Lexus brings yoke wheel and steer by wire to Finland

Yle tested the Lexus RZ 550e AWD F Sport, a fully electric SUV fitted with a yoke steering wheel and steer by wire, a fully electronic steering system. The wheel has no upper or lower sections, and requires drivers to adjust their handling.

Lexus is the first car brand to bring the combination to Finland in mass production, although both technologies are already familiar from models made by Mercedes Benz and Tesla.

The test drive showed that the yoke wheel takes practice. There is only one clear position for holding it with both hands, while one handed steering is difficult because the traditional wheel curves are missing. The wheel turns through 200 degrees, well short of a full 360 degree rotation.

The most difficult situations came in roundabouts. The indicator and windscreen wiper stalks are attached to the wheel and move with it. During a left turn towards the centre of a roundabout, the indicator stalk can end up below the wheel, close to the driver’s thighs.

Vili Kiiveri, a car salesperson at Lexus Tampere, said drivers initially had to search for the controls because they were used to the indicator and wiper switches remaining physically fixed in place.

He said the design could also improve safety because it makes one handed driving difficult and encourages the driver to maintain a firm grip on the wheel. However, concentrating on operating the wheel and its controls during the test slightly reduced attention to the surrounding traffic.

Elias Ruutti, a contact manager at the Finnish Road Safety Council and a former driving instructor, said a conventional driving grip at a quarter to three position was possible with the yoke wheel as well as with a full circular wheel.

According to Ruutti, one potential safety benefit of some yoke wheels is that drivers do not need to turn the wheel through several rotations. An electronic steering system can adjust the steering ratio to suit different situations, allowing the driver to keep the same grip even during sharp turns.

The removal of the upper section is often justified by improved visibility of the instrument panel. Ruutti said this had not been a problem because essential driving information can also be projected onto the windscreen, reducing the need to look away from the road.

It remains unclear whether yoke wheels and electronic steering systems will become more common in the near future or wait for greater public acceptance.