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No it's early 2018 so I believe it should have the earlier 6 speed. Unless the box already has a fault and won't engage the 7th gear 😂

If you charge the car on a plug, and the generator charges a battery below a certain amount it shouldn’t get used that often. A small engine or gas turbine directly runs a generator, the same as the alternator that would be otherwise required. No gearbox or transmission losses would easily save any small loses. As a generator an engine can run at its ideal RPM so would be more fuel efficient than varying revs with load. Finally the weight saving vs directly driven hybrid (mild or otherwise) would only add to efficiency. I believe a number of mild hybrids don’t deliver in the real world also, which suggests a degree of box ticking using 48v and a combined generator/alternator/starter to do some assistance. @Lady Elanore Sadly I’m not sure weight is such so different these days: Newest M5 is a smidge under 2 tonnes and an EV6 AWD a smidge over. https://www.bmw.co.uk/en/all-models/m-models/m5-competition/2020/highlights.html I’m not happy about the trend for fat cars and I miss the control you get from a Manual gearbox, although not currently missing the fuel bills. To be fair I also get irritated by the 101 bongs from driver “safety” systems that are not.

PHEVS allegedly mpg figures are nonsense. Miles Per Gallon, not Miles Per Gallon and Electricity, is not a figure they ever seem to quote. (MPGE?) If you cruise on a motorway at a steady speed, then the electric motor is not in use much and the mpg figure is closer to what the petrol engine alone, can achieve. When driving in a city, the electric motor is in use a lot more and also creates a bit of regen, so the mpg goes up. But once depleted, the car continually does a little top-up of the battery to achieve a constant minimum charge status, so the mpg can go down on the motorway compared to when the vehicle has a bit of charge (that is mostly unused) in the battery, as the car might be driving and charging a little, all done from the petrol engine. Although in town the economy is still better than on the motorway thanks to regen I suspect. As a petrol car I reckon the true average mpg is around 36-40mpg which isn't too bad for a rather heavy car (as all EVs and PHEVs are 😞 ) I'm pretty sure my next car will be ICE and not EV. Hopefully, if it has to be hybrid, it will be the non plug in type.

Thanks for making me aware of the Silca bag issue. I've just removed mine, a bit fiddly but not difficult. Will change coolant at next service.

PodPoint have these for Maintenance Technicians travelling to work on chargers. This one has only a 11 kW AC on board charger, ridiculous really for how far it has to cover in Scotland.

Some wise guy once said that fog lights are good to explore objects you are just going to hit. They create massive light spot just in front of the car. Your eye pupils will shrink due to this and to see whats further in front of you becomes pretty limited.

The thing is about the 7 year old car and someone at a dealership saying no longer any need to replace the timing belt is fair enough. But then if they think they will realise that until July that car had not been serviced to the Manufacturers Recommendations, guidelines, schedule or specifications. Again fair enough, but these dealerships were selling Skoda Approved Used cars with Full Main Dealer Service histories with a Warranty just not serviced to the blah blah blah / guidelines. Now they are full of bright ideas while 3 months ago they trotted out the same old 5 year guff.

Looks like it runs on petrol. It doesn't plug-in. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/renault/clio/108910/new-renault-clio-e-tech-hybrid-2020-review I think it depends on speed. Petrol powered EV is still more efficient at low speeds (which incidentally wouldn't need range extender). EV efficiency decreases as speed increases, so there will be a speed where petrol-generator-motor setup is less efficient than a diesel ticking over to maintain speed. How about "power split" hybrid, There's 2 motor-generators and an ICE driving a planetary gearbox, like a Toyota hybrid, but with full sized battery for meaningful EV range. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vehicle_drivetrain#Power-split_or_series-parallel_hybrid Complexity is lower than clutch and gearbox, thus reliability is higher. It can be EV-only driven or engine driven. EV drive low speed, engine drive high speed. Of course EV mode wouldn't be as efficient as direct motor-reduction-gear drive. Chey Volt or Vauxhall Ampera-E: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt#Drivetrain

