For two-time scale systems, singular perturbation theory is often used for designing a controller based only on an approximate model of its slow dynamics, assuming the fast model to be stable. In this context, the authors investigate and implement a stabilising event-triggered feedback law for a networked singularly perturbed system, based only on an approximate model of its slow dynamics. Triggering rule guarantees the stability and the existence of a positive lower bound between two consecutive transmissions. The proposed approach has been validated for a laboratory-scale hardware setup of an active suspension system of a quarter-car model. The presence of fast and slow modes in a vehicle suspension system is utilised to model it as a singularly perturbed system. Experimental results indicate that in spite of the simplified structure of the controller and event-triggered feedback, its performance is comparable to that of the full-state feedback design with continuous feedback with the significant reduction in control execution events. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2020.