Dutch4x4

Thanks, I was hoping to hear that...

And a lot of it centers around the fear of losing their warranty and not wanting the dealer to know that they were chipped. I have neither problem: the dealer sold me the chip with factory warranty, which by now has run out... Anyway, the threads stops in 2005, with there apparently being only quick fixes at that moment in time. Does anyone know how it evolved after that?

Interesting, thanks. The Vortex link on the Ross-Tech page is a big thread to read through...

*bump* And hello to the old-timers... Have the same fault code on the 4x4 turbo... Engine warning light came on first time some six months ago, have had two resets but quick recurrences. It's now switched off again after the car had its 90k kms service yesterday, but it's still nagging me. As yellowtaxi says: everything works fine. It looks like it's just a bug instead of a true failure. The dealer also says that we can simply drive on with the light on if we don't want to spend the walloping amount of £580 on a new ECU. There's nothing wrong with the car itself. Dealer says they don't have a software update that cures the bug, but would someone like Jabba (or in my case their Dutch counterpart) be able to fix it without the need to replace the ECU?

You may worry a bit less if you consider the fact that a Dutch team managed to finish the 2006 Arctic Challenge driving a FWD rental Octavia on normal tyres - in a time that would have had them finish 9th overall, discounting the delay they suffered when their original Audi quattro lost its gearbox somewhere down in Germany... After the finish the crew returned the Octy to the German rental service where they got it from, with 8500 miles on the clock, and reported no problems at all.

If the new Fabia gets a 1.4 TSI-engined vRS I'll be back... and we'll have two Skodas.

Tall and slim please - but not too slim, obviously... So what do I tick - petite or large?

I would. But I haven't. If there'd been an O2 RS 4x4 I would have plumped for that one immediately. But there isn't, nor is there a new Octy 4x4 that comes even close. Since an Impreza WRX was the only other AWD option in the price range and my bosses are refusing to pay its fuel bill (unsurprisingly ) we did some lateral thinking and came up with the plan to continue driving the current 4x4 turbo as a private car and get a small hot hatch for my new company car. Hence the FieSTa, as again, there are simply no other options in that price range - not in NL at least, where all other hot hatches of some appeal are at least 5k up on the ST's amazing price tag... But in time I would buy myself a new-model Fabia vRS with the 1.4 TSI engine. Oh yes, I would.

Very, very impressive, Eddy. Will there be pictures and - preferably - movies when the work is done? I'd like to hear the sound of that!

Cheers guys, thanks... I certainly won't be a stranger but won't be a regular either. (I know, that's merely confirming the matter of fact of the past year or so ) *hands over virtual pint to Q*

Well, here's one for you: I got my first rattle driving it out of the showroom... Apparently it's the same one that almost every new ST seems to have, so I'm having that fixed when the opportunity arises. Seriously, I knew what I was in for and wasn't expecting bomb-proof Japanese or Skoda-style reliability. But it's so much VFM here in NL - and such a hoot to drive - that I couldn't be bothered.

75k kms here, and still smooth as ever.

Very impressive, Eddy... I'll be keeping an eye on this thread!

So at 37, has my midlife crisis already started then?

I've only owned very reliable cars: three Hondas, a Subaru and a Skoda. The Octy hasn't had so much as a rattle in 75k kms. So I'm expecting my new Fiesta ST to become my most unreliable car ever...