Parking assistance explanation

Parking assistance system Volkswagen Golf

Even the hardiest car enthusiasts — the kind who walk around the dealership in slippers and mumble to themselves about the problems of automatic transmissions — rarely complain about cars with automatic parking programs, also known as cars that park themselves.

And that's because as much as you hate the relentless march of technology, you almost certainly hate parking more. Why not? In the UK, for example, the awful back-parking part is the most unfortunate component of the driving test. And in Australia, parking accidents cause far more minor damage to our cars than any other accident. Even if you have surgical parking skills, there is no guarantee that the people who park in front, behind or on top of you will be the same.

Then enter an automatic parking system that has placed traditional reverse and parallel parking on the list of endangered species. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the breakthrough came in tech-obsessed Japan back in 1999. Auto giant Toyota has developed a new parking assistance system it calls the Advanced Parking Guidance System, showing a penchant for not only new technology but catchy names.

In a rudimentary but revolutionary way, the driver could define a parking spot and then use the arrows on the touch screen to select the spot before the car entered it, with the driver pedaling. This parking system did not hit the mass market until 2003, and by the time it arrived in Australia, it was only fitted to the six-figure Lexus LS460.

The system, while smart, was clunky and terribly slow. But it was a critical moment for the technology, and it was only a matter of time before the automatic parking system got better and cheaper.

And that time is now. Parking assistance technology is now either standard or as a low-cost option on a huge number of new vehicles. And not just in premium cars: you no longer need to part with your savings to buy a car with automatic parking. The systems may vary - some are faster and easier to use than others, and better programs can get you back in both a traditional mall and parallel parking - but cars with parking assistance systems are now appearing right in the new car lineup. , from affordable city-sized small cars to expensive premium brands.

Most systems require you to operate the accelerator or brake - otherwise it would be too difficult to explain the prang.

For example, the Volkswagen Golf's parking assistance system costs $1,500 on most trims, while the Nissan Qashqai's parking assistance system is standard on higher-end models that start at $34,490. Holden's VF Commodore offers this technology as standard equipment across its entire lineup, while Ford introduced it on its budget Focus in 2011.

“It's very smart,” says Petr Fadeev, Nissan's head of public relations. “This is one of many advanced technologies that are rapidly moving from much more expensive vehicles to more popular vehicles like the Qashqai.”

All automatic parking systems, also called park assist, park assist, auto park assist, or rear park assist, depending on the manufacturer, operate in the same way. When the system is activated, your vehicle uses radar (the same type used for adaptive cruise control) to scan the side of the road or potential parking spaces. When he notices something, if he thinks you might fit in, he usually beeps before the electric motor that powers your power steering takes control, maneuvering in the right place better than most experts could.

Front and rear parking sensors make sure you don't hit anything in front of or behind you, and your rearview camera lets you make sure everything is going well. Most systems require you to operate the accelerator or brake - otherwise it would be too difficult to explain the prang. It's the nerve-wracking thing that allows your car's electronic brain to steer your car between two others. Trust is critical, but it takes getting used to.

So the future of car parks is here, and those pesky mall bells and whistles will soon be a thing of the past. If only they could invent a machine that washes itself.