We've seen many automatic parking systems from new automakers, so today let's take a look at how BYD's automatic parking performs. The vehicle tested is the 2025 BYD Song L EV, which was just launched at the Chengdu Auto Show at the end of last month. When I got the car, I could still feel the heat of it being fresh off the production line. One of the key highlights of this new car is its support for automatic parking, including vertical parking spaces, parallel parking spaces, and diagonal spaces. The question is, does it really handle these with ease? Let's put it to the test.
A One-Sentence Review of the 2025 Song L EV
Already a well-rounded performer, the Song L EV is even better with intelligent driving, truly enhancing the experience.
Advantages:
1. High aesthetic appeal, deserving of the title "most beautiful BYD"
2. DiLink system responds quickly and offers robust functionality
3. Relatively low energy consumption
4. Comfortable and natural seating position
5. Strong dealer network for support
Disadvantages:
1. Only the higher trim models come with the "Eye of the God" feature
2. Only one four-wheel-drive version available
The Test
As usual, the test is divided into three challenge categories: reverse parking, parallel parking, and dead-end street parking. The first challenge is reverse parking into a vertical space, which is an easy task that veteran drivers wouldn’t even think twice about, let alone the 2025 Song L EV. So, we added a bit of difficulty to the challenge. The space was constrained by a fire shutter door on the left-front side, and next to it, an inconsiderately parked NIO ET5T was encroaching on the line, squeezing the available space. Let's see if the Song L EV can handle the pressure.
To my surprise, the Song L EV impressed me right from the start. Once it recognized the parking space, it confidently and smoothly steered in, without any unnecessary adjustments. The parking process was extremely fluid. During the maneuver, the car’s judgment of the distance to obstacles was very accurate, passing dangerously close to the edge of the shutter door, which had me sweating nervously, fearing I'd have to pay for repairs. However, the final parking position was flawless.
Next up was parallel parking, once again challenged by that same NIO ET5T parked over the line. Who are these people? Facing a slightly tricky parallel parking situation, the Song L EV handled it effortlessly. After a slight adjustment forward, it angled into the space. Once most of the vehicle was inside, it made a few more subtle moves to leave enough space at the front and rear. Most impressively, the car deliberately left enough room on the right for opening the door, allowing the passenger to get in and out easily. Such thoughtful attention to detail would make your girlfriend praise your taste in cars.
Finally, we arrived at the toughest challenge, dead-end street parking. The 2025 Song L EV completed it, but with a bit of a workaround. The car cleverly used the parking space on the opposite side to help with its maneuvering. During the process, it even had a bit of a standoff with our cameraman, moving forward whenever the cameraman stepped back. We've encountered this kind of situation before when testing NIO's automatic parking. In the end, we concluded that perhaps it was our fault for not filling all the opposite spaces with cars. For now, we'll mark this test as "pending" and revisit it once we’re better prepared.
Conclusion
Overall, the 2025 Song L EV's automatic parking performance deserves high marks. Despite our attempts to make it struggle by narrowing the parking spaces, it consistently demonstrated strong stability and reliability. The only remaining question is how this relatively large vehicle will handle even tighter dead-end street parking spots. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!
