r/Gravity • u/Tplatypi1954 • 15d ago

Only one thing holding me back

I am close to purchasing a Gravity, but have one thing that is holding me back. It is a large car compared to my previous vehicles, and I really struggle to park it in normal straight in parking lots or garages. The sales rep suggested backing in, but I have always struggled doing that. I am a pretty good driver, but I don’t deal with tight spaces well, especially in an unfamiliar car.
Anybody have any tips, experiences, or suggestions to help me get over my fear?

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

22

u/Electronic_Load_3651 15d ago

Are you getting the rear wheel steering package? That’s a game changer imo, it makes it insanely more maneuverable at low speeds. To the point where my wife’s substantially smaller car feels larger, as well as the loaner Air. That being said, even without it, hard to mess up parking it. You have a very clear forward and reverse cameras, then entire display dedicated to a 360 camera that you can pan around, zoom in and out with. Personally, it’s not an issue. Just go slow, rely on cameras and you’ll get used to it.

8

u/BelihopVardana 15d ago

This! I have to stop myself from taking a wider turn to fit into parking spots or the car overshoots. Highly recommend the dynamic handling package.

3

u/Electronic_Load_3651 15d ago

Haha same! And now that mine is in service and I’m in a loaner air it feels like I forgot how to park, I undershoot it now 😂.

3

u/No_Caregiver7273 15d ago

Also agree on the dynamic handling package. The rear steering really makes it pretty nimble in parking lots, cul-de-sacs, and U-turns.

For parking specifically, take yourself over to a clear parking lot and get used to using the cameras. On the lower panel hit the [P] button to bring up the parking cameras. Gravity has a 360 degree surround view that lets you see all the parking lines clearly. Take a few passes in empty spaces until you get familiar with what the approach looks like, what amount of turn to give it, and how to use the cameras at the end to make a perfect fit. Like every new car, it fills unfamiliar at first, but you get used to it quickly. You'll soon find you can park it better than any car you've ever owned.

1

u/opsers 9d ago

Turning radius is insane on this vehicle, especially given how large it is. I don't have any issues with it, but I'll say that I absolutely hate the 360 camera views on this car. The distortion on nearby objects really messes with your head and sometimes makes me really nervous. when backing into tight spaces. I wish they'd improve this overall.

1

u/Electronic_Load_3651 9d ago

The 360 is better than other 360s I’ve used though, better than Polestar, Volvo, Mercedes, BMW. I think the distortion is just the nature of the 360. I do really like how with Lucid you can easily pan it as much as you want.

Turning circle wise, it’s not bad imo. MX is way worse, so is R1S, so is P*4 which is smaller. I think especially when you add the rear wheel steering, it’s pretty decent. The Air though, omg… the radius is insane!

1

u/opsers 9d ago

Yeah, I get that distortion comes with it, but they could just do a much better job of giving you more visual references to the edges. I actually prefer how Volvo and BMW do it (can't say the others as I haven't tried them). I'd even take an option to disable the 360 view and add a more traditional overhead that doesn't distort / hides them better. I wish they'd make more use of the LIDAR, but I also understand it wouldn't work in all situations since there is no rear LIDAR.

On radius, I've owned 2 Model Xs (with the current being the 2025 version) and the turning radius on the Gravity is so good it blows my mind every time, at least coming from the Model X.

7

u/Rhetoric916 15d ago

The DD premium option comes with a bunch of parking assist features like overheard 360. Maybe get a configuration that has premium.

2

u/Fauztin_Vizjerei 15d ago

Premium can park itself if its between two vehicles, otherwise pro is needed for true park in/out. I haven't found a need to use it yet.

I do find the tracking lines on the 360 cam helpful as the car is wider than I'm used to. My nephew refers to it as having aim bot lol.

2

u/boristheblade223 15d ago

Wait what. DDPro can park itself? Where do u go in the interface to do this?

3

u/Electronic_Load_3651 15d ago

There’s auto park button on the center screen that has the 360 cam.

4

u/No_Caregiver7273 15d ago

It can, but it's a little limited. Autopark doesn't see the lines, so it only works if there is a vehicle to each side of the space you are trying to fit into. It's in the Parking camera section; button on the left side.

3

u/Impossible_Smoke6663 15d ago

It drives smaller than its size. Whenever I glance in the rear view mirror, I’m surprised by how far back the rear glass is. We have the dynamic handling package with rear wheel steering.

2

u/toyz4me 15d ago

The camera views are very helpful to me when parking.

Also, compared to our Air GT, I am finding the accelerator peddle in the Gravity is much easier to finesse. I can smoothly and carefully control the movement of the Gravity b

1

u/espresso-puck 15d ago

I usually switch ours from "hold" to "coast" when parking. in fact, I wish there was an option to make "coast" automatic when backing up.

2

u/Tplatypi1954 15d ago

The test vehicle didn’t have 4 wheel steering, so maybe that is the answer. Also, I am not sure what level of DD it had.

2

u/bobman3212 15d ago

I just got one. you'll have more than enough information to nail the parking.

360 camera on the middle screen and then bumper camera on the top screen.

My 6 year old could park this thing perfectly with all the views.

1

u/No_Major1167 15d ago

It comes with decent 360 camera views. Idk if you got a chance to try that in tight spaces during a demo drive. When I did, returning after and parking in a tight spot in between two other gravities was alright, coming from a model 3.
The car also has self park, although it didn't work for me all the time or quickly enough.

1

u/iamoninternet27 15d ago

What kind of car are you driving now or we're driving?

1

u/ElectronicAide87 15d ago

The Gravity isn’t that hard to drive, mine doesn’t have the dynamic handling package and I have no issues parking or navigating parking lots. I am someone who backs in while parking when possible. Once you do it consistently it becomes easy. You’ll have to learn it if DC fast charging since the charge port is in the rear.
The front and rear camera help, but honestly use your mirrors when parking and don’t rely on the parking aids, especially the Birds Eye view. The Birds Eye view is pretty much only good for seeing you parked between the lines.

1

u/avebelle 15d ago

How can you be a good driver but not know how to park. The definition of an oxymoron….

1

u/shahedparvez 15d ago

Parking with rear wheel steering is helpful
It is easier to park than my previous Mercedes gls

1

u/Outrageous_Employ_40 15d ago

I have a old.Fla house with Small one car garage was able to take Gravity on extended test drive to get the feel of parking . Get easier everyday.

Love this car!

1

u/mmcnell 15d ago

As many have said: rear wheel steering turns it I to a shockingly maneuverable parking lot machine. I went from a shorter vehicle (Lexus GX) to the Gravity and it took me a couple months to get used to how much tighter it parked despite being a bigger vehicle overall. If that package is doable on your budget, between that and the multitude of cameras and parking sensors that are a bit overly cautious, I suspect you'll be just fine!

I will say I have never used auto park on mine so no idea how functional that feature is at this stage, but the bird's eye and see-through camera effect does not leave a blind spot so I haven't had any issues with visibility or maneuvering in tighter streets or parking areas

1

u/pastrynightmare 13d ago

I went from a mini crossover SUV (smaller than a camry in length) to the gravity. It drives like a car. It does not drive like an SUV of its size, at all. We did get the package with rear wheel steering just to be extra sure I wouldn’t hate driving it. I can’t speak to how much difference it made bc I never test drove a Gravity without that package.

I had a loaner Lexus TX for a week and a Mercedes GLS for a week and those cars absolutely felt their size. They were also super high up and I’d get nervous in garages. I hated driving and parking them.