The car that parks itself!
Not so long ago if a salesman had told you he had a car that could park itself, you'd have thought he was living in la-la land. But now – in December 2010, in Cavan Town – you can buy that car from Jacksons Garage. The system is called Active Park Assist and it's available on the new Ford C-Max, as Cathal O'Reilly of Jacksons demonstrated to The Anglo-Celt last Thursday afternoon. We pulled up on a side street and Cathal pressed a button on the dash; as we moved off the dashboard screen read: ‘Searching for parking spot', and when we passed a space it said: ‘Parking spot found. Release steering, engage reverse. Check surrounding area. Drive backwards'. That's the bit where it begins to look and feel completely unnatural. With feet controlling the pedals to keep the car moving, the driver just has to sit there and watch as the C-Max takes over the steering. As it gets close to the vehicle behind the beeping signal gets more urgent and the dash display shows an icon of your car, how close it is to all obstacles and its angle of approach to the parking place. The next instruction is ‘drive forward' and when you do that ‘finished'. Simple. Time travellers from the future would be jealous. They'd also be jealous of the two versions of the C-Max now available, especially their good looks, equipment levels, driveability and value. The all-new C-Max and its seven-seat sister the Grand C-Max are available in two trim levels and with a choice of power units, though the 1.6 litre diesel will be hard to beat in terms of the balance between performance and economy. An AutoExpress test returned 63mpg – impressive by any standard – and as an added bonus the car falls into the €104 road tax band thanks to the diesel engine's impressively green emissions. That the C-Max is related to the Ford Focus is clear when you're on the go, as it shares the hatchback's fine road manners and driving finesse. And while the 1.6 diesel works away, pulling strongly in all gears, inside the cabin driver and passengers are cossetted, cosy and comfortable in the fine seats, including those in the rearmost of the seven in the Grand C-Max. Jacksons Ford has specified Active Park Assist on all the models it has ordered, and for the month of January it has a special offer: normally a €750 option (less than the price of a sunroof), Active Park Assist will be available free on Titanium models and for €400 on Active models. If you're thinking of a compact five or seven-seat MPV, that should be enough to sway you towards the Blue Oval… call Jacksons Ford and ask for a test of a C-Max with Active Park Assist – you'll be amazed. As Cathal O'Reilly put it: “Think of all the people that hate parking, and the flexibility this gives them to find a spot in town, every time…â€