ford maverick Independent twistbeam rear suspension

[millerbl00]

I heard the ford maverick is using Independent twistbeam rear suspension. Anyone know of problems with this setup?

thanks

 

[JohnnyG]

Sounds like the tried and true Torsion Bar Suspension to me. I can't think of any drawbacks, more likely a lot of advantages. Fewer parts, less cost, adjustable, better clearances, and possibly more ground clearance.

 

[oggb]

As with most things it all depends on how its implemented. It can be set up to behave exactly like a solid axle or more like a semi-independent suspension. It's very cheap and very reliable.

The only issue I can think of is that adjusting the rear toe requires the hub to be shimmed and that's not in the scope of your typical cheap alignment.

 

[jhs914]

One of the best handling cars (stock) that I ever owned was a 1977 Volkswagen Scirocco that had a twist beam rear axle. On hard cornering when autocrossing it would lift the inside rear wheel several inches off the ground. It looked scary from outside of the car but did not create any handling problems. Not a sophisticated suspension but lightweight and keeps the cost of the vehicle down.

 

[E365]

FWD versions use the twistbeam rear and AWD versions use a multi-link.

https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/product/2022/maverick/pdf/2022-Ford-Maverick-Technical-Specifications.pdf

 

[Jetronic]

There's usually very little negative camber gainor toer change, so perfect for loading up the car and keeping the wheels straight on the ground. Not so good if you want to gain toe or camber under roll for "performance" driving. The outside wheel will always end up with positive camber so oversteer isn't far off, combined with the pretty static toe even more so.

 

[Hermann]

A video on YouTube last evening stated it uses the twist beam the Fiesta ST used.

 

[supton]

My VW had a twist (torrsion?) axle and it developed a bend after 250k or so. Toe-in so it would feather the tires. No way to fix, online I had mechanics indicating that it could be shimmed, but it was trial and error to fix--and mechanics indicating that it should not be shimmed but rather replaced. I was not happy with the situation and eventually replaced the car.

Then I got cars with IRS and found out that after 200k they feather the tires anyhow, despite repeated alignments. Can't win.

 

[1978elcamino]

I had a chevy cobalt that used one. I remember getting under it for the first time and thinking to my self "wow, this rear suspension is cheap AF".

 

[nthach]

VW has used torsion beam suspensions for years. Toyota always used it for their FWD cars, for the exception of the AWD Sienna/Highlander/RAV4(and their Lexus sisters). Except the VW version felt sporty. With the new Toyota platform(TNGA) with independent rear suspension even a Prius feels “sporty”(and now offers AWD since platform sharing enables the parts bin to be shared).

 

[supton]

VW has used torsion beam suspensions for years. Toyota always used it for their FWD cars, for the exception of the AWD Sienna/Highlander/RAV4(and their Lexus sisters).

Not sure if you forgot Camry. Which is IRS.

 

[meep]

The pros and cons are textbook pros and cons - I agree with every one of them above. However, Actual comparison will depend on how they actually implement and tune it, and a test drive. I would like to think that the IRS would be superior, but mistakes can be made, corners cut, bushings break down, etc..