Objective evaluation of handling quality

Vehicle dynamics quality is generally evaluated by two approaches: subjective evaluations using driver ratings and objective measurements of vehicle dynamics characteristics. In both approaches it is important to define features of vehicle dynamics in order to cover all aspects, but without redundancy. For this reason, the first part of the paper tries to summarize the principal qualities and to how they might be organized. In the second part, the paper describes those procedures that can be used to obtain objective quality indices. First of all, criteria used in subjective testing (questionnaire design, jury selection, etc.) are described. Then it is determined which manoeuvres can be performed, and which physical quantities should be considered, in order to obtain objective parameters that correlate with subjective evaluation. After this, the paper briefly describes the statistical technique used to identify which measured variables best correlate with vehicle dynamics qualities. In the third part, the paper contains a practical application of the objective index identification procedure regarding handling quality. Some examples are given about how these indices are used in different phases of a new car development, from target setting to target deployment, and in target achievement and verification during final tuning.