Hands Free Parking

wadewade
wadewade Posts: 735 Forumite
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in Motoring
I am looking for a new or recent car about the size of a Renault Kadjar or Scenic.
With age I am beginning to find reverse parking into a kerbside space a bit more troublesome than I did 50 years ago. Many cars now seem to come with "parking assist" but I see the top model in the Kadjar range - Signature S Nav - comes with an even more clever facility called "Hands Free Parking"
I'm just wondering if anyone has experience of systems like this either on Renaults or other makes of car? Do they really park themselves?

Comments

  • daveyjp
    daveyjp Posts: 12,521 Forumite
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    Had it on a Mercedes. I used it four times to show others how 'clever' it was.

    Drive slowly down a street and it would identify a gap large enough. You then had to follow some instructions to activate the system, it steered the car and told you when to stop.

    In reality it was useless.

    I've found the reversing camera on my current car far more useful.
  • Mercdriver
    Mercdriver Posts: 3,898 Forumite
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    wadewade wrote: »
    I am looking for a new or recent car about the size of a Renault Kadjar or Scenic.
    With age I am beginning to find reverse parking into a kerbside space a bit more troublesome than I did 50 years ago. Many cars now seem to come with "parking assist" but I see the top model in the Kadjar range - Signature S Nav - comes with an even more clever facility called "Hands Free Parking"
    I'm just wondering if anyone has experience of systems like this either on Renaults or other makes of car? Do they really park themselves?

    With most systems, the car does the steering and you have to do the brakes and accelerator. I've only been driving 4 years, but I can't get my head around doing one job while the car does the other. Because the angle of turn is linked to the speed.
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,552 Forumite
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    There is a video on youtube where they are testing that feature on several cars. During one test they were trying to set it but it started beeping.

    They tried the procedure again and the same beeps, they then noticed that someone had nicked the space.

    They were slightly hindered because they were recording the procedure with a commentary. But it was funny.
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  • takman
    takman Posts: 3,876 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    I've tried it on a Renault Megane and it has several different options which allow it to Parallel Park, Reverse into a Space and Reverse into an Angled Space.

    I only tried the Reversing into a Space option and it worked well in a busy car park where you had to drive past a space for it to "find" it. Then you followed the instructions on the screen, changing from first to reverse as instructed.
    But it could only see spaces in between two cars and cannot see the white lines so you can't use it to park next to one car, you had to park between two card.

    But it's much slower than doing it yourself so it's only ever something i would use to demonstrate it to people.
  • wadewade
    wadewade Posts: 735 Forumite
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    Thank you all for your contributions. A lot to think about!
  • Herzlos
    Herzlos Posts: 14,688 Forumite
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    What is it your finding harder? There may be better solutions.

    I had a shot of a car with all-round cameras, which made parking incredibly easy from a visibility/placement point of view. You should be able to get them on most ranges.
  • wadewade
    wadewade Posts: 735 Forumite
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    Yes, that is possibly a better option from what I've heard so far. Thanks.
  • mrchinchin25
    mrchinchin25 Posts: 24 Forumite
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    I've got a 2016 VW Tiguan with Parking Assist added, so it does automatically park and includes rear camera and front sensors.

    I don't find the parking-assist difficult to use but it does feel wierd, so i tend to park manually 99% of the time. The rear camera is excellent for this!

    But when I do want to let it park itself, its quite easy if you follow the rules.

    It took me a while to decipher what the manual meant, but you basically have to decide to park before you've found a space, indicate the direction you want to park in and creep slowly past the cars until you've gone past the space. Then it beeps at you and tells you what to do.

    Doesn't work well unless there's objects either side (eg. between two cars is fine, but between a car and a bush is a bit iffy)

    Here's a vid I found which basically taught me how to use it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLDxuINYJU4
  • wadewade
    wadewade Posts: 735 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Thank you so much, I found the video really useful.
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