel]

1 hour ago, Conan said:

Do NOT get older Volvos. Especially the 850 and S70/V70 (P80). The later generation P2 (S60/S80/V70) are much much better riding. P3 are even more smooth.

 

Lexus. The LS are all very smooth. The GS are only truly smooth if you go pre-2005, 1st and 2nd generation. But post-2005 are still pretty good.

 

E-Classes of all generations I don't find to be particularly smooth to be honest. Especially after 2000. Not that they're harsh riding, but compared to some Lexi I find them to be a bit firmer.

Your 850 is on big wheels and sports suspension though, I find the ride a little brittle on my 850 TDI but it is generally a comfy car and soaks up bumps.