Audi A3 Cabriolet Gets Optional Hands-Free Parking system

For those of you that get no satisfaction in “squeezing” your car into a tight parking spot Audi is now offering the Advanced Parallel Park Assist system as an option on the new A3 Cabriolet. The system uses ultrasonic sensors that monitor longitudinal parking spaces at speeds below 19mph and then alerts the driver if a space is sufficiently large to reverse into.

If the driver then engages reverse gear and touches the accelerator pedal, the system takes over the electromechanical steering and automatically steers the car into the space in one manoeuvre. The driver can hand over complete control of the steering wheel to the car, and only has to operate the accelerator, the clutch and the brake for apparent safety reasons. -Continued

In the UK, the hands-free parking system is priced at £725 for the A3 Cabriolet Sport and S line versions fitted with the in-dash Driver’s Information System (DIS), and £925 for standard models which also require upgrade to DIS. However, before you tick the option list, we’d advise you to arrange a test drive with a car fitted with the system to try it out in real-life conditions so you can see if it really covers your needs and expextations.