This BMW parks faster than humans

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Halloween or donuts? No thanks! If we need to buy something from America, I prefer valet parking. Drive upstairs, open the doors, get out, then leave the keys and the car to the parking attendant.

But BMW offers more. The seventh generation of the 7 Series luxury sedan even does the parking attendant’s job. The doors open automatically on arrival and only park in the longitudinal or lateral parking space, as other models can. BMW’s luxury cruise ship can perform up to ten different maneuvers completely independently. iPhone owners can even control it from the outside via the BMW app. But first you must teach the Series 7 these maneuvers.

I’ll teach BMW something

Blick car editors are testing the electric i7 and I’m trying out the maneuver assistant in my underground car park at home. I have a parking lot around the corner, so I always park in reverse to avoid hitting the wall. So after the driveway I turn right and then left again into my parking lot. It’s not really witchcraft. But after a long day at work, I don’t want to wipe the exterior mirrors of the luxurious 5.40-metre-long and almost two-metre-wide Stromer, which costs 250,000 francs, or even scratch the side with 15,400-franc bicolour paint. .

So the i7 should remember the path in my garage. From the moment you enter the reverse parking lot. The driveways in the underground car park are wide enough. As soon as the parking sensors or the 360-degree camera are activated, I select the “Save new route” button on the touchscreen and we begin. In the first few meters I get a warning that I need to reduce the steering angle. However, the recording is not stopped. As always, I park my parking lot manually and save the maneuver under “Parking in the garage”.

Maneuver Assistant Facts

The electric BMW can record up to ten maneuvers in different locations and store them locally in the control unit. A single maneuver must be a minimum of six and a maximum of 200 meters in length. However, the ten routes together should not be longer than 600 meters.

To record a maneuver, the system uses all cameras, sensors and GPS location. Remembers steering points and steering angle. Also, we are not allowed to drive faster than 20 km/h. Recording will automatically stop if we drive longer at full swing angle or get too close to an obstacle.

Wow, is he fast?

Of course now I would like to know if my registration is working or not. I go around the block and back to the garage. The message “Start parking in the garage” appears on the screen while standing at the original starting point. Now I can start maneuvering using the steering wheel or the touchscreen.

And my heart almost sinks into my pants! Before I know it, the i7 is in my parking lot. It was much faster than I would dare, and I was recording the maneuver. I didn’t even have time to worry about my bike parked on the back wall. The BMW parked accurately and quickly – it registered not only the wall but also my bike.

Basically, I have to monitor the maneuver and intervene if the car doesn’t turn a corner or miss an obstacle. It travels on the saved route at a maximum speed of three to four km/h. It seems to me too slow forward but too fast backwards. If it’s too fast for me, I can brake at any time. This does not cancel the maneuver. But if I accelerate, the BMW stops the maneuver and we are in control again.

endurance test

A day later, I do an endurance test in the underground parking lot of the editorial office. From the barrier where I entered the badge, a ramp with a U-turn in front leads to the second basement floor. I have to get close to the wall to make a U-Turn onto the ramp. Finally, I make my way to the parking lot. In the BMW infotainment system, I learn that I have gained a distance of 188 meters, unfortunately somewhat hidden in the submenus. And the i7 then completed this maneuver perfectly on its own as well. It takes all the corners, doesn’t get too close to the walls and doesn’t get on the curb. He finally stands at an angle in the parking lot – because that’s how I taught him …

Funny: the system looks almost human. The i7 isn’t always in the parking lot. Sometimes closer to the line or further away. It’s a normal deviation as I don’t always stand in the same starting position. However, I trust the system quickly and find it difficult to focus my attention on the environment. Who needs valet parking anymore?

Source: Blick