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A couple of thoughts spring to mind. Pro's and con's will always have you torn, the heart vs. the head is a tricky conundrum. All I can say is, as far as power goes (mid range overtaking power particularly), don't underestimate the Style's 1.4 turbo, it has seriously surprised me (in both the Octavia and previous Golf) on the occasions I've needed it most, stick your foot down and it shifts even in D, I rarely use Sport. The RS may launch you into space, but the 1.4 (1.9 secs longer 0-100kph) will keep you as safe as you need to be on earth. 19in wheels are standard on the RS, but 18in is regarded by many as the sweet spot. The lower profile tyres on the 19's will give you a harsher ride on anything other than super smooth highways. So your typical driving environment will be relevant. NZ pricing must must different to ours in AU. When I bought my Style in Jan '23 with all it's factory options, including many of the things you've listed for the RS, it was offered at A$53k. The RS with all its gear (but still without some of my options) was offered at A$64k. I did some negotiating and ended up paying A$49k drive away i.e. A$15k less than the RS. Made the decision easy for me, but I can see your point if you've narrowed that difference and feel it's worth the outlay. Best wishes with whatever decision you make, have fun and keep us posted!

Hi I bought a used Octavia Scout 2015 last year that came fitted with a towbar as per the attached photo. I'm wanting to fit a towbar mounted bike rack but not sure of the weight capacity of it. I was hoping to get a 4 bike rack but Halfords have told me that they only have a 2 bike rack listed for this car due to the weight capacity of the towbar. Anyone know if this is correct. I've tried other bike rack suppliers but can't find any info. I'm not sure if the towbar is factory fitted from the car being new or not. Is anyone able to identify the bar from the photo or able to help advise. Can get more photos if needed. Thanks

Thanks so much for your reply I have found a website which gave me this information about my current version! 1. Firmware details: Generation and tier: MIB1 Standard Region: Europe Brand: Skoda Version: no distinction Trade Name: Skoda Bolero / Amundsen Firmware version: P3420 (MU: 0435) Firmware type: Production Hardware vendor: Panasonic and gave me that I need this update for my system Latest official firmware update: MSTD_EU_SK_P6230 (MU: 0490. But I could not find update file there, just give me information Any advice? Best

John McDonnall (ex Lab MP) was saying on Peston that there's been rumblings of a June or July election inside Westminster. The sooner the better IMHO. Makes me wonder if the Tories are expecting a hammering in the May Council and Mayoral elections.

mind you either my google skills are lacking today or there's something fishy going on. The original video was uploaded to Instagram just over a day ago. The lead Rolls Royce was first registered on 26th Jan 2023 (the other 2 were tail end of 2022) which means it must have happened after that date. Using Google maps I've worked out that this took place in the shadow of Big Ben on Bridge St SW1 so possibly the convoy was headed away from Parliament Square. The only incident I can find involving a Police motorcyclist on Escort Duty last year (May) was when sadly an OAP was killed by an escort rider for the Duchess of Edinburgh but that was 2.5 miles away in SW5 (junction of Cromwell Road and Warwick Road) https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5009295,-0.1243823,3a,75y,253.87h,95.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWWpCH36YPgnojAkDhUpSgg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

There's a serious problem of an out of round tyre, caused by the tyre's beads not being fully seated on the rim. This fundamental problem needs to be addressed first. There might not be any problem with the tracking.

Four wheel alignment is what you need if having the rear tracking adjusted (ideal to have four wheel done when doing front too). The challenge is finding someone competent at doing it!

At a guess, fooked! 🤣

You can easily see (to a trained eye) that the tyre isn't fully seated at the top where it says DAVANTI. It's probably why the tyre has overheated at that point (ie. localized overheating) and destroyed the tyre. It's nothing to do with incorrect tracking, and also explains why the tyre didn't feel balanced and was losing air pressure. Because the tyre's beads aren't fully seated, the outside of the tyre is no longer round...which is why the tyre has suffered localized overheating...and the resultant delamination at that point. No amount of adding weights will correct the problem of an out of round tyre. Because balancing a wheel with weights, you need to make sure the outside of the tyre is round...by making sure the tyre's beads are fully seated on the rim.

Yes I can see one as well but not serious amounts of weights on both sides, maybe he meant on both sides of the inner rim (as photographed) but I cant see them, I can see some residue of the double sided tape from previous weights. The bead is seated on the rim to my eyes, there seems to be a lot of imaginative speculation for what is quite normal (abnormal) rear tyre wear!

I'm not surprised at the Orkneys given the small size of the islands, the distances really lend themselves to BEV's and the abundance of renewable power generation available.

