A hydraulic power steering (HPS) uses hydraulic pressure supplied by an engine-driven pump to assist the motion of turning the steering wheel. Electric power steering (EPS) is more efficient than the hydraulic power steering, since the electric power steering motor only needs to provide assist when the steering wheel is turned, whereas the hydraulic pump must run constantly. In EPS the assist level is easily tunable to the vehicle type, road speed, and even driver preference. An added benefit is the elimination of environmental hazard posed by leakage and disposal of hydraulic power steering fluid.

An outgrowth of power steering is speed adjustable steering, where the steering is heavily assisted at low speed and lightly assisted at high speed. The auto makers perceive that motorists might need to make large steering inputs while manoeuvering for parking, but not while traveling at high speed. The first vehicle with this feature was the Citro?n SM with its Diravi layout, although rather than altering the amount of assistance as in modern power steering systems, it altered the pressure on a centring cam which made the steering wheel try to \straight-ahead position. Modern speed-adjustable power steering systems reduce the pressure fed to the ram as the speed increases, giving a more direct feel. This feature is gradually becoming commonplace across all new vehicles.

Four-wheel steering (or all wheel steering) is a system employed by some vehicles to increase vehicle stability while maneuvering at high speed, or to decrease turning radius at low speed.

In most four-wheel steering systems, the rear wheels are steered by a computer and actuators. The rear wheels generally cannot turn as far as the Alternatively, several systems, including Delphi's Quadrasteer and the system in Honda's Prelude line, allow for the rear wheels to be steered in the opposite direction as the front wheels during low speeds. This allows the vehicle to turn in a significantly smaller radius — sometimes critical for large trucks or vehicles with trailers.

Electronic power steering system