Self-Parking Revisited (With Video) - 2014 BMW i3 Long-Term Road Test

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Self-Parking Revisited (With Video) - 2014 BMW i3 Long-Term Road Test

While making a video on the self-parking feature in the BMW i3 we get to explore the system's capabilities.

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yellowbal

I can hit the curb myself!

darex

It's vitually identical (software) to the system in the MINI, except in the MINI, you have to modulate the brake during the procedure.

goaterguy

I don't live anywhere near a place where this would be helpful but I see the value of the system. Anything that moves forward the autonomation of the car is good for me.

legacygt

Hitting the curb should not be part of the programming. But that gets me wondering, is the car aware of the curb or just of the position of cars in front and behind when parallel parking? If it hits the curb then it might be relying too heavily on the cars in front and behind. Other parked cars are obviously important information for this exercise but they can also be problematic as there are real variations from the width of the cars to how well they are parked. Does the system do the same job when you park behind a mini that's well parked as it does when you park behind a pickup truck that's on an angle two feet from the curb?

ebeaudoin

No thank you. I think it's cool tech, but if I owned a car with this feature, I wouldn't use it. I know my wife would be freaking out in the passenger seat with this type of system.

cjasis

A cool technology that needs a little more work but.... the presenters comments at the end make me worry. He said something like "this system could be great for those that aren't good at or can't parallel park". My thought is that if you can't handle parallel parking, you probably shouldn't be driving and you definitely shouldn't be trying to attempt it. The size of the I3 coupled with all the cameras should make parallel parking on your own a snap.

Here's a question that I'd love to hear someone answer... in today's super litigious society... if you are relying on this system to park and you hit another parked car, who is responsible? Who pays for the damage?

baggs32

Do you guys have park assist on the new F-150? If you do a comparison between it and the BMW version would be a nice read. The Ford system should let you modulate the gear, gas and brake while it only steers for you.

saxdogg

Consider the charges DISMISSED!

fordson1

cjasis said:

A cool technology that needs a little more work but.... the presenters comments at the end make me worry. He said something like "this system could be great for those that aren't good at or can't parallel park". My thought is that if you can't handle parallel parking, you probably shouldn't be driving and you definitely shouldn't be trying to attempt it. The size of the I3 coupled with all the cameras should make parallel parking on your own a snap.

Here's a question that I'd love to hear someone answer... in today's super litigious society... if you are relying on this system to park and you hit another parked car, who is responsible? Who pays for the damage?

Agree 100%. Can't park a car at 3 mph you should not even have a license. Ask yourself a question: do you know anyone who is legally entitled to have a license, who in fact desires one, who does not have one?

Exactly. That's some great screening mechanism we have there, to weed out all the bad drivers and keep them off of the road...