What is Agility Control System?
Agility Control is the latest feature in the newer generation luxury saloon Mercedes C-Class. This is an intelligent/adaptive suspension system. It adjusts its damping characteristics according to the road conditions. The C-Class offers Agility-Control feature along with Selective Damping suspension system. It claims to provide better ride comfort without compromising on precision and control.
This system uses an integral valve which reduces the damping force. It offers the stroke-dependent damping mechanism that reduces the damping effect of the smaller shocks/jerks on smooth roads. This provides greater ride comfort and accurate tracking. The passive damping offers better stability during bigger shocks/jerks on bad roads.
Advantages:
Furthermore, the system reduces road noise and tire vibrations to quite some extent. It optimizes the characteristics of the chassis/body such as the body-roll, damping, and stability according to road conditions. And thus, it also provides a high level of active safety and comfort as well.
Modes of Agility Control:
The new C-Class Sport offers Agility Control as an optional feature. It allows the drivers to adjust the car’s driving characteristics according to their driving mood. It can drive in ‘comfort’ to ‘sport’ modes and give a feeling of luxury at the same time. The variable dampers function at all the time. They adapt automatically to the road surface and driving style to reduce road noise and vibrations. Thus, Agility Control reduces the damping for comfortable driving. It also stiffens up the suspensions and stabilizes the car as needed.
Agility Select Switch:
The Agility Select switch offers five driving modes, one each for the mood of the driver. They are – Comfort, Sports, Sports+, Eco and Custom. The ‘Comfort’ mode is for enjoying the comfortable driving of the luxury car. However, if you want to drive faster; then switch to the ‘Sport’ mode. In this mode, you get a progressive steering response. Besides, you can enjoy the racing engine as well. The ‘Sports+’ mode further enhances performance. In this mode, the suspension and drive systems become more dynamic. However, the ‘Eco’ mode helps to improve the fuel economy; reducing the fuel consumption to the minimum.
With continuous variable damping, the handling becomes crisp. Furthermore, the body roll reduces and the ride quality becomes relatively steady. The steering and throttle response becomes sharper while the gear changes are more responsive even during negotiating a turn. On top of it, Mercedes offers the ESP which increases the safety and the ride quality. Besides, in some markets, Agility Control even comes with the paddle-shifters which give the feel of a true racing car.
All Images: Courtesy – Mercedes-Benz
