Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

A vehicle control device for applying a steering force to a steering wheel of a vehicle according to a vehicle traveling condition, comprising:

• a steering-force generator to generate the steering force applied to the steering wheel;
• a lane detector to detect a lane on which the vehicle travels;
• a vehicle-speed detector to detect a vehicle speed;
• and
• a controller to output a command signal to the steering-force generator based on detection results of the lane detector and the vehicle-speed detector,
• wherein said controller is configured to functionally comprise a first steering-force application control part for applying a first steering force to the steering wheel by means of said steering-force generator and a second steering-force application control part for applying a second steering force to the steering wheel by means of said steering-force generator,
• said first steering force is determined by a first steering characteristic which is operative to make the vehicle travel at a center of the lane,
• said second steering force is determined by a second steering characteristic, which is different from the first steering characteristic, which is operative to prevent the vehicle from deviating from the lane,
• said first steering characteristic is set such that a magnitude of said first steering force determined by the first steering characteristic changes according to the vehicle speed detected by said vehicle-speed detector in such a manner that the higher the vehicle speed is, the smaller the magnitude of the first steering force is, and
• said first steering characteristic is set such that an application start point of said first steering force determined by the first steering characteristic changes according to the vehicle speed detected by said vehicle-speed detector in a case where the vehicle speed is a specified speed or higher in such a manner that the higher the vehicle speed is, the greater an offset degree of said application start point which is offset, in a width direction of the lane, from the center of the lane is.