Why is the charge port in the back?

[hgmichna]

I find it difficult to think of a situation where going into a parking spot forward is easier, better, or even possible at all.

If you park somewhere in your garden, you want to go in backward, because driving out forward is much safer, easier, and needs less maneuvering space. For parallel parking the advantage of backing into the parking space is so obvious that hardly anyone even tries.

 

[Mike728]

I understand both sides of this argument. My wife couldn't back into our garage to save her life. While I think it's much easier to back in than pull in forward. I have the backup camera, plus the 2 side mirrors to use as aides. I can park within an inch of any object, like a garbage can. My wife would knock it over.

 

[Kairide]

I usually back in to parking spots as it’s easier to get out. I also back in to my garage and have no issue with my wall connector reaching with the 24 ft cable. Also if you back in to your garage you don’t have to worry about the opening the trunk and hitting the open garage door since there’s more overhead clearance.
The issue may be lack of practice in backing up that leads to people being hesitant to do it. It’s like parallel parking, if you do it enough, it’s easy.

 

[zoomer0056]

The issue may be lack of practice in backing up that leads to people being hesitant to do it.

I agree. It's a skill that is learned.

 

[flai54]

Backing in to the garage would be a show stopper for me for those that don't have a passthrough garage (ex: condo, apt, old houses). Forget about charging, if I had to back up every day into my garage it would be a pain to remove stuff from my trunk since I don't have as much free access to the back of the car as I do if i pull forward into my garage. Also in the front my garage, I have some overhead storage space that would get in the way and the trunk would not open all the way. I like the status quo now since i can pull forward into my garage....have full access to my trunk and my garage charging unit is on the back side of my garage and have no issues charging.

Also if the charging port was in the very front of the vehicle, I wonder how that affects the location of the radiator, frunk size, etc. I think there will have to be design changes that people are not thinking of. At the end of the day, there will always be people that are for it or against it.

 

[Midnightsun]

We back in to our driveway to charge all summer as we do not garage the cars, charger is located outside near garage door so this works well. In winter we garage the cars @65 degrees and now drive in as the secondary charger is located near the garage door inside which also works as well and as others have mentioned, just easier to unload the car. Never back in when doing errands as loading is difficult and cramped.

 

[bhzmark]

it's a lot safer to back out of a parking space into the open lane than it is to reverse into the space with vehicles parked on both sides.

No. It’s much safer to back in to a parking space where there is low risk of pedestrians or other moving cars in that small space. If you are afraid of hitting the other cars you should give up your driver’s license.

Backing out of a parking space in a parking lot, with pedestrians walking in the parking lot and other cars moving around is where a lot of accidents happen and people backing out of spaces can’t always see and keep track of all the moving objects around the parking space they are backing out of. Valet car parkers know this: Valet Drivers and Experts Share Their Tips for Parking Your Car

 

[Rocky_H]

people backing out of spaces can’t always see and keep track of all the moving objects around the parking space they are backing out of.

This stuff always bothers me because of how factually untrue it is for modern cars with backup cameras. From the article you linked to:
"You have a full view of what’s ahead of you, rather than a limited view from your trunk."

That is how it was on old cars, and it is now the opposite on cars with backup cameras. That article is mostly talking about parking old, classic, collectible, rare cars, not modern ones with backup cameras.

I hate it when I'm backed into a spot, and there are big trucks on both sides of me. I have NO visibility down either direction of the aisle, because my eyes are in the middle of the car. It's this worrisome, annoying, scary time to have to just blindly creep forward, forward, forward, sticking half of the front of my car out into the traffic aisle without ever getting enough angle of line of sight before I can have my eyes see past the end of the trucks to get a view.

When pulled in forward, I get to put the gear in reverse, and then the camera with the 180 degree fish-eye view shows me all up and down both directions of the aisle to see if it's clear BEFORE I ever have to start moving my car.

 

[bhzmark]

This stuff always bothers me because of how factually untrue it is for modern cars with backup cameras. From the article you linked to:
"You have a full view of what’s ahead of you, rather than a limited view from your trunk."

That is how it was on old cars, and it is now the opposite on cars with backup cameras. That article is mostly talking about parking old, classic, collectible, rare cars, not modern ones with backup cameras.

I hate it when I'm backed into a spot, and there are big trucks on both sides of me. I have NO visibility down either direction of the aisle, because my eyes are in the middle of the car. It's this worrisome, annoying, scary time to have to just blindly creep forward, forward, forward, sticking half of the front of my car out into the traffic aisle without ever getting enough angle of line of sight before I can have my eyes see past the end of the trucks to get a view.

When pulled in forward, I get to put the gear in reverse, and then the camera with the 180 degree fish-eye view shows me all up and down both directions of the aisle to see if it's clear BEFORE I ever have to start moving my car.

Valet car parkers disagree with you. They will always back in because it is faster and safer to pull out, with a direct view, and it is easier to maneuver in and out with the steering wheels going in last and coming out first. I get that some will never see this probably because they never tried it a few times to get over their resistance to change and new things.

 

[sleepydoc]

I find it difficult to think of a situation where going into a parking spot forward is easier, better, or even possible at all.

Read your statement. You can’t pull into a spot but you can pull out???!!! The lack of logic there completely invalidates anything else you say.

 

[sleepydoc]

This stuff always bothers me because of how factually untrue it is for modern cars with backup cameras. From the article you linked to:
"You have a full view of what’s ahead of you, rather than a limited view from your trunk."

That is how it was on old cars, and it is now the opposite on cars with backup cameras. That article is mostly talking about parking old, classic, collectible, rare cars, not modern ones with backup cameras.

