Comfort Performance

The definition of comfort in a motor vehicle is at once complex and subjective, changing not only with time (cars considered comfortable just twenty years ago are nowadays considered unsatisfactory) but also from user to user. The same user may change his appraisal depending on circumstances and his psychophysical state. But comfort remains an increasingly important parameter in customer choice and strongly competitive factor among manufacturers.

This chapter will deal primarily with vibrational comfort, although it is difficult to separate it from acoustic comfort without entering into details linked more with the driveability and handling of the vehicle. Not just driving comfort, but vibrational and acoustic comfort as well (the latter deeply affects the conditions in which the driver operates), all have a strong impact on vehicle safety.