What is "moose test"

n. 1 A test to determine how a vehicle, usually an automobile, responds when avoiding a sudden danger, such as a moose. 2 Any stringent test of the quality of a product; also used figuratively.

thumb|upright=0.7 The evasive manoeuvre test ( Swedish: Undanmanöverprov), more commonly known as the moose test or elk test ( Swedish: Älgtest, German: Elchtest), is performed to determine how well a certain vehicle evades a suddenly appearing obstacle.

Forms of the test have been performed in Sweden since the 1970s. The colloquial and internationally better-known name for the test was coined in 1997 by the German Süddeutsche Zeitung after the Swedish motor magazine Teknikens Värld flipped a Mercedes-Benz A-Class in a test ostensibly made to measure the car's ability to avoid hitting a moose.

In reality, the test is rather constructed to simulate, for example, a reversing car or a child rushing out onto the road. This is because it is more likely that the moose will continue across the road than remain in place or turn back, making it more advisable to brake hard and try to slip behind the animal than to swerve in front of it.