Investigations indicate that the steering characteristics in modern passenger cars still vary quite considerably between low lateral accelerations corresponding to normal driving and high lateral accelerations corresponding to drastic steering manoeuvres.

Those variations in steering characteristics can place very high demands on the driver to control the vehicle, especially when the change in characteristics appears suddenly. Manoeuvres of such a kind can lead to instability and loss of control.

This paper describes the steering characteristics of the Volvo Concept Car, which vary to a small extent in the entire range of lateral accelerations and therefore give a stable and predictable steering system.

The paper also reports on the subsystems used, which mainly contribute to reach the predictable and stable behavior of the vehicle. One of those subsystems is the rear wheel suspension with independent functioning systems.