Hi,

 

I've almost signed for a Superb Combi...only concern is if I'll be able to fit in my garage. It's 5m long, the Superb is 4.86m...ok it fits but that means parking at 5cm from the bottom, which is quite tight.

 

Do you think it's reasonable or should I prefer a shorter car? Of course the car is equipped with a rear camera

 

Thanks

Length is rarely an issue, it’s the width for garages especially UK ones.

 

Before you sign I’d go to a dealer, sit inside then open the door how far you need, then measure the overall width.

 

If it’s fine, then you can do what my wife’s grandad did, which was put the car in the garage with help the first time, then from the ceiling have some rope hang down with a rubber duck on the end and position it so it touches the windscreen.

 

Simply way to be double sure  

the point is if the DSG is sufficently smooth to go to 5/7cm from the wall and the camera helps in determining a so tight distance

 

Unfortunately I cannot bring the car home and test before buying...of course I tested the car other situations

With only 5cm to spare, its not going to be a practical proposition to park it in that garage. You would need cm precision. Bear in mind that some DSGs particularly DQ200 are not good at low speed manoeuvres. Particularly when on a slope.

Even with a wooden stop across the floor (my solution) the car can easily go forward more than 5cm beyond that due to tyre/suspension flexibility when parking.

 

Try before you buy.

 

Your car parking sensors will be screaming all the way in.

Edited 10 January, 20224 yr by xman

well, I have 14cm ...so I should stay 5/10cm from the wall and it'll be ok. But that's tight 😕

Width will be the problem, if its that tight on length I reckon you will have to be Houdini and get out via the sunroof, thats assuming that the doormirrors will have been able to pass between the door frame.

 

Reglementary garage and parking bay sizes have not been changed since the 60's, with parking bays is not quite so bad because if you and the person to the other side has parked centrally you will have twice the space to swing your door than you will in a garage of the same dimensions.

 

Also so few people use their garages to park their cars these days the developers can get away with it.

Also if you have an up & over door they swing in an arc and if you have only 10cm clearance at that end it will likely strike the boonet or boot as it closes, the bonnet being lower is more likely to escape damage so you will be faced with reversing into a very tight space.

the garage is quite large, no problem for opening the door (I currently park a VW Golf which is 6cm narrower than the Superb).

The garage door swings on the outside, meaning it'll not touch the bonnet.

 

The idea is to have some bumpers on the bottom of the garage...but I should be able to go manoeuvre smoothly (DSG?) and using the reverse camera. I tried parking the car and I didn't have problems concerning the DSG smoothness..but it was a different situation

I think it'll be fine, just put chocks on the floor at the right point.

As someone suggested above, a decent sized block of wood bolted to the floor to act as a stop will work. Mount it slightly further back so the car can "sag" forward when you release the foot brake.

 

You quickly learn how much room you have left once the solid beeps start with the sensors, I park mine in a similar sized space without issue

Yep, this is how I park.
Learned to park using rear camera - when I see a floor of my garage on camera, that means that the door will close - so I can stop.
Around 5 cm in the front and in the back:





 

Thanks Fergard, that's very informative.

 

I tried simulating a Superb (486cm) with a Golf (420cm)  and it works. I placed my Golf mk6 73/74cm away from the garage back wall (486cm - 420cm = 66cm + some margin) and the garage door closes like in the above images. Luckily the door swings outside the garage and doesn't come even close to the bonnet.

 

So I guess that a safe option is to place a bumper on the wall (2cm thick) and a wooden chop on the floor

 

Concerning the width, I can jump off/on my Golf with ease. The Superb is 6cm larger, won't change anything 

 

Last but not least, I don't use the car every day since I commute by bike

@plutus- not significant difference, but the wagon is actually shorter, sitting at 4856mm.

The sedan is 4861mm.

Tis only a 5mm difference.

and I forgot the last piece of advice : I'm going for a MY2019 Superb Combi (Style + rear camera, blind spot, vented seats, ACC, lane assist), 1.5TSI DSG, 56k km (1 year warranty + possible extension given by the dealer by taking a small credit).

..1 year "das welt auto" warranty

I would say from my experience parking in super-short multi-storey car parks that the DSG is certainly smooth enough to reverse with confidence.

 

You will more than likely have to disable the car from auto-braking though or it will be stopping you well before you get to your 5cm. Then you have the problem of getting the car moving again, and as that requires a convincing squeeze of the gas pedal you will lurch backwards as the brake releases, and be at risk of hitting the wall...or the car stopping you again, so be ready to disable everything that is screaming at you to stop.

 

In car parks I can usually get the red line on the reverse camera to match up just before the wall meets the ground and that usually means the part of the car sticking out furthest will be cm's from the wall, although I don't know if I have been as close as 5cm. Not far off probably though.

Edited 11 January, 20224 yr by Gax

On 10/01/2022 at 20:55, plutus said:

the garage is quite large, no problem for opening the door (I currently park a VW Golf which is 6cm narrower than the Superb).

The garage door swings on the outside, meaning it'll not touch the bonnet.

 

The idea is to have some bumpers on the bottom of the garage...but I should be able to go manoeuvre smoothly (DSG?) and using the reverse camera. I tried parking the car and I didn't have problems concerning the DSG smoothness..but it was a different situation

I park in my garage. Once you’ve started reversing, turn OFF the auto hold so that the DSG will creep nicely with you controlling the foot brake. And turn off the parking sensors. First time, get someone to guide you in. Then if one side is close to a side wall, use a marker pen to put a line on the wall to line up with your door mirror. You just have to line up with that each time, no particular need for camera. Also, a couple of those interlocking martial arts floor mats against the wall behind the car will give you a bit of peace of mind if you go a bit too far. 

Push the car in the first time if you need to, have thick foam on the end wall when you first do this, stop with about 75mm from end wall (sensors go 'solid tone' with enough room to walk between car/object, so you really need an assistant (that you trust! especially if manouerving without foam buffer) if the garage is tight for length.

Once in, and garage door will close (and drivers door open!) you then need to put a tall chock against the wheels nearest the back wall (so roll back/over isn't a problem) and possibly even against the outside edge of passenger door side tyre if the width is a problem, fix them well - as it might not be you parking (no I'm not saying my wife's parking is crap 🤐 )

So I came back home with the superb tonight

No issues at all in parking the car, I could easily get at 5cm from the wall.. I'll just buy a neoprene to be sure. 

 

Thanks all for the answers and the pictures!