The evasive manoeuvre test (Swedish: Undanmanöverprov; colloquial: moose test or elk test; Swedish: Älgtest, German: Elchtest) is performed to determine how well a certain vehicle evades a suddenly appearing obstacle. This test has been standardized in ISO 3888-2. 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 newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung after the Swedish motor magazine Teknikens Värld together with the TV-show Trafikmagasinet 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 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. Test specifications The test is performed on a dry road surface. Traffic cones are set up in an S shape to simulate the obstacle, road, and road edges. The car to be tested has one belted person in each available seat and weights in the boot to achieve maximum load. In order to qualify as a "pass" the vehicle must successfully navigate the course at . When the driver comes onto the track, they quickly swerve into the oncoming lane to avoid the object and then immediately swerves back to avoid oncoming traffic. The test is repeated at an increased speeds until the car skids, knocks down cones, or spins around. 1997 Mercedes A-Class test On 21 October 1997 the journalist Robert Collin from the motor magazine Teknikens Värld overturned the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class in the moose test at , while a Trabant—a much older, and widely mocked car from the former East Germany—managed it perfectly. During an interview in Süddeutsche Zeitung, Collin tried to explain this test by the example of an evasive manoeuvre for a moose on the road. It was soon called Elchtest (moose test). Mercedes initially denied the problem, but then took the step of recalling all units sold to date (2,600) and rebuilding 17,000 cars. and suspending sales for three months until the problem was solved by adding electronic stability control and modifying the suspension. The company spent DM 2.5 billion