Friend was round showing me his new Quashqai today - it has a reversing camera that when reverse is selected, the radio unit (sorry media) becomes a screen. His last squashy had sensors - his wife prefers the sensors, he prefers the camera.
My Altea has sensors and although I have driven and reversed for 20 odd years without sensors, I like them, th extra insurance they give you and also the ability to go 2 inches close to the missus car in the driveway (where space is at a premium).
When using the sensors, I am reversing using 3 mirrors, forward vision also, and listening for the beeps getting closer. I would imagine it would be a lot more difficult using the tv screen, not least if you wear bi focals?
Whats the experience on here?
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I had a primera with a "media" centre the reversing camera was awful to use much better with bleeps.
Last edited by: Collos on Tue 3 Aug 10 at 20:51
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I've closely manouevered lots of cars with reverse camera's, on larger stuff they reassure that you have a clear run as it were, but i never got the hang of actually using the camera for close work, experimented with reversing off the truck by them but not accurate enough.
We have F&R sensors on the pick up, they are worth the money and are extremely accurate, though posts could still cause a mishap, luckily not so far.
It's surprising just how small a space you can get into by using them, nonchalantly basking in admiring (or were they worried about their paint) glances of onlookers.
Skill wise, many modern cars have been designed with idiotic fashionable lines and are difficult to see properly out of in any direction.
darling daughter hired a new Corsa whilst her long suffering 106 was off the road for a few days, it opened her eyes to what i've been telling her for long enough, she hated the blind spots and the claustrophobic feeling of it.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Tue 3 Aug 10 at 21:05
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I have only had sensors on my current car, My reversing procedure is to check the area I am going to reverse into for obstructions, reverse in using mirrors, and that has worked for me for decades. I find the sensors handy as an aid, but no more than that bearing in mind that they are not infallible. The MK1 eyeball wins every time.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 3 Aug 10 at 20:55
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Colleague of mine has an Audi A6 which has a camera and sensors. There are also computer generated markings on the screen showing the intended path of the car based, presumably, on the steering angle. Brilliant system.
Having had extended use of an A6 estate which didn't have sensors or anything I would say it revolutionises parking for A6 owners as the A6 is about a mile long (at least that's the impression from the driver's seat) and has a porthole for a rear window. Modern cars are frequently a dog to reverse park.
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>> Modern cars are frequently a dog to reverse park.
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What do you think the mirrors are for?
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>> What do you think the mirrors are for?
>>
Pop down to your friendly dealer have a sit in an Insignia and you'll see exactly what he means Navy, about as much use as the proverbial choccy teapot, but they look sporty.
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OK, I was being a smart rear end, but it is a skill worth learning as you will know GB.
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>> but it is a skill worth learning
>> as you will know GB.
I agree with you Navy but as cars have got much larger and rounder with impossibly to see extremities the mirrors have in many cases been down sized and made into wedge shapes where the outer half is increasingly convexed for blind spots and the main mirror section is so close to the door they end up next to useless for reversing.
Then they house these make up mirrors in massive casings designed to complement the sporty look.
By the way, with most larger cars and some medium sized ones if you don't pull the mirrors in on a transporter you'll take 'em off at the support pillars, we'll end up with wide load chevrons on door mirrors at this rate.
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...What do you think the mirrors are for?...
Judging distance is not easy with a mirror.
As someone once said - and sung:
"Objects in the rear view mirror can appear closer than they are."
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Mirrors are for clearance, not distance, although reflections in shop windows can be useful.
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Well, I'm from the old school you see - been driving nearly 40 years, reversed lorries into incredibly tight loading bays on incredibly busy roads, so I find the parking sensors in my Almera a pain in the gluts,
I reverse just using my drivers door mirror, what more d'ya need?
Wifey uses them 100% of the time, but then women can't reverse to save their lives (IMO)
:)
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>> I reverse just using my drivers door mirror, what more d'ya need?
the passenger door mirror.
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>> >> I reverse just using my drivers door mirror, what more d'ya need?
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>> the passenger door mirror.
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Ripped it off reversing ? :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 3 Aug 10 at 21:28
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>>Ripped it off reversing ? :-)<<
- - - - - - -> :-D
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Although mirrors can be useful for reversing, turning around was always better. But many modern cars have crap rear views. I think the cameras will end up standard at some point. We'll all end up with the Land Rover wireless cameras to clip on somewhere too.
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I remember when we bought our Grand Scenic, the front view was the biggest offender. Like most MPV's, the combination of a big distance between the driver and the base of the windscreen, and a sharply raked bonnet made it impossible to see the bonnet at all from the drivers seat. It was very difficult when manoeuvring out of tight parking spaces, for example.
