Electric power steering.....

[steptoe]

was new to me when the Mazda 3 appeared in 2004, then I find Astras had it in 1999? Just blown away that Subaru had it in the flat six Vortex the XT6 in 1989!!

For those not in the know, it is just an electric pump for power steering fluid to pump through to the rack instead of a power robbing pump mounted on the engine driven by a belt

[Mr Top Hat]

not trying to start a flame war but the electric one would rob the engine of just about the same power and from what i can tell most dont use fluid at all they use mad gears and cogs and magic

one of the benifits of electric ps is the ability for the engine to turn down or off the electric motor to give the steering wheel a stiffer feel when travelling at high speeds

[1111giles]

Main reason for it is that its smaller / cheaper to make & fit.

[Gannon]

Main reason for it is that its smaller / cheaper to make & fit.

I doubt thats the case with the XT6. I know its uses a very special type of fluid that is only available through Subaru.

[Mr Top Hat]

Main reason for it is that its smaller / cheaper to make & fit.

Yes thats true. I guess the other features are just a selling point

[last celtic warrior]

It's both a safety feature and a means to acheive reliable constant pressure irrespective of engine revs. A safety feature in that, if you have an engine failure, you still have your power steering, unless you blow a fuse then things start appearing a bit silly...

Electric vacuum unit for the brakes would probably be a more important consideration.

[El_Freddo]

Electric vacuum unit for the brakes would probably be a more important consideration.

Range Rover introduced this to their models from '95.

Cheers

Bennie

[Mr Top Hat]

Ill just leave this here http://youtu.be/hSbjgXbDUzo

electric power steering gone wrong lol