The cars that can park themselves

One day, you might be able to ask your car to drive you home after a few drinks – while you catch some Zs in the back. But while that’s still a while off, did you know semi-autonomous driving is here already in the form of automatic parking?

RELATED: Does cruise control save petrol?

Dozens of new cars on sale in Australia now offer robotic parking systems that effectively park the car for you. Some, you don’t even need to be in the car.

All these systems listed below work more or less the same. As you drive along a suburban street at low speed – as you normally would while looking for a spot – you press a button to turn the system on. It ‘scans’ kerbside spaces to see if your car will fit.

When it detects a suitable spot, it will chime to tell you to stop. Then, using a graphic on a display, it will guide you when to shift between drive and reverse, and when to brake. The system does all the steering for you.

While most systems require you to control the accelerator and brake, some of the later, more advanced set-ups go a step further and do this for you – making for an entirely autonomous parking experience.

Self-parking systems, which first appeared in the 2000s, use the front and rear parking sensors, exterior cameras and clever software to get the job done. And watching a car steer by itself, as if by a ghost, into a tight parking spot is one of the eeriest feelings you can have in a modern car.

Some systems can park reverse-parallel, perpendicular and on an angle. Not all of them are made equal, and infamously some will scratch a wheel against a kerb, or worse. But they’ve improved a lot since the first versions of the technology emerged long ago.

The next generation of automatic parking promises cars that drop you at the ‘front door’ and go find a parking spot themselves, and then come pick you up at the press of a smartphone button – but they’re not quite ready for the Australian market yet.

In this article, we list every autonomous parking system that does exist for sale on the Australian new car market.

From the 2024 model year, all Audi models sold in Australia will be fitted with Audi’s Park Assist as standard.

BMW’s Parking Assistant is available across the Australian BMW range.

On some models, such as the iX, X7 and 7 Series, you can remotely park the car into a tight parking space, or garage, using a smartphone app, without having to be behind the wheel.

Ford’s Active Park Assist is available on the Puma, Escape, Mach-E, Ranger and Everest. 

Active Park Assist 2.0 – available on Everest and Ranger – takes over not just steering, but also braking and accelerator and includes 'Park Out Assist', which can drive the car out of a parallel parking spot.

On the Ranger, Active Park Assist 2.0 is only available (as standard) on Wildtrak 4x4 Double Cab (four-cylinder and V6), Platinum and Raptor.

On the Everest, Active Park Assist 2.0 is only available (as standard) on the Platinum grade.

For the Puma, Automatic Park Assistance comes as part of the Park Pack, which is a $990 option across all variants.

On the Escape, Enhanced Active Park Assist is standard on the top-spec Vignale grade, part of a $1500 optional Parking Pack on plug-in hybrid ST-Line, and not available at all on entry-level 2.0 FWD or the non-hybrid ST-Line.

With the Mach-E, Enhanced Active Park Assist is standard on all variants.

Genesis Smart Parking Assist is available as standard on all variants of GV60, GV70, GV80 and G80. Like Hyundai and Kia listed below, you can use buttons on the keyfob to remotely move the car forwards and backwards at very low speeds to shift it in and out of tight parking spots or garages.

Auto Parking Assist is available as standard on the Haval H6 and H6 GT, but only the top-spec Ultra. It’s also available on the Tank 300, but only the top-spec Ultra Hybrid. The electric Ora small car, meanwhile, comes with Auto Parking Assist as standard on the Ultra and GT variants.

Hyundai’s Smart Parking Assist is available on Kona, Tucson, Santa Fe, Palisade and the Ioniqs 5 and 6. Hyundai’s system also offers remote parking, like that of Kia and Genesis, allowing you to reverse the car into a tight parking space or garage using the keyfob while outside of the car.

On the Kona, Smart Parking Assist is not available on the base model, but is standard on the Premium grade (petrol and hybrid). 

