Parking warning for drivers with certain cars – check if your motor is at risk of expensive bumps and scratches

A PARKING warning has been issued for drivers with certain cars.

Experts have warned more than 150 car models are now too big for UK car park spaces.

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Experts have warned more than 150 car models are now too big for UK car park spaces[/caption]

With cars being manufactured bigger and wider many motorists are struggling to fit into spaces which haven’t changed size in decades.

And there are five popular brands which are the longest and widest which could leave drivers having to fork out to fix bumps and scratches.

Analysis conducted by Which? found 161 cars are longer than a standard UK parking bay, which is 16ft by 8ft.

Increasing from 129 in 2018, the study also found 12 exceeded the limit by more than 30cm.

For any BMW i7 owners, the study found that it was the longest car tested.

Measuring just shy of 5.4 metres long, it hangs out of a car park space by 59.1cm.

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class Hybrid is 5.25 metres long – making it 44.6cm too long for average sized spaces.

Finally, the third longest car is the Audi A8.

It is 37.2cm longer as it measures 5.18 metres.

While three other types are so wide it leaves drivers and passengers struggling to comfortable exit the vehicle.

The Land Rover Discovery, the Jaguar I-Pace and the BMW X5 were categorised as being “too wide”.

Which? said any car which leaves less than 22cm on each side is too big.

The Land Rover Discovery has a width of 2.073 metres leaving only a space of 16.35cm to open the doors.

And the Jag I-Pace is just over 2 metres wide which only gives the people in the car 19.45cm to get out.

With the third widest car, the BMW X5 is 2.004 metres – offering a leeway of just 19.8cm each side.

Natalie Hitchins, Which?’s home products and services editor, said: “Cars are getting larger and larger, and while this might mean a more comfortable driving experience, it could be a problem when it comes to squeezing into a parking space.

“While some car parks are introducing wider bays it won’t be the case everywhere, and some drivers might struggle getting parked up in certain locations – particularly multistorey car parks.”