My wife has osteoporosis. Which car will be the most comfortable drive?
We've owned our Renault Captur Esprit Alpine for three months and need to change it for a car with a softer ride. My wife's osteoporosis has worsened and the ride is too harsh for any reasonable degree of comfort. We'd like to retain a similar high seating position. What should we choose?
– BH
Dear BH,
This is difficult to answer, because small SUVs such as Captur are generally not the smoothest; what's more, the Captur is toward the more comfortable end of the spectrum (although the large diameter wheels on the upmarket Esprit Alpine version won't help with the ride comfort).
There are a couple of even more comfortable models, however. I suggest the Citroën C4. Nifty hydraulic bump stops means Citroën has been able to fit softer suspension, with the result that it floats over road imperfections in an uncanny way. Memory foam seats help dampen the bumps further.
It's not quite as soft as the mirror-smooth hydropneumatic Citroëns of old, but you'd be amazed how close it gets – and it's actually slightly better over shorter, sharper bumps, which were always the older system's Achilles' heel.
The C4 has just been facelifted and is now offered with the option of a mild hybrid petrol engine. This is the one to choose, because it doesn't have the potentially troublesome 'wet' timing belt of the pure petrol models (avoid anything badged as a PureTech).
What's more, as with all Citroëns, you can now keep the C4 in warranty until it's eight years old, thanks to a new service-activated warranty offer – you just have to use a main dealer for annual servicing to extend cover by a year.
Also worth a look is the Skoda Kamiq, the Czech firm's rival to the Captur. Like all Skodas, it's pretty comfy; I drove one from Edinburgh to London in a day and felt surprisingly fresh at journey's end. It's best as a lower-spec model with smaller diameter wheels to get the best possible ride quality, with the excellent 1.0-litre turbo engine that provides peppy performance.
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