Vehicle control system and control method

A control system for an autonomous host vehicle having a front and a rear, comprising one or more controllers and configured to receive a goal signal 9410 and environment data 9420. The goal signal is indicative of a navigation goal of a host vehicle which defines a target location for the host vehicle and a target orientation of the host vehicle at the target location. The environment data is indicative of an environment of the host vehicle. Subsequent to receipt of the goal signal and the environment data, path data is determined 9430 which is indicative of a determined navigation path for the host vehicle, operating in an autonomous mode, to navigate to the navigation goal 9440 in dependence on a direction parameter. The direction parameter is determined in dependence on a first amount of frontward travel of the host vehicle along the determined navigation path and a second amount of rearward travel of the host vehicle along the determined navigation path, such that a first navigation path having a lesser amount of rearward travel of the host vehicle is chosen as the determined navigation path in preference of a second navigation path having a greater amount of rearward travel.