Would you care for a car that parks itself? I know I would. As a fairly young human being (I’m in my early 30’s, by the way), I’ve come to taste the best of both worlds. I grew up with no internet and long phone calls meant that I had to stay in one place for two hours or more.
But, technology also grew with me. Communication has become mobile, plus information can be spread in a snap through the power of the internet.
The same goes for cars. I remember having to learn to drive in a manual Nissan Sentra – no power steering, long-throw shifts, and roll-down windows were my learning pad. By the time I had the means to buy my own car, technology had taken over vehicles. Almost all cars are now fitted with power windows and steering wheels are either hydraulic or electrically assisted, to the point that pawis steering cars are nearly extinct at this time.
I’m thankful for this, though. I’ve come to appreciate convenience more and appreciate the good things that new, modern, and high-tech cars could offer. Yes, that includes self-parking.
In case you’re not aware, Active Park Assist technology has made its way into the Philippines. There aren’t many vehicles in the country with this feature, but they’re quite a handful. Here’s a list.
Ford Focus
I know, I know. The Ford Focus is now out of Ford Philippines lineup but before it left showrooms for good, it had Active Park Assist. I had the chance to test it out in an event by Ford, and boy was it awesome. I could literally just watch the Focus park by itself by it taking over the accelerator, braking, and steering. And yes, that’s on both parallel and perpendicular parking situations.
So, if you’ve come across a Ford Focus on a used car dealership, check out if it’s the Titanium+ or Sport+ variant, as those should surely come with this high-tech feature.
Ford Everest & Ranger
Just like the Focus, the current-generation Ford Everest in its range-topping guise has Active Park Assist that takes over the vehicle when parking. The Ranger Wildtrak Titanium Biturbo also has this feature, which is quite handy since these vehicles are huge and quite a challenge to park.
Geely Coolray
At just a hair above P1.1-million, the Geely Coolray comes with boatloads of tech stuff that this gadget generation can enjoy. One of those features is its self-parking feature, which, just like the Ford technology, takes over the steering and movement of the vehicle for an autonomous way of parking. This makes the Coolray the most affordable car in the Philippines with a self-parking feature.
Even better, the Coolray comes with a 36-degree view camera, so you should be able to watch the car park by itself in a bird’s eye view. Cool, right?
Honda Odyssey
Apparently, the new self-parking feature is available in one of the aging cars in Honda’s local lineup. The top Honda Odyssey variant, the one with Navi function, also has a self-parking feature, which you can toggle via the infotainment system.
Apart from that, the minivan also comes with a multitude of cameras for easy maneuverability.
BMW Vehicles
Autonomous parking for a luxury brand like BMW isn’t exactly new, but it’s limited to its cars sold outside the Philippines – before. We confirmed from BMW Philippines that all of its cars from the 5 Series and up come equipped with self-parking, except for the M cars, albeit, M5 stands as the sole performance Bimmer to carry the high-tech feature.
As for the SAVs, the autonomous parking feature is present from X4 until X7, including the M performance variants of each.
