Xantia

Activa Suspension

The Activa suspension—used only on some Xantia models—creates mixed feelings. Drivers requiring sporty handling and roadholding praise it because this car turns into curves without turning a hair: it stays completely horizontal and neutral. However, this comes at the expense of ride comfort.

The Activa system operates in two distinct steps. The first one is controlled mechanically by a roll corrector (the component is identical to the height correctors used in the suspension).

The corrector is connected by an L-shaped spring to the bottom wishbone. When the car takes a sharp left turn, its front left wheel will be forced down by the body roll caused by centrifugal force. As the wheel moves down, so does the end of its wishbone, pulling the linkage to the corrector. The piston inside the roll corrector moves upwards, opening the pressure feed into the stabilizing cylinders. These two cylinders are attached to the wheel suspension differently: in the front, the piston pushes the left wheel upwards while in the rear, the right wheel will be forced downwards. This diagonal correction counteracts the roll of the body.

Turning to the other side result in an inverse operation: the roll corrector opens the connection from the stabilizing cylinders back to the reservoir. The front left wheel moves downwards, the rear right one upwards, once again countering the effect of body roll.