Ride analysis tools for passenger cars: objective and subjective evaluation techniques and correlation processes - a review

In passenger cars, the ride characteristics are fundamental to the driver and passenger engagement, as they define the comfort and road holding performance. Therefore, the methods and tools to assess ride quality are of significant interest to the vehicle dynamics specialists, and are an important part of the internal know-how of each car maker and Tier 1 supplier, which is often kept confidential. Unfortunately, the available literature does not include a comprehensive survey on the evaluation of the objective and subjective aspects related to ride, and their correlation. This review targets the gap, and deals with: (i) the available tools and techniques to objectively assess primary and secondary ride, including typical manoeuvres, road profiles, required vehicle instrumentation, and key performance indicators (KPIs); (ii) the subjective attributes and their categorisation; (iii) the approaches and mathematical models to correlate the objective KPIs with the subjective evaluation; and (iv) future trends. The know-how of the authors on the ride assessment of high-performance passenger cars will also be used to cover the aspects that are currently overlooked by the available literature and standards. In summary, the manuscript provides the interested reader with useful guidance on the procedures to perform ride quality analyses.