I remember reading a review of the Superb Estate in the Times, see here, which amongst other things said:

"the already legendary Skoda Park Assist system, which enables the Superb to measure available parking spaces and then to reverse into them on your behalf, sparing you the hassle of wrestling with the wheel — and the embarrassment of cocking it up and having to come out and try again while people are queueing up to drive past you.

Formerly this system, being innately and understandably cautious, would agree to park only in spaces that were 1.4m longer than the car. Now the electronics have been tweaked and it wants only 80cm of extra space. That’s a quantum breakthrough."

So the suggestion (if true) is that there are two versions of the Park Assist - one which will squeeze into a car + 0.8m space, and an older version which needs 1.4m of extra space.

The hatch and the estate are the same length, so this leads me to a number of obvious questions:

1. Which version have I got in my Jan 2010 hatch?
   
2. How could I tell?
   
3. Can the dealer or anyone else adjust or update the system?
   

and no, I'm not prepared to go out with a ruler and try parking in decreasingly small spaces

Any advice or knowledge out there?

If they are adjustable then i would imagine this would be possible with VCDS?

Personally if you can't park a car, you shouldn't be on the road imo, I know that's not the purpose of your question, but some of these driver aids are going to encourage ppl who would've given up to carry on learning to drive, which is fine if they are able to read the road and drive properly, but that's seldom the case ime, mind you I did see a chick in an artic do a brilliant 180 turn around the other week, looking at it I thought she'd jack it, but no, she turned it around about as good as any HGV driver could, I was impressed.

Edited 5 June, 201016 yr by Supurbia

Imo I think this is an option for your own comfort.Driving my car everyday for many hours I ended up knowing it's dimensions very good.Maybe it sounds stupid but everytime I park my car better than this Park Assist,and when I use it,usually I take the control at the end of the parking maneuver because I don't like the gaps etc. Despite all of these,I preffer to use it at night when I come back home and I'm tired.At that time I'm way too tired to search for parkng spots.I really thing it's just a comfort thing like heated seats,seats with cooling,front parking sensors etc.

On-Topic.I guess you have the last version because it was introduced in september-november last year or something close.And if not,there are 2 ways to update it:replace the module or software update(not VCDS).

I also have a question.Does the system consider the cars parked on the other side of the road?Many times I had to park the car on the right side and one time the front of the car went no more than 2-3 cm from the cars parked on the left side.I wonder if it was a coincidence or the parking system really took that distance in consideration.

I have used the park assist on my superb a total of once, and the button has not been touched since. The only reason I have it is that it was on the car I purchased secondhand otherwise I would not bother. The space I tried it with was very tight and the car fit without any problems but the thing almost kerbed my alloys.

@ Phish - if it does multiple back-forward moves it means that you have the second generation.The first generation only allowed you to move backwards,then engage the first gear and it was over.

@ Phish - if it does multiple back-forward moves it means that you have the second generation.The first generation only allowed you to move backwards,then engage the first gear and it was over.

Thanks for a definitive answer. Given how "techie" we all get in this forum, I was surprised not to see an earlier comment on that Times article.

In just over a week of ownership I have not found an opportunity to test out the park assist - I find I am switching it on when crawling in traffic past a line of parked cars, just to prove to myself it is working! (sad)

And for those who don't like technology aids - well you're better than I am - I CAN parallel park, change gear and hold my speed on an empty motorway... but I would rather a machine did it for me. And the front overhang on the superb worries me - I cannot see the front corners, so I will be happy to let PA steer me away from trouble. It may be a gimmick that I will use only once, but I would have specced the front parking sensors if I had bought new, buying second hand the only way to get them is to find a car with PA.

@infoschumi - your supplementary question is interesting - PA looks after your "nearside" corners but not necessarily the "offside" corner which could be getting close to a car parked on the other side of the road, a wall or anything. I suspect there is no way to find out for sure that does not run the risk of a visit to the paintshop.

I suspect there is no way to find out for sure that does not run the risk of a visit to the paintshop.

I would have thought that there had been considerable R & D on this before implementation. Perhaps a simple e-mail to Skoda Technical will elicit the answer?

Ray

Beware there have been several instances of kerbed alloy wheels when using "Park Asist"

Drop / adjust the relevant door mirror to check for this !

I only have the park assist because it was part of the elegance spec, it is not something I would have ever have added on. I have my car for 2 days, and am still not fully comfortable with the dimensions. I used the park assist yesterday to navigate into a space that had far less than 1.4m to spare and while I was afraid for my life during the maneuver, I have to say it worked a treat and parked the car in one attempt into a spot where I would have probably have wasted 5 minutes before driving off to find another