The Joys of Parking your E52

Any keen would-be buyer of an Elgrand E52 needs to consider if they can face some of the challenges that arise when you need to find parking.

Although the size of the E52 is only slightly wider than a big estate car, driving around a tight car park can be very challenging.  Going back and forth just to get round a corner to then go very slowly down a ramp can result in some annoyed drivers behind you. The Autech Rider model also has a low front bumper spoiler and a reasonably low side skirt which also means it can be difficult to clear a curb edge.  Most UK car parks have high curbs on the entrance barriers and ramp corners so you will need to go slowly and carefully.

When it comes to parking spaces my Elsie is always too long for the space, sometimes a lot (20-30cm) and sometimes only a little (maybe 10cm).  Typically my car will fit into any normal parking space width but it can be tight in those smaller car parks.  On the upside if its a tight space you can always get out of your Elgrand by climbing into the back and out the rear sliding doors. 😀

If you haven't bought one yet, I would recommend getting one with the 360 cameras as that is invaluable.  The Top Down view of the parking space shows the white lines clearly and you can easily check how in (or out!) you are of the space.  I think like most Elgrand drivers you will also change your car parking habits. Opting to avoid some of the multi stories, looking for the right space rather than the first space and avoiding parking next to anyone you think might bash your door.

Car park in Lyme Regis showing how much longer my car is to the Astra next door

Underground car park in London, you can see how much I fit in the box! Was not a pleasant car park, and not the worst I have been in.

   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

E52 vs E51 Part 1: Is size important?

Image
This is the first of a few posts that I will try and highlight the differences between the E51 and E52 Elgrand models.  As an owner of an E52 and a keen participant in the Elgrand facebook groups and forums, I have come across alot of posts that make comments about the E52 being 'just an estate car' or 'a Vauxhall Zafira on steroids' or that its 'lost the spirit of what an Elgrand is'.  Its very hard to find much information about the E52 so its also very difficult to show if these comments are accurate or not. I have managed to get my hands on information from Japan that highlights some of the differences.  For this post I will focus on the changes to the size of the Elgrand. Introduced in 2010, the E52 Elgrand made a significant departure from the previous model, opting for a front wheel drive setup instead of the E51's rear wheel drive.  This was a very clever change from Nissan as it allowed them to change the dimensions of the car for better performance...
Read more

Elgrand E52 MPG - How bad is it really

One of the first questions asked by any prospective Elgrand owner is what fuel economy is like, and there is quite a lot of discussion about the E51's economy, but very little about the E52.  I have kept a log of my fuel and mileage which might be helpful to you as an idea of what you are likely to get.  Be warned though, it might not be pleasant reading! In the last 6 months I have covered nearly 5000 KMs (my car is still recording in KMs) and the records I have are as follows: Litres KMs KM/L MPG 64 325 5.08 14.34 28 289 10.32 29.16 29 171 5.90 16.66 60 517 8.62 24.34 56 435 7.77 21.94 81 703 8.68 24.52 33 309 9.36 26.45 61 498 8.16 ...
Read more

English Stereo Replacement (Xanavi system)

Image
 As a new owner of the E52 one of the very first upgrades that is required is to update the audio system.  As a Japanese only car the Elgrand has no settings to change the language so you are stuck with the Japanese speech and text, so unless you know the language it is a priority to resolve!  There are range of options to choose from but they all have compromises, all range in price and all have a varied level of difficulty.  I will cover some of the options you could go for in a future post, but for now this update is about the one I selected. There is a company in Lithuania who offer replacement car audio boxes for us Elgrand drivers which is a real Nissan solution, it is easy to fit and you wouldn't know that it wasn't fitted at the factory.  It is a bit more expensive than some of the other options but I felt it was worth the extra money. In the E52, the car audio system is split into sections, so there is no easy single or double DIN solution.  The sc...
Read more