VW puts Park Assist to the test with help of stunt driver

Volkswagen has enlisted the help of parking world record holder and professional stunt driver, Alastair Moffatt, to put its Park Assist system to the test. 

Park Assist is available on new campervans based on any of VW’s vans and helps drivers navigate into tight parking spaces. To see if Park Assist can really park perfectly every time, professional stunt driver and parking world record holder, Alastair Moffatt, put it to the test, pitting more than 25 years of experience against the technology in the ultimate parking challenge.

Both Alastair and Park Assist were tasked with completing a parallel park within a space of 7.5m – just a little larger than the 5.9m length of the VW Crafter – with an added twist that Alastair would be completing his manoeuvre as a handbrake turn. The result was impressive with both successfully mastering the art of parking, although Park Assist was certainly the more relaxing option.

Park Assist technology uses ultrasonic sensors in the front bumper to scan the space to see whether it is large enough to park in. After reverse gear has been selected, the technology then puts the van into the best starting position and steers automatically into the space. The driver does not need to steer at any point but remains in control of the vehicle working the accelerator, brake and clutch.

Sarah Cox, head of marketing at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: “We want to help our customers park their vans in the safest and most accurate way so that they can avoid parking fines and reduce stress.”

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