Hyundai Ioniq 5 Prototype Demonstrates 90-Degree Crab Walk and Tank Turns

Major automakers are always on the look for new features and technological developments to implement into their future lineups. But one model, in particular, showcased a variety of turning maneuvers that you didn’t even know you wanted to perform until seeing them.

Hyundai Mobis recently shared a prototype of their Ioniq 5 sedan that comes equipped with four different e-cornering modes to move the vehicle about its environment.

The “Crab Driving” mode turns the car’s wheels 90 degrees to allow it to move in a perpendicular motion from side-to-side, rather than only forwards and backward. Fair to say that this could make parallel parking much easier in the future.

The “Crab Walk” takes advantage of this same functionality, but allows the driver to make clean forward-lateral movements similar to that of the GMC Hummer EV.

The “Tank Turn” function allows the driver to be able to turn the vehicle 360 degrees on its center axis without moving out of its current spot.

Lastly, the “Pivot Turn” turns the rear wheels 90 degrees while keeping the forward wheels straight, rotating the vehicle in a similar style to the “Tank Turn” but with a wider radius.

While the Ioniq 5 in the video remains in its prototype phase, Hyundai indicates that many of the maneuvers shown exhibit many real-world uses in urban and congested areas.