I hate it when I'm backed into a spot, and there are big trucks on both sides of me. I have NO visibility down either direction of the aisle, because my eyes are in the middle of the car. It's this worrisome, annoying, scary time to have to just blindly creep forward, forward, forward, sticking half of the front of my car out into the traffic aisle without ever getting enough angle of line of sight before I can have my eyes see past the end of the trucks to get a view.

When pulled in forward, I get to put the gear in reverse, and then the camera with the 180 degree fish-eye view shows me all up and down both directions of the aisle to see if it's clear BEFORE I ever have to start moving my car.

It’s really ironic how all the people saying it’s just as safe and easy to back in because of the cameras then ignore the camera effect for backing out!

Also if the charging port was in the very front of the vehicle, I wonder how that affects the location of the radiator, frunk size, etc.

The port really plays no role in these. It’s a receptacle and the requisite wiring. Too much wiring will increase resistive losses but that really shouldn’t come into play for this discussion.

I will say that I think the ‘nose’ location of the Leaf isn’t the best idea. Having just in front of the A pillar makes the most sense.

Another point - bike racks are actually not an edge case at all. Tesla markets and sells a hitch for the MY any I’ve seen tons of MYs with bike racks on them. It’s not the camera as much as the fact that the bike rack makes it so the supercharger cable won’t reach.

 

[jcanoe]

I parked vehicles as a valet one summer. We would park upwards of 200 vehicles for an event. There were two parking lots that were unstripped. We parked the earliest arriving vehicles at the back of the parking lot. We would fill one row, with the front of each vehicle facing towards the center driving lane so that later we would not have to back up. We parked a second row behind the first row, nose in (not backed in). We generally did not back up vehicles while parking as there were no backup cameras at the time and at night the parking lot lighting was not great.

The primary consideration was speed as we had to park many additional vehicles. After the event ended the guests would return for their vehicles. We would have to back up if a vehicle was parked directly behind another vehicle. As the parking lot emptied out there was often room to steer around parked vehicles and not back up. By the end of the evening the remaining vehicles were likely to be parked close to the event pavilion. The objective when retrieving the vehicles was speed as we worked for tips.

 

[flai54]

It’s really ironic how all the people saying it’s just as safe and easy to back in because of the cameras then ignore the camera effect for backing out!

The port really plays no role in these. It’s a receptacle and the requisite wiring. Too much wiring will increase resistive losses but that really shouldn’t come into play for this discussion.

I will say that I think the ‘nose’ location of the Leaf isn’t the best idea. Having just in front of the A pillar makes the most sense.

Another point - bike racks are actually not an edge case at all. Tesla markets and sells a hitch for the MY any I’ve seen tons of MYs with bike racks on them. It’s not the camera as much as the fact that the bike rack makes it so the supercharger cable won’t reach.

So basically where the Mach-E has their charge port is what you are saying? A little bit past the driver side door?

 

[sleepydoc]

So basically where the Mach-E has their charge port is what you are saying? A little bit past the driver side door?

yes. I think that would be the most flexible. It also seems to be the most common.

Ultimately, it would be nice for the manufacturers to standardize the location. otherwise we'll end up with a Mach E pulling in to charge, using the cable to the right as they pull in, only to block off the Tesla driver backing in with their charge port on the left. It won't be pretty!

 

[Midnightsun]

Wonder if others will now hide their charge port door like Tesla has now that they all seem to be going to NACS. Was almost impossible to do with that huge charge plug they all have and I guess this is why they are so visible. Another reason why it is in the rear location as it can be blended into the light fixture as opposed to a big ugly hatch on the front/rear fender.

 

[tga]

it is easier to maneuver in and out with the steering wheels going in last and coming out first.

It is easier to back in (especially in a tight space), because the steered end of the car swings around to position the front end. Done properly, the rear end doesn't move much left/right during the maneuver, it just moves back into the space.

When you pull in forwards turning right, you either need to "swing wide" or you need extra width in the space to accommodate the lateral movement of the front end. If you turn left across oncoming traffic, you need to wait for a break in the traffic, but at least you'll be mostly straight upon entering the space.

It’s really ironic how all the people saying it’s just as safe and easy to back in because of the cameras then ignore the camera effect for backing out!

You've missed a key piece of it - when you back into the space, you've already driven past the space, so you know it's empty (no shopping carts, babies in strollers, whatever), and you know the lane is clear behind you.

By backing in you've already visually checked the scene and confirmed the "coast is clear."

 

[sleepydoc]

You've missed a key piece of it - when you back into the space, you've already driven past the space, so you know it's empty (no shopping carts, babies in strollers, whatever), and you know the lane is clear behind you.

By backing in you've already visually checked the scene and confirmed the "coast is clear."

you don't look as you drive in?

 

[jcanoe]

When you have wireless vehicle charging the location of the vehicle's charging port is moot. The demonstrations of EV wireless charging all show front in parking. If you were to back into the parking space you would not be able to charge as the surface mounted or embedded charging coils in the parking space concrete are positioned between and just behind the location of the front wheels of the vehicle.

 

[flai54]

yes. I think that would be the most flexible. It also seems to be the most common.

Ultimately, it would be nice for the manufacturers to standardize the location. otherwise we'll end up with a Mach E pulling in to charge, using the cable to the right as they pull in, only to block off the Tesla driver backing in with their charge port on the left. It won't be pretty!

Well given that most EVs are RWD based for single motor it makes sense to put it in the rear spot whether that is the left or right side to reduce the cabling length needed. Also it makes sense that it is on the driver side door since it is silly to have the charge port on the passenger side of the vehicle where the driver would have to walk to the other side of the car especially if it is the passenger front side.

 

[tga]

you don't look as you drive in?

Of course. I also like to think I'm a better driver then most.

But you'll get a better view of the space previewing it out of the side window before parking butt first then looking over the hood when pulling in forwards.