A THIRD of drivers feel anxious, worried or scared about parking and regularly drive past spaces because they're too difficult, according to research by Kia UK.

The comprehensive study revealed one in three motorists ranked bay parking as the hardest manoeuvre, with two-thirds (64 per cent) saying spaces are not wide enough.

It's 50 years since the standard parking bay size was last formally reviewed in 1976.

This has led to over half (56 per cent) of drivers being blocked from getting into or out of their cars and forcing them to climb over seats, let passengers out before parking, or wait for other cars to move before driving away.

As a result, half of drivers (50 per cent) want their car to park itself or via remote control.

With the Kia EV2 drivers can do that, as it is the first small SUV to offer remote parking technology, alongside a suite of other driver aids.

Offering the best of Kia in its smallest electric car yet, the EV2 can be driven in and out of spaces remotely, using just its key.

The panic and stress of parking has caused one in five drivers (18 per cent) to be late because they couldn't find a space, resulting in missed health appointments, work meetings, birthday parties, romantic dates, and parents' evenings.

Matthew Stevens, head of product at Kia UK, said: "Parking is something all drivers have to do, yet it strikes fear into the hearts of so many of us, to the point that we're driving round in circles looking for the perfect spot.

"At Kia, we want to make life behind the wheel as enjoyable and stress-free as possible. That's why we're launching the EV2, our most compact electric car yet, with genuinely useful parking technology, giving drivers a live 360-degree view around their car and allowing them to park it remotely. EV2 owners will never have to climb across the passenger seat to get out ever again."

The Kia Parking Index, which analyses a range of factors across the UK, found Southampton was the worst city for parking, followed by Oxford and Liverpool. By contrast, Aberdeen was the ranked as the UK's best city for parking.

Drivers in Gloucester ranked themselves as the best parkers in the country, compared to Swansea where locals rank their fellow residents the worst.

The Index takes into account how drivers rank their own parking, how they perceive the overall standard in their local area, the availability of spaces, bay sizes, average time spent looking for a space and if they've had a parking-related accident.

One in 10 drivers said they had hit something while parking, with half of these admitting to reversing into a bollard. A third said they'd hit another car, and a quarter had damaged their alloy wheels. The average cost to fix damage due to parking accidents is £388.

Top 10 UK cities ranked worst for parking:

Top 5 UK cities ranked best for parking: