Achieving simultaneous trajectory accuracy and dynamic stability is challenging for four-wheel independent drive (4WID) electric vehicles under near-limit conditions. To effectively resolve this internal control conflict, this paper proposes a novel normalized stability index that accurately quantifies real-time instability risks. Based on this index, a hierarchical adaptive coordinated control architecture is developed, utilizing sliding-mode control for active front-wheel steering to follow trajectories and a fuzzy-logic yaw moment controller to maintain stability. To prevent over-control in safe driving regions, an adaptive weighting mechanism seamlessly adjusts the stability interventions according to the proposed index. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) experiments demonstrate that the proposed method lowers sideslip risks on low-adhesion tracks. During a variable-curvature slalom, it reduces the lateral RMSE by 15.08% and decreases the maximum additional yaw moment from 118 N·m to 32 N·m, thereby mitigating excessive control effort, minimizing steering conflicts, and structurally improving the actuation efficiency of the 4WID system.
Liu et al. (Mon,) studied this question.