The new Tiguan lets ajumma kiss their parking problems goodbye
Tiguan
But the Tiguan has mostly caught the eyes of ajumma, or married women in Korea. This is partly because of the cutting-edge function called “Park Assist System.”
The system was widely promoted as “saving you the hassle of parking as the car does it on its own.” In a matter of one week after its introduction here early July, 200 units of the Tiguan were sold. Given that the car carries a bulky price tag of 40 million won ($31,600), the sales record was more than impressive.
In this country where ajumma easily become the target of honking attacks (sometimes curses) from their counterparts, or ajeossi (married men), when they display the slightest sign of clumsy driving on the road, the parking assist function is a welcome development. It means ajumma no longer need to sweat spending minutes manipulating the handle up and down the road to fit the car in the parking grid.
I, myself not an ajumma yet, tested the PA function in my apartment parking lot late at night. As the 2-liter SUV I rented from Volkswagen Korea was not equipped with an instruction manual, I had no choice but to learn from experience.
After making at least 20 circuits of the lot, I learned that I had to push the button first and then navigate the area very slowly. When the infrared sensor detects an appropriate space, the letter R pops up on the monitor, signaling for you to shift into reverse. Then the moment of magic: the handle busily rotates on its own and the steering wheel goes back and forth to fit into the narrow space. But, I still had to control the accelerator pedal and brake, meaning the PA function is not entirely automatic.
A problem surfaced when I tried to pull the key out of the car with the gear shift placed in neutral: the key was only released when the shift is in “park.”
The system is not something new for most pricey imports. But I wonder if Park Assist for parallel parking is enough to push customers into opting for Tiguan in this small land, where parking space is limited and people frequently pull and push the cars parked in parallel to stick in more vehicles.
Even if the function enables you to finish the parking process with relative comfort, there is a high chance that you get a phone call from a stranger asking you to move your car.
Another catch: the car does not assist vertical parking, which requires a higher level of technology. Volkswagen only recently showcased its second-generation car parking system for vertical lots.
By Seo Ji-eun Staff Reporter [spring@joonang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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