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A handling condition where the front tires lose grip before the rears, causing the car to push wide of the intended line. The car turns less than the driver commands. It is the most common handling issue for novice drivers.
Bentley defines it in Ultimate Speed Secrets: "Understeer is the term used to describe the handling characteristic when the front tires have less traction than the rears, and regardless of your steering corrections, the car continues plowing or pushing straight ahead to the outside of the turn. Think of it as the car not steering as much as you want, so it is understeering. Understeer, in effect, increases the radius of a turn." He identifies a common driver-caused trigger: "Accelerating too hard or not smoothly enough through a corner transfers excessive weight to the rear, decreasing traction at the front and causing understeer." Critically, he warns: "Most drivers' first reaction to understeer is to turn the steering wheel even more. Don't! This increases the problem because the tires were never designed to attack the road at an extreme angle."