For the Tucson, Smart Parking Assist is only available on the diesel Highlander grade (as standard).

On the Santa Fe and Palisade, Smart Parking Assist is only available on top-spec Highlander grades (as standard).

Smart Parking Assist is standard on all variants of the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6.

Jaguar’s Park Assist is available on the F-Pace as part of a $950 optional pack – or $403 as a standalone option on the range-topping SVR.

It’s also available on the I-Pace as part of a $1403 optional Convenience Pack. You can also get it on the F-Type, but it can only provide parallel parking and it’s a $700 option across the range.

Jeep’s ParkSense self-parking system is available on the Wrangler, Grand Cherokee and Gladiator.

The Sorento gets Kia’s self-parking Smart Park Assist system, although only the top-spec GT-Line. The same is true for the EV6, but only on GT-Line and GT variants. The Niro GT-Line also gets Smart Park Assist.

Kia’s system lets you move the car forward and backwards very slowly, while outside the car, using buttons on the keyfob – such as inserting or extracting from a tight garage or car space. This feature is not available in Western Australia due to local legislation.

Lexus’s Intelligent Park Assist is available on the NX, but only the 350h AWD model – and only as part of a $6000 optional Enhancement Pack 2. It’s also available on the new, all-electric RZ, but only on the top-spec $135,000 (before on-road costs) 450e Sports Luxury.

Mercedes-Benz’s Active Parking Assist is available both as standard and optional across the range depending on the model. For example, the A200 comes with Active Parking Assist as part of the optional $4900 Premium Plus Package.

Mercedes-Benz’s self-parking can control accelerating and braking, in addition to steering for a fully-autonomous parking experience.

Nissan’s Intelligent Park Assist is available on the Qashqai Ti only, as standard.

Peugeot’s Park Assist is standard across all variants of 508 and 508 Sportswagon, 3008 and 5008.

Renault’s Easy Park Assist is available on Arkana (standard on all grades), Koleos (standard on Zen and Intens grades, but not the base Life and Captur (only on the top-spec RS Line).

Skoda’s Park Assist is available either standard or optionally on Kamiq, Karoq, Kodiaq, Fabia, Scala and Superb.

On the Kamiq, Park Assist is not available on Style, optional as part of the $3500 Travel Pack on Monte Carlo and standard on Signature.

For the Karoq, Park Assist is optional – part of the Premium Pack on Style ($10,900) and SportLine 4x4 ($5900).

On the Kodiaq, Park Assist is standard on RS, but optional as part of the Tech Pack on Style 4x4 ($2200) and Sportline 4x4 ($2100).

With the Fabia, Park Assist is a $1000 option.

On the Scala, Park Assist is only available on the top-spec Signature variant (as standard).

On the Superb, Park Assist is standard on the top-spec Sportline but part of the optional $4000 Premium Pack on entry-level Style.

Tesla Autopark controls brake, accelerate and steer to fully automatically park the car using exterior sensors and cameras. When complete, it automatically engages park.

The driver can take over control at any point. Autopark is available as part of the Enhanced Autopilot option pack, which is currently $5100 on the Model 3 and Model Y.

Toyota’s Advanced Park Assist self-parking system is currently only available on the Corolla Cross 2.0L Hybrid Atmos ($50,030 before on-road costs). As well as being able to park the car, it can also automatically drive you back out. Toyota’s system can be programmed to remember a spot that you often park in.

Volkswagen’s Park Assist is available standard and optionally across the range. Park Assist is standard on all variants of Arteon, Golf, Passat, Touareg, Tiguan and Tiguan Allspace.

On the T-Cross, Park Assist is only available (as standard) on the top-spec Style.

For the Amarok, Park Assist is available (as standard) on the Style variants and up. 

On the Polo, Park Assist is standard on mid-spec Style and top-spec GTI, but not available on base Life.

Volvo’s Park Assist Pilot will be available as standard on the new EX30 Plus electric SUV.