Active suspension is commonly considered under the framework of vertical vehicle dynamics control aimed at improvements in ride comfort. This paper uses a collocation-type control variable optimiza-tion method to analyze to which extent the fully active suspension (FAS) application can be broaden to the tasks of vehicle handling/cornering control and braking distance reduction. The emphasis is on integrated control systems, where the FAS control action supports other actuators such as active brakes and active steer-ing. The analysis is extended to the ride control task for the case of emphasized, discrete road disturbances such as high-magnitude bumps and potholes. The main control objective is to provide a favorable trade-off of ride comfort and road holding capability, as well as a robustness against wheel damage, e.g. at the pothole trailing edge. The optimization is based on a nonlinear 10-DOF vehicle dynamics model, including a com-bined-slip tire model, and it is subject to various, generally nonlinear equality and inequality constraints.