Toyota RAV4 Prime fails the moose test in Sweden

Swedish publication Teknikens Värld has a reputation for calling out automakers who fail its proprietary moose test, in which a fully loaded vehicle is driven through an S-shaped obstacle-avoidance course at moderate speeds. The test is designed as a way to imitate a potential worst-case scenario, like when a large animal or a child darts into the street and forces a driver to take emergency evasive action.

Lots of vehicles pass the test without much drama, which requires completion of the course within the lines at a speed of at least 72 kilometers per hour (44.7 mph), but occasionally a vehicle performs poorly enough that Teknikens Värld confronts the automaker with the results. The latest vehicle to draw the ire of the publication is the Toyota RAV4 Prime.

During the publication's testing (see the video above), the RAV4 Prime skidded wildly at the initial test speed, crossing the painted lines of the course and barreling through the cones. The test was repeated until the plug-in hybrid crossover remained controllable, which it eventually did at a speed of 63 km/h (39.1 mph). The blame lies with the RAV4 Prime's stability control system, according to the publication, which fails to engage and keep the vehicle from skidding out of control.