Hello All, Apologies for not being back online sooner, I went ahead and purchased the car on finance. Within the 14 day period, I used my right to withdraw, which meant I had to pay the outstanding amount and a few days intertest. I kept all my perks. Hope that helps, and thank you all for your assistance. Thanks again

I can see one near the Spokes opposite the one on the nearside (as pictured) of the rim?

Further looking on t'internet it looks as though the top of the connector lifts and, I assume, unlocks the connector. Can anyone confirm if this is the case, thanks.

The tyre looks like the result of driving with a vibration for weeks, i cannot see any sign of incorrect fitting either. Modern wheel balancing machine tell the operator what weights and precisely where to put them. Then they spin it again to check. If you have had the alignment checked and a new tyre it should now be fine

Mmmmm......................................... Implausible but I am not the person experiencing it first hand.

I would be pricing up new discs and getting them on. Not just chipping the edge off of those i see in the picture, ? What does the inner side look like?

Some (possibly questionable) ailurophile bling ...

Unless you people can see something that I cannot the inner tyre bead is fitted correctly and from the limited view I can see only one weight on the inner rim and can not see the outer rim at all. If you want to see an incompetent tyre fitter then watch me struggling with my 4 new tyres and my manual tyre changer and an unsuccessful modification to use a duckbill removal/refitting head like the pro machines use, I did not realise that on these alloys there is not a well for the inner bead like there is on the outer rim (it just tapers to the outer well) and that the inner bead must be broken progressively all the way around the rim, outer bead can be broken in the normal one shot way. The tyre wear looks like typical IRS negative camber wear exacerbated by sagging springs and/or carrying heavy loads.

The price difference between the Style and RS is NZ$8000 (about AU$7300 or GBP 3800), so it does not seem as much as mentioned above. By paying that difference one gets a more powerful engine (2.0T 180kW vs 1.4T 110kW) paired with different gearbox (8sp AT vs DQ381 DSG), and one also gets an upgraded rear suspension, front diff lock, matrix head light, 1 inch larger alloy wheels and RS styling e.g. seats etc. The amount of kits for that extra cost is VERY attractive. In the past 15 years I have been driving the stereotypical reliable but boring Japanese cars due to my young family. Perhaps it is a midlife crisis, or perhaps because the kids are now older and I don't have to worry about fitting three car seats in the back row or having to taxi the kids everywhere, I really want to treat myself a car with better driving experience whilst still having the space and not breaking my bank. To this end, I have set eye on the Octavia accepting that being a VAG car it will probably be less reliable than my current soulless Toyota/Honda. It is perhaps for this same reason my heart really desires a RS over the Style. Having said that, I fully admit that I will very rarely need the kind of power that is in the RS considering how I have been driving in the past 15 years. The primary uses of the car will still be as a daily commuter to work and occasionally longer road trips between towns, so whilst it may not be as reliable my current Japanese car it still need to work most of the time. The reported problems with the. DQ381 are really giving me pause. As you can see, I am still rather torn between the Style and the RS. 😔

🙉 🎶 LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

There are a higher percentage of people getting an EV on the Orkneys per population than elsewhere, and in Scotland compared to regions in the RofUK. There are authorities and organisations getting ready to buy or lease maybe their 2nd or 3rd fleet of vehicles. Lots of used are going into the trade again this year from ones that were rented out cheaply / loaned during the Covid years. Those that own cars might actually hold onto them if they really can not get a good sale price or trade in and the car is suiting their needs. Time will tell how it really goes and as for spin from the SMMT or whoever that is how they operate. Loads and loads of Ev,s oop north, that is in northern bit of the UK, not the north of England which is not far north in the scheme of things. & that includes very new registered ones & not just demonstrators.

Serious amount of weights on both sides of that rim so likely the tyre fitter was incompetent! That said, that looks like tyre delamination to me rather than a tracking issue. The perils of a cheap tyre.

You will find plenty threads or posts on Briskoda. Various causes.

It looks like that cheap Chinese Davanti tyre isn't fully seated on the rim. The tyre fitter was really incompetent not to have noticed that. When a tyre fitter fits a tyre to a rim, he should inflate the tyre until the tyre's beads are fully seated on the rim. If he is having difficulty fully seating the tyre's beads, he should remove the tyre from the rim and apply more tyre lubricant to the tyre's beads...and then try again to fully seat the tyre's beads to the rim. The problem may be that the cheap low quality Chinese tyre isn't fit for purpose...which may have contributed to the tyre fitters difficulty in fully seating the tyre's beads to the rim. If the tyre fitter couldn't seat the tyre's beads fully to the rim, he should have rejected that tyre and chosen another tyre to fit. Is the wear the same around the full circumference of the tyre?