The Volkswagen Phaeton is the first limousine to have a standard four-corner air suspension chassis with a continuously variable semi-active damper control. It adjusts the damping force on every wheel variably, depending on the load and driving situation, and also automatically adjusts the height.

The intelligent damper control of the Continental system individually adjusts the damping force on each damper within 10 to 15 milliseconds. The goal is to decouple the up and down motion of the wheels and axles from the car body so effectively that it travels smoothly on rough roads. To make this possible, the Phaeton has wheel acceleration sensors on the shock absorbers as well as sensors to measure the car body movements. A control unit uses the information to calculate the best damping force for each wheel individually.

From other sensor signals, the control electronics recognizes in turn whether the driver is steering into a curve, whether the vehicle is accelerating or being braked. The rolling or pitching motion of the body will be minimized. In addition, the driver can select between four fixed damper settings.

There is an automatic height control that ensures consistent spring travel at all times. This technology, which has already been implemented in the Audi allroad quattro, was refined for the Phaeton. At speeds exceeding roughly 140 km/h, the Phaeton drops about 15 milli-meters compared to the normal height in order to optimize the driving properties and aerodynamics. If the Phaeton exceeds 120 km/h, the body automatically drops back down to the normal height.