Have a JCW Clubman on order; and it may be too late to change the options, but since I had the windows tinted on my wife's R56 Coupe today (And I really like the look) I'm wondering if I should have ordered the Park Distance Control on the Clubman.

PDC was standard on our cabrio, and it's come in handy with the blind spots caused by the sail panels on the roof and the high roll hoops; but I'm wondering if the Clubman woulsd benefit from PDC, especially if the rear door lites are tinted (20% light admittance tint)

Any of you Clubman owners have an opinion on PDC as an option of the Clubman? Thanks

Charlie

 

Don't have it don't need it. Unless you're constantly in urban parallel parking situations I'd avoid it - you're rarely going to use the full length of a normal or compact parking spot.

 

I got it because, like Rexicon said, I live in the Twin Cities so I have 2 cities full of limited parking to choose from

I had a car that was almost 3 feet longer before the Clubman w/o the PDC and I never had a problem, but I like the extra security of being able to fit in some tighter spots without worrying about hitting something behind me. I've found that my judgment in the new car is about 2 feet off...so PDC helps me maneuver a lot more in urban parking.

 

It is especially useful on a Clubman if you ever need to back in towards a wall or summat as it helps in judging the space you need to load through the back doors. So yes, get it!

 

I, on the other hand, don't have it and wouldn't feel the need for it. I don't feel that there is any difference between parking this MINI as compared to my past MINIs. It's easy.

That said, if someone feels more comfortable then more PDC to them!

 

Probably the single greatest use of this feature.

 

I have PDC and like it very much. It is added security both with parallel parking and getting in and out of our garage (tight squeeze). We also have an enormous granite wall behind the house as well as numerous trees to maneuver.
My original reason for ordering the PDC was because of concerns with rear visibility with the Clubman rear doors
center post obscuring my vision somewhat. However, I quickly adjusted, and found that visibility is surprisingly good.
Knowing this, I'm still glad I have the PDC.

 

I got it because I heard it looks neat on the Navi screen. Okay, bad reason, but so were many of the other options I chose

 

PDC is the one option I wish I did get. I didn't know it gave a nice display on the Nav when I ordered.

 

Glad to read you all find it so helpful... I should have added the caveat that I'd never seen one in action...though I've heard one on a convertible MCS sans Nav screen.

 

Just kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Zing! .... Yikes! ....

 

Nope.

 

 

Not entirely sure where the female comment came from - but anyways... let's steer this back on track.

 

Remember the big old cars from the 70's and those big long family station wagons. Those were the days when we had to be a really good parallel parker to pass our driving exam. If I had kids It would be something to think about getting.

 

Lucky I never had to deal with that!

But I had something scarier...

My parents measured out the exact distance I had to park in the test, and then put their cars on either side. Boy did THAT make me a VERY good and careful parallel parker

But i'm treating PDC as a luxury. It will be nice to have a little less to worry about while parking. Plus I can let my parents drive it when they need to (my Dad will back a car into a pole waiting for it to beep beep!)

 

not sure PDC is useful enough in NYC ... I was thinking of getting one of these:

 

I kind of don't get this kind of question because you'll just get a split of responses of yeah vs nay.
As far as PDC goes it really depends on how comfortable the driver is with parallel parking. No matter what the new car is there is always a little time for the new owner to get comfortable with depth perception out the back window.
Since the clubman is almost a straight drop off in the back it is easier because you don't have to guess how much trunk is jutting out that you can't see. You park a few times and realize you left an extra 3 feet in the back and then you know that there's more room than you are allowing ...learning curve.... etc.

So, I don't see a need for PDC. I live in a city, I parallel park every day.

Maybe it's useful in suburbia if you are too lazy to manually look to make sure there aren't small children and pets behind the car in the driveway.

 

Zeddy,
I'm not sure what you mean when you say you don't "get" this type of question.

What I'm getting is a whole bunch of information, some recommending getting the option; some saying you don't need it. It's all useful information in helping me make up my mind on ordering PDC.

However, I'd love to hear from any Clubman owners who tinted their windows, and then maybe foiund that they wished they'd ordered PDC, especially when backing up at night.

 

City Dweller Here. Parallel parking is the only option. Pretty comfortable with it. Ordered the option because I believe that it may help avoid missguessing where the rear bumper is. Judgment based on information is preferable informed guesses. If I was stretching resources to buy the car I likely would leave it off, but were not so I included it.

 

Just got my windows tinted today (50%, legal in MN, not very dark) and I have had no loss in rear visibility. Perhaps with 35 PDC would be a very rational choice, but like I said earlier, it's more of a luxury for me in the city. Sure I can park the car without using it but it's a nifty thing to have to be less concerned with parking, especially because parking on the street means holding up traffic while you do it!

 

I plan on getting some feelers for the front and back as well and a giant orange flag for the back....ok, the orange flag might be cool...

 

Do you have a history of ruining your bumper on the vehicles of others and steel posts? If so, then PDC may be for you.

 

Hey There, I live in Soth Florida, I have dark tint all around, I back up all the time using both mirrors. I would never think of ordering thhe PDC, nor would I ever think of not having the windows tinted. I hope this helps you with you decision,

Larry