Very interesting observations. About as close as you can get for a user comparison test. Very useful feedback on the different setups. Much how I expected the OP's view to be. As I posted just this morning in the other thread:
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Will be interesting to read the review of the 'back to back' test.
Even if they do have the same sport 'firmness', (I understand the adaptive valving is firmer anyway) the feel will be different, simply on refinement in the sport mode.....
I was reading a magazine review just last evening on VDC against passive sport. The feeling was the VDC sport setting ties the car down better than the passive sport system. More the "hunkered down" feeling a decent BMW suspension should give us.
Wonder if that will be the feeling in today's review.
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But it does appear to confirm what I've believed and debated for a long time, driver opinions and what we view as acceptable can be totally different, even wide apart. Also it does support the view that some drivers are far less tuned into the finer nuances of suspension settings and resulting ride and handling balance. I'm not saying drivers are wrong, as there is more than one reason for this, including our own particular 'human' sensibilities to the frequencies in which a suspension and car body work and resonate. So it all becomes subjective anyway, and what value we put on a particular car's dynamics can be quite different.
Been similar discussions on the 5-series forums, where some drivers just don't see much difference in the VDC fitted cars, whereas other drivers say it is "chalk and cheese", one of the best bits of technology on the car, and lifts the drive to another level.
I note that F30AM has VDC in his Golf GTi, so very aware of the finer and subtle differences over passive systems. Myself, I come from the 330d with Koni FSD (Frequency Selective Damping), and after living with that setup for about 5-years, no BMW passive system (standard or sport) could give the same quality of suspension refinement (out of the box) until VDC came along. Then I know some tried the Koni FSD and didn't like the feel as they didn't find it a sporty enough feel. VDC has brought refinement without losing the sporty handling abilities, which refinement I've felt has been lacking in BMW for a few years, since RFTs were introduced.
Interesting comments on the steering feel, that is my feeling as well, for the 5-series cars. As a settled suspension allows the steering to be more fluid, with less of a corrupted twitch.
HighlandPete