It had no parking sensors, and we didn't miss the omission of the rear ones at all. Front sensors would have been very useful though.
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A car that makes parking tricky is the current VW Beetle. You cannot see the front wings much at all. Poor design in my opinion.
I have started planning my next car early. Despite not being a 'BMW driver' and probably not wanting one.... I am realising I could get a better equipped BMW 5-Series 2.0d SE for little more than an Audi A4 2.0 TDie SE. I might have to reconsider my like for VAG cars!
Although getting a Skoda Octavia would save a lot even with the top of the range model. Or a Passat CC GT 2.0 diesel too.
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>> What do you think the mirrors are for?
I normally reverse using the mirrors. I can get my old W124 into the tightest of spaces using this technique. An Audi A6? It's like using mirrors to reverse the space shuttle. Not the worst one I've driven in that respect though. With the Alfa Brera I once had as a rental car, there was not only zero rear vision but also mirrors so tiny that manoeuvring was pretty much down to guesswork. Nice looking car though.
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In a Transit last weekend with no centre view, so had to use the mirrors. And as people point out, a lot of cars have poor rear view these days, rubbish that they are. My Cruiser has poor low rear visibility owing to its humped stance.
There's another reason why I use the mirrors though: age.
Time was when I used to spin round in the seat with my head making the last thirty or forty degrees and reverse briskly steering with my arm behind me.
I can't quite do any of the positions any more without much creaking, groaning and subsequent muscle pain, and I'm less coordinated too being less used to contortions than when younger. Scraped some paint off the car's rear wing the other week against a wire builder's fence in Sussex, even though the jalopy has a thing that squeals with increasing urgency if you reverse close to anything. Haven't got really good with mirrors yet and sometimes have to hesitate. Paint is one thing, metal and light glasses are two others...
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Mirrors on a transit work - designed to be useful.
First time I drove anything larger than a Fiesta or Corsa was a Transit in 1996. I had to reverse into a loading bay too. Mirrors used. Some modern cars have poor excuses for mirrors.
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The vx corsa C facelift circa 2004 was the best car i ever drove for reversing (one of its few plus points).
It used to breathe in for tight spaces too.
Great car for manoeuvring. It was the wing mirrors that made it, rear visibility was only average (vertical rear light cluster on the c pillars).
The Golf mk6 reversing camera that pops out the VW badge on the tailgate scores 11 on the 10 point cool gadget scale.
Test drove a prius mk3 t-spirit and the sales guy was keen to show off its parking skills and the camera view was cool.
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>> The Golf mk6 reversing camera that pops out the VW badge on the tailgate scores
>> 11 on the 10 point cool gadget scale.
The Jaguar XF has a cool rear parking camera system, complete with yellow "guidelines" which predict the trajectory of the car based on the current steering wheel input. No excuse whatsoever for screwing up a parking manoeuvre. :-)
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I await someone blaming the car for hitting something. Some cars (VWs for example) will park the car for you buy you must control the throttle... Give it a bit of power and hit something.... then sue VW?
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>>Time was when I used to spin round in the seat with my head making the last thirty or forty degrees and reverse briskly steering with my arm behind me.
Thats another good point AC. For many years I would reverse by turning round, left arm clamped at the back passenger headrest and reverse without using a mirror, just looking out the windows. Probably cars like the Talbot Samba allowed that with no thick pillars to block views. But nowadays its very much remain in forward looking position, listen to bleeps whilst using 3 mirrors.
Problem is when you are having to park so close to a wall, like I have to at work, that you need to fold your mirrors in...
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>>I can't quite do any of the positions any more without much creaking, groaning and subsequent muscle pain<<
You could take up Yoga effendi, that would sort you out, yes - even at 70.
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Reverse sensors are a wonderful extra assistance. Someone mentioned the useless door mirrors on Insignias. It seems many drivers are depending too heavily on the sensors as there's been a few instances of reversing Insignias in to posts.
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I like the latest BMW 5-series shown on a recent 5th Gear episode. It has cameras on all sides and you can see a computer generated top view on your media screen including the obstacles on all sides.
In some modern cars, because of their bulbous design and low seating positions, it is sometimes difficult to see even driver's side clearance (by letting your head out of window) while seating firmly on your seat (unless you are reasonably tall).
Last edited by: movilogo on Wed 4 Aug 10 at 11:40
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Sight vs Sound vs Skill ?? - Collos
