[Millibar58]

Oh well, went to see the spider in the showroom today with my wife, she loves the car but for her the deal breaker is the lack of front parking sensors.

I'm having a hard time trying to reason with her but I do have to agree, what with the rear sensors & parking camera it does seem a oversight not to place sensors where they are needed.

Sitting in the car the bonnet tends to disappear into the horizon.

So for now my dream of owning this car - which looks better the more times I see it in the flesh - is on hold

I'm gutted:crying:

The Mazda just doesn't do it for us in the styling dept.

 

[Hapster]

Press F for our fallen comrade.

 

[Chipshot]

How long has your wife been driving? Front sensors are a fairly recent feature that most drivers lived without just fine.
Is your wife's concern "out and about" or your garage? You could put something in your garage to prompt the driver to stop.
The Spider is small, so rarely needs to pull all the way into a parking space. With rear sensors and camera, why not just back in all the time?
Wouldn't be sufficient to stop me from purchasing. My wife's sticking point is likely to be the manual transmission (which is a must for me).

 

[TomM]

Yeah, that seems like a pretty trivial deal-breaker given how few cars actually have it in the first place. To each his own, I guess.

My wife and I take turns buying cars (with family needs in mind). She got an Odyssey, because she loves vans. This one is mine, though, so it's exactly how I want it and we've got the van if we need to seat more than two. She's fine with a manual regardless and actually pretty excited about it too, but she's enjoyed poking fun at me for acting like a 5-year-old waiting for Christmas.

 

[JFernald]

Oh well, went to see the spider in the showroom today with my wife, she loves the car but for her the deal breaker is the lack of front parking sensors.

I'm having a hard time trying to reason with her but I do have to agree, what with the rear sensors & parking camera it does seem a oversight not to place sensors where they are needed.

Sitting in the car the bonnet tends to disappear into the horizon.

So for now my dream of owning this car - which looks better the more times I see it in the flesh - is on hold

I'm gutted:crying:

The Mazda just doesn't do it for us in the styling dept.

Tell your wife the car is meant to be backed in, as that is the safer way to park.

 

[Ladnerite]

no problemo

Tell your wife the car is meant to be backed in, as that is the safer way to park.

We have an Odyssey as well, and my wife just took the 124 out with a girlfriend no problem. She's used to a manual (we also have a Mini) so adapted pretty quick.
Parking is not an issue with this car. Enjoy!!

 

[kpoling]

I buy cars fairly frequently and have never even seen a car with front sensors. One nice thing - the car is enough off the pavement that it doesn't scrape the concrete at the end of parking spaces so that's a plus. I find it much easier to spot the front of the car than it was in my Bimmer. The rear sensors are there because the view out the back is more limited. Front view is excellent. Seems like front parking sensors would be a bit pointless.

Oh well, went to see the spider in the showroom today with my wife, she loves the car but for her the deal breaker is the lack of front parking sensors.

I'm having a hard time trying to reason with her but I do have to agree, what with the rear sensors & parking camera it does seem a oversight not to place sensors where they are needed.

Sitting in the car the bonnet tends to disappear into the horizon.

So for now my dream of owning this car - which looks better the more times I see it in the flesh - is on hold

I'm gutted:crying:

The Mazda just doesn't do it for us in the styling dept.

 

[iamz]

Tell your wife the car is meant to be backed in, as that is the safer way to park.

I've been backing into parking spots since I learned how to drive back in the early 80's. I would guess, based purely on observation, only 1 % of us do this.

 

[Millibar58]

I havent given up! >
It's a work in progress

 

[azzura]

You can get parking sensor "strips" that fit behind the bumper (no holes required) like those fitted as an option on the Fiat Coupe in the UK. But they're normally used for reversing and operate off the reversing light relay, so when used for the front you'd need to rig up a switch to enable it. But being sat so low down, the bonnet/hood looks longer than it is, and like with any new car, just takes a bit of practice.

But I know what you mean about the deal breaker. When I found out that the Anniversary came without the reverse parking camera (and that it had black leather instead of "tobacco", and that keyless entry is also missing) that was nearly a deal breaker for me. The reverse sensors work OK, you just have to hope that after the initial beeps, you get the beeps again when 15" or so away from an obstacle...

 

[JFernald]

My 2013 Ford C-Max had front sensors. They were used for the automatic parallel parking. That is a nice feature if you parallel park a lot, which I didn't. I think I used it twice in 4 years.

 

[Unknownsir]

My 2013 Ford C-Max had front sensors. They were used for the automatic parallel parking. That is a nice feature if you parallel park a lot, which I didn't. I think I used it twice in 4 years.

i know someone who could use that feature. he lives in the city and has a service contract for wheel repairs that he uses about 3 times a year to have his wheels fixed from rubbing curbs.

 

[Chipshot]

i know someone who could use that feature. he lives in the city and has a service contract for wheel repairs that he uses about 3 times a year to have his wheels fixed from rubbing curbs.

Sounds as if he needs sensors for the sides of his car as well as the front and the rear.

Have any of you seen one of those new "360-degree cameras"? I believe they debuted on an Infiniti but have become an increasingly popular "me too" feature over the past few years.

 

[Millibar58]

In the UK parallel parking is a way of life, front sensors are a reasonably common feature too. Long bonnets, mpv's & 4x4's mostly

 

[Unknownsir]

Sounds as if he needs sensors for the sides of his car as well as the front and the rear.

Have any of you seen one of those new "360-degree cameras"? I believe they debuted on an Infiniti but have become an increasingly popular "me too" feature over the past few years.

I think he just needs to learn to drive. If you do it very regularly how have you not learned to do it properly after several years?

 

[MotoPete]

Sounds as if he needs sensors for the sides of his car as well as the front and the rear.

Have any of you seen one of those new "360-degree cameras"? I believe they debuted on an Infiniti but have become an increasingly popular "me too" feature over the past few years.

I rented a new E 400 Cabriolet earlier this year whilst on holiday. When parking it uncannily displayed a top down picture on the VDU, complete with the surroundings!

 

[MotoPete]

Tell your wife the car is meant to be backed in, as that is the safer way to park.

It's a requirement on many of the mine sites I've worked; reverse into safety, drive forward into danger!