Double-Wishbone Suspension
A double-wishbone suspension locates a wheel with separate upper and lower control arms.
How it is arranged
The arms connect the body or subframe to the wheel carrier through joints. They need not be literal A-shapes: either arm can be split into separate links, and the spring and damper may act directly or through another mechanism. The two arm levels give engineers freedom to shape camber change, roll-centre movement, steering-axis position, and anti-dive or anti-squat geometry.
That tuning freedom comes with additional components and packaging demands. The upper arm competes with the tyre envelope, body structure, crash space, and sometimes a front cargo compartment. Arm length, joint position, bushing stiffness, and motion ratio determine whether the theoretical freedom produces useful wheel control.
Double wishbone is therefore a layout category, not a guarantee of comfort or handling. Toyota's original RAV4, for example, paired MacPherson struts at the front with a trailing-arm double-wishbone arrangement at the rear. For broader layout comparisons, see Suspension layouts and geometry.