Volkswagen’s crossover Tiguan 2.0 TDI BlueMotion has introduced a park assist feature that strengthened its parallel parking functionality. (image:Volkswagen)
SEOUL, Korea, Jan 01 (Korea Bizwire) – For beginner drivers, parking properly is one of the biggest challenges. When it comes to parallel-parking on a busy street or parking in a crowded shopping mall, neophytes often regret that they took the car out in the first place. But a latest technology can make this kind of worry go away instantly.
The parking assist features such as the rearview camera and the beeper alerting obstacles behind have been in the market for so many years. But now a smart parking assist system can allow drivers to do nothing except apply the accelerator and brake, leaving the semi-automated system to steer the car into position. This is something akin to what you see on futuristic movies. Some other import cars adopt park assist systems that permit the driver to see the surroundings without obstruction.
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have introduced self-parking features in their line-ups such as the Avante, Santa Fe, K3, K5, and K7, as well as luxury models like the Genesis and Grandeur. With these features based on ultrasound sensors, drivers can do parallel parking easily without scratches or dents. The self-parking system mounted on the New Avante and Soul launched in August and October, respectively, can make it easier to vertical-park as well.
Volkswagen’s crossover Tiguan 2.0 TDI BlueMotion has introduced a park assist feature that strengthened its parallel parking functionality. In the past most such systems required at least 55 centimeters of space on both side of the car in front and back. But the Volkswagen system needs only 40 cm, thanks to 12 sensors attached in four sides of the car that can “see” obstacles such as sidewalk and trees as well as parked cars ahead or in the back. The system also has an “escape” feature that can get your car out of a narrow space fewer than 25 centimeters away from the cars in front and rear.
In addition to the smart parking assist system in mid-sized models, Hyundai and Kia offer an advanced system called the “around-view monitoring system” in their upscale line-ups such as the Equus, Genesis, and K9. The system provides up to eight image views at a 20 km-per-hour speed, with a parking guidance feature showing real-time parking trajectories.
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