A command interpreter for a vehicle stability enhancement system that uses a three degree-of-freedom vehicle model employing non-linear suspension and tire characteristics to calculate stability commands. The command interpreter includes a calculator that calculates a front tire lateral force, a calculator that calculates a rear tire lateral force and a command calculator that calculates a yaw-rate command signal, a lateral velocity command signal and a roll angle command signal. The front tire lateral force calculator and the rear tire lateral force calculator calculate the front and rear side-slip angles. The side-slip angles are then converted to a lateral force, where the conversion is selected based on the tire vertical load. The rear tire lateral force is modified for high side-slip angles so that the rear tire lateral force does not become saturated.