The Plumber

Recently walked to the summit of Mount Vesuvius and found two rather battered original Panda 4x4 parked outside the gift shops at the top. From the top car park its a fairly steep and not very wide dirt track with the occasional log step. So quite impressive they were up there. TP

Don't think the NYCC would be happy with us running round on their highways with studded Hakkapelitta tyres fitted to the car TP

As I understood it, your bog standard summer tyre that comes as standard fit to most cars these days, can be referred to by industry as all season/weather, as they are designed for all year use (but not necessarily effective). Have noticed that some manufacturers are now understanding we don't all drive on motorways and there are drivers like myself who reguarly drive on narrow and sometimes more challenging rural roads, so are fitting more all season (with 3PSF), or full winters as standard, such as the Panda 4x4 and Peugeot 3008, which offer more grip. Have recently fitted full winters to our BM and while its still a little warm, the car has far more traction than it did on the factory Bridgestone W rated summer tyres; can now get out of the works car park without rear wheel spin (its a grass field) and not have the back end step out in the wet on rail crossings (joys of rwd ). This is an issue I took up with Skoda many years ago, regard not offering tyres that work more effectively with their 4x4 systems, this fell on deaf ears. Even our AWD Volvo has factory fitted Conti Sport 5 tyres, with will be as much use as a chocolate fireguard come freezing winter weather . TP

Suppose that's why I left the brand, well apart from the current seat designs lack of support/comfort, along with the offset pedal box on the RHD MQB platforms, which both make for an uncomfortable drive (for me), their cars are more then ever clones of the VW line-up, in an effort to cut costs and attract more, if you like, mainstream and fleet owners. My take on it TP

You seem to getting similar economy to our petrol 2ltr AWD auto Volvo, although I wouldn't necessarily consider 3k run-in and there are many factors which can effect fuel usage. For example I can get an extra 7mpg sitting on a motorway at 70 over my up and down dale rural open road drive to work covering a distance of 38 miles. TP

Ran the original Cross Climates in the 225/50 R17 on our first V40 Cross Country D2 for around 17k miles before I traded the car in for our current T5 AWD version. Overall very pleased with them, particularly in warmer summer temps, were they were far more like a summer tyre over the original Goodyear 4 Season I'd experienced a few years back on my son's car. Although I noticed towards the end of ownership the levels of grip started to decline with just about 4mm of tread remaining on the front. Noticed Michelin have launched an updated version, so I wounder if this is and area they have improved on. Yet to decide whether to prematurely replace the summer tyres with all season on the T5, as I did on the D2; I don't drive so much in the winter months these days and I can pretty much choose to stay at home if the weather is poor. Although its good to see a much improved range of tyres to choose from. When the Yeti was launched back in 2009 there were no all season options in 225/50 R17 until Goodyear made the original 4 Season tyre. TP

Been away for some while and now without a Skoda, or any other VAG produced mode of transport, however after seeing adds for the Yeti replacement I feel disappointed that its just another dull unimaginative box. Skoda seem to have long lost their flare for individual design, such as the diesel only Fabia vRS, Roomster and the original (proper) Yeti. Regards to all, The Plumber

Insurance is a strange thing, our Seat Toledo 1.6TDI is more expensive to insure than our Volvo V40 1.6TDI despite the latter being more expensive new RRP, service etc. Anyway enjoy the new motor, looks good in the race blue. TP

When you do sell your current wheels, the following is a good choice if you intend to offer a shipping option; https://www.paisleyfreight.com/?source=google&segment=alloys&gclid=CPHz0KiV1NECFUcQ0wodTb0BAQ TP

For low miles the TSI makes more sense and as others have commented the turbo petrol engine pulls well. Only replaced our TSI Spaceback due to a much longer commute to work, plus the heavier fuel consumption with the amount of up and down dale work it had to do on this journey. Would also recommend considering the Seat Toledo, albeit only available in notchback, as they tend to be better equipped than the equivalent Skoda and sometimes cheaper to buy used. TP

If your engine has the code CFNA then the parts book states the plugs are Bosch F7HER02. For the CWVA engine however, the parts book only offers the VW part number of 04C 905 616A, albeit it does say again they are Bosch plugs. In the UK the plugs on the petrol engines are normally changed between 20,000 and 40,000 miles depending on model. TP

Bit late picking up on this post, however we've had our V40XC more more than 18 months now and it's proved to be an excellent motor and in most areas a step up from previous Yeti's. Ours is powered by the now withdrawn EU5 Ford/PSA 1.6TD D2 which feel more like a 2 ltr in terms of performance and as a bonus its zero road tax. Would recommend anybody considering one should lookout for nearly new ex Volvo UK management cars, as many have the 'big ticket' options specified. TP

Personally of the two face-lifts I preferred the look of the city version; still not taken by the Outdoors 'Lego Brick' front bumper. TP

I'll just keep mine to modern English; :makeup: :party: :beer: :drunk: :giggle: All the best to all, TP