Your thoughts on floor handbrake?

[Alex240]

I'm just wondering what people think of the floor operated handbrake. Personally I love it! There was one in my old 1998 E-Class & there's one in the new w212 that I've just bought. I don't know if they have it in the C-Class and S-Class? It's not in the A170 I've been knocking around in for a while?

Anyway, in almost every review I read or watch, I see people knocking this kind of handbrake, & I just don't understand it. It's ****** brilliant to get that stupid stick in between the front seats, out of the way. Why on earth would anyone prefer to have that ridiculous, space consuming thing getting in the way of slick cabin design. Once you have used it for a while, pushing your foot down to operate the brake is so much more natural.

Anyway, what do you lot think?

 

[John Laidlaw]

My 230 has it and although I'm used to it , I barely if ever use it if that makes sense!
I park on the flat primarily so don't engage it
Similarly on my previous 212 and 203
The newer cars have followed the rest of the market ( as is my A6 Avant) and installed electronic handbrakes which I for one think are far superior to anything past...
Cue purists who may well disagree

 

[Alex240]

My 230 has it and although I'm used to it , I barely if ever use it if that makes sense!
I park on the flat primarily so don't engage it
Similarly on my previous 212 and 203
The newer cars have followed the rest of the market ( as is my A6 Avant) and installed electronic handbrakes which I for one think are far superior to anything past...
Cue purists who may well disagree

You never use the handbrake! Wow, I can't imagine not using the handbrake, but then I'm one of those that reads the instruction book & dare not go against the advice given.
Hmmm, electric handbrakes eh, I don't believe I've ever seen one. When you say electric, is it still manually operated or does it just come on automatically after the vehicle has been shut down for a few minutes?
I'm all for an electric handbrake as long as the electrics are reliable. The less cabin clutter the better, in my view.

 

[Headhurts]

My wife's Aygo has a proper floor mounted hand brake, don't like it TBH.

My S212 has the much maligned foot operated brake which I love and have never had any issues with.

My last few cars have mostly been electronic brakes.


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[John Laidlaw]

You never use the handbrake! Wow, I can't imagine not using the handbrake, but then I'm one of those that reads the instruction book & dare not go against the advice given.
Hmmm, electric handbrakes eh, I don't believe I've ever seen one. When you say electric, is it still manually operated or does it just come on automatically after the vehicle has been shut down for a few minutes?
I'm all for an electric handbrake as long as the electrics are reliable. The less cabin clutter the better, in my view.

Lol Alex I used to be the same. Electronic hand brakes are normally at the push or pull of a button. Generally they will engage when you select P and disengage when in drive and press the gas. Clever stuff!

 

[Craiglxviii]

I'm not a fan of EPB (electronic parking brake); on a manual I much prefer the normal centre-tunnel-mounted handbrake, it's practical and works well.

On an automatic (my little fleet is exclusively automatic now) I really like the floor-mounted parking brake. It's a slick system. Due to the parking lugs in the transmission though I only use the parking brake on whichever car is parked on the slope of the driveway, to keep strain off the transmission lugs.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

One benefit of the foot parking brake, in an emergency if all else failed, would be the ability to deliver much more energy to the foot pedal than you could ever impart via a handbrake lever.

Even if you didn't stop quicker, it would make you feel as though you had given it your best shot! :roll:

 

[LostKiwi]

One benefit of the foot parking brake, in an emergency if all else failed, would be the ability to deliver much more energy to the foot pedal than you could ever impart via a handbrake lever.

Even if you didn't stop quicker, it would make you feel as though you had given it your best shot! :roll:

Complete with smoke curling off the rear tyres as they flat spot!

Had an Aussie muscle car years back with a floor mounted hand brake between the door and the drivers seat. Lift the handbrake up and it ratchets as normal.Let go and the handle falls back down for entry/exit. To release pull the handle up, press the button and release as normal. Very effective and removed the 'clutter'.

 

[L John]

One benefit of the foot parking brake, in an emergency if all else failed, would be the ability to deliver much more energy to the foot pedal than you could ever impart via a handbrake lever.

Even if you didn't stop quicker, it would make you feel as though you had given it your best shot! :roll:

In an emergency, a centre handbrake can be applied and let off at varying pressure to come to a safe stop.
A foot operated one cannot be modulated or taken off in the event of a rear wheel skid unless you lean forward and have one hand under the dash.
A centre handbrake would be way better than a foot operated one even if it didn't have as much braking force available, which is debatable anyway.

 

[Craiglxviii]

In an emergency, a centre handbrake can be applied and let off at varying pressure to come to a safe stop.
A foot operated one cannot be modulated or taken off in the event of a rear wheel skid unless you lean forward and have one hand under the dash.
A centre handbrake would be way better than a foot operated one even if it didn't have as much braking force available, which is debatable anyway.

Do you have very short arms? I'm 5'10", not at all orang-utan-ish and can pretty easily reach the brake release handle on all my cars without struggling....

If your brakes fail I am pretty sure that a hand-operated handbrake would do very little to stop you in any case, purely down to the force which you can impart via your arm muscles (i.e. FA in comparison to your brake servo!)- I can remember my dad using the handbrake to slow down when he saw a copper once or twice, and then trying it out myself a few years later (Mk.3 Escort)- and yeah, it didn't do much. The first time I drove my Mustang, I left the handbrake on for the whole drive to work and never noticed it... etc.

It's a device for securing the car while it's parked, not for stopping the car while it's moving.

 

[television]

Not good for me using the parking brake on the SL500, you could drive off and some time later you realize that the parking brake is on.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Not good for me using the parking brake on the SL500, you could drive off and some time later you realize that the parking brake is on.

I always wondered why you had such trouble keeping up with me.

 

[television]

I always wondered why you had such trouble keeping up with me.

I will never forget that drive Alex

 

[star]

I'm neither here or there on foot operated hand brake, never use it unless on a steep slope but try doing a hill stop/start in a manual car, pita. Electric handbrake is just more to go wrong and a oain if you want to move an immobile car.

 

[A.J.]

I never used mine since I have had the car, just put in park, no need for hand brake, or foot brake as in this instance

 

[SL63 Mark]

You never use the handbrake! .

It's not a handbrake it's a parking brake. How is it a handbrake >? Do you reach down and use your hand to operate it ?

Phew got that out of my system.

 

[flowrider]

Not good for me using the parking brake on the SL500, you could drive off and some time later you realize that the parking brake is on.

My 2004 SL has a warning light on the dash when the parking brake is on and if I attempt to drive off it makes the display glow red.

 

[SL63 Mark]

My 2004 SL has a warning light on the dash when the parking brake is on and if I attempt to drive off it makes the display glow red.

Yeah, but I've still done it plenty of times ! Once you get the red warning you've trashed it, then you get the delightful tinkling noise as you drive along.

Never use it now.

 

[SL63 Mark]

Not good for me using the parking brake on the SL500, you could drive off and some time later you realize that the parking brake is on.

^^^This. The engine has so much torque you don't even realise the brake is on.

 

[Gkinghorn]

Never use it unless it's on a real steep incline ..... always find it useless anyway ... wife has a normal one on her auto Audi and uses hers all the time ...


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