I used to be terrible at parking, and always went for the easy space. 2 months of having to park an x-type in the tightest, tiniest roads in portsmouth every day fixed that issue though
I think they're totally unnecessary on a small car like a Yaris, especially as it has a vertical back.
It comes with practice and getting used to the car. On something with a big 'saloon' boot, and wide cars or those with poor rear visibility, they are very necessary.
On the BMW GT for example, you can't see a bloody thing out of the back window. Cameras (which are brilliant) are effectively a necessity.
You can get reversing cameras on the Golf VI ffs, which is silly. Even parking sensors aren't really necessary. All helps makes it easier
My MX5 came with dealer fitted parking sensors. At first I wondered why anyone would need them on such a small car. However, with the roof up, the small rear window means you get quite a big blind spot in your rear quarters, so they can be handy if you miss something.
Sweeping generalisation or otherwise, but my gf's spacial awareness in a car is awful. I bought and retrofitted a Parking Dynamics PD1 kit to the rear of her Golf and I think it has helped. The it was 90 quid odd if I remember, and consists of a metal strip that goes across the inside of the bumper, so you can't see it from the outside. Seems to work perfectly well. Only tricky part was taking the rear bumper off, but found a guide online. For those worried about aesthetics of a retrofit, it might be worth checking out.
Totally depends on the car, I'm loving them on the Boxster and it's made getting use to the cars size and parking it dead easy. On the Bravo and Punto I had before I couldn't have cared less.
Just hired a GMC Acadia over here in the States - it had parking sensors and a camera. The image comes up on the rear view mirror - very cool Kinda needs it though as it's such a beast!
Its funny this thread has come up, I've just bought an Audi A4 estate and it didnt have parking sensors fitted. As the missus will be driving it I think I might get both front and back retrofitted.
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