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Hyundai ‘Crab Drive’ is the latest in EV maneuverability

Hyundai has shown off a new crab walk feature on the company’s Ioniq 5 test vehicle.

Vehicles with rear-wheel steering have been available since the 80s. Still, with the advent of more popular electric vehicles, the technology is seeing a resurgence as manufacturers look to make their vehicles more maneuverable than ever. Hyundai Mobis has now shown off its version of the technology with 4-wheel-steering that allows the vehicle to “crab walk.”

In the video posted by Hyundai Mobis on Youtube, the modified Ioniq 5 demonstrates the unique steering feature, crab walk, and some other amazing feats.

In describing the video, Hyundai comments, “Now, you can see the real-life motions of crab driving and zero turn. The natural benefits in narrow downtown or cargo areas should be self-evident.”

Hyundai calls the unique turning system the “e-corner system.” With it, drivers would have unparalleled maneuverability in countless situations. Obvious use cases include parallel parking, where the vehicle simply drives sideways into the open spot, turning within a tight city street or leaving cramped parking spaces, or even turning around entirely within a confined space to face the opposite direction.

Other uses for the technology are within day-to-day driving. As demonstrated by the Hyundai test vehicle, turning the rear wheels in the same direction as the front wheels allows for a more graceful diagonal movement, ideal for highway lane changes. Furthermore, this process can be reversed, turning the back wheels in the opposite direction to the front wheels, allowing for a faster turn-in while moving through slow speed and tight areas.

While it remains unclear if Hyundai’s new zero-turn technology will be coming to production models any time soon, the company is correct in noting its benefits. But with so many manufacturers now exploring the technology, including General Motors, Hyundai may be more motivated than ever to bring it to the market.

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