Do not leave the window down (passenger side) even just a little by mistake if there is going to be rain, especially lots of rain. Then if you do and it turns out not too much water came in and you dry it up and drive off, do not make the mistake of opening your window. Lack of guttering is the biggest error of any in these cars that are much BIGGER than the original Mini but is supposed to be have the Retro look. You never got soaked with the sliding windows or wind up and down ones when there was a gutter. The door would drop though and the engine might not start because of the H20 that got in the engine compartment. .................... The New MINI Cooper Electrics can be reserved. I take it that is because they will come in from China before any are built in the UK. That seemed not to be mentioned the other day when the news story was all about how the 2 new electric MINI's will be built in the UK from 2026. Well this is 2023. Lets see if Motoring Journalists notice that you can not open the windows when sitting and it is raining unless you want rain coming in the car and obviously you can not fit Wind Deflectors. Not handy if sitting in an EV when charging and it is raining and you are not under a canopy.

You make a great point. Some car makers, and Stellantis is probably top of my list of marketing cars which are really bad value for money when one takes account of the failure to use the fast progress in both energy density and also battery chemistry and for Vauxhall Stellantis to be trying to sell the Astra for £40k with a 51kwh battery and the older Lithium Ion tech is incredible. Yes I think they are already offering some 0% financing but such an offering is just stunning considering the value for money offered by other car makers. I expect we will see a Model 3 for less than £40k soon it avoids the luxury road tax. For £40k I would be expecting a 75 kWh battery, car with heat pump and lithium iron phosphate battery with charging rate approaching 150 kw or at least 125 kWh for most if not all of the charging curve. There are always some that get convinced by the sales person to go for the deal but it really does not sound a good deal to me compared to many if not most offerings my other car makers.

Looking for some help. My Samsung A54 refuses to connect wirelessly to android auto. It's fine if connection is via cable. New Kamiq, 6 weeks old. My previous Kamiq worked fine with the A54. Dealer is telling me my phone is not on the Skoda compatibility list, but I tell them it was fine on previous Kamiq. Anyone use a Samsung A54 with Android Auto? Does it connect ok? Thanks.

I get that cars in general get heavier and something like the M5 is very heavy, but it has a massive engine and astonishing performance, whereas a cooking EV is often the same weight and is a one trick pony with rapid acceleration up to a moderate speed. My M3 is lardy, even though it hides it weight astonishing well, but it is roughly the same weight as my PHEV!! I will like EVs and their ilk slightly more, once they become lighter. As for ICE cars, I'm grateful I can still get them, even if there is a weight penalty these days.

The Nissan Qashqai I had for 2 months while awaiting a decision on the final value of my written off Superb was a Mild Hybrid and like your Renault, was unable to drive on pure electric mode, it only gave a bit of extra acceleration when stepping on the gas for a snappy overtake or pulling away from rest, after the hybrid battery been charged. etc. I thought the whole system left me underwhelmed, it was not very satisfactory TBH. I was trained to be as light on the brakes as possible, I was trained by a bus driver and that is how they were taught. When pulling up, as the speed scrubs away almost to zero, to ease off on the brake pedal slightly to avoid a jolt when the car comes to a halt, in order to give passengers a smooth ride and also to avoid any passengers who might be standing, or walking towards the exit of the bus being made unsteady on their feet. So when I tried that in the Qashqai, the system thought I was pulling away and the electric motor would kick in and try to propel the car forward. I was glad to see the back of the Mild Hybrid to be perfectly honest.

The EU / Germany should maybe be looking into the kidology / cheating of manufacturers in the EU / Europe partnering with EV manufacturers in China or elsewhere to come up with the false Fleet emission averages. By the EU allowing this cheating the EU manufacturers are able to keep building and selling higher emission / expensive ICE vehicles while not actually building and selling the low emission ones themselves. If they were not able to do that they would be paying Millions or Billions of euro in penalties or actually not be making profits so not building vehicles.

The definition of hybrid seems to be very elastic. My "Mild" Hybrid Renault Arkana somehow gets called a hybrid but cannot drive in electric mode as my lad's Clio ETECH does or obviously the Zoe does. All the hybrid does do that is supposedly is to use the alternator/generator to get a bit of regen and, though one cannot detect it, apparently helps with a bit of shove in acceleration seem to remember reading somewhere 8 Nm which is pretty small but Renault claim about an 6 to 8% improvement in fuel consumption and lowering of CO2 over the previous 130 hp, 240 Nm engines. It may be ideal ambient temperature at the moment in mid September but from what the car's systems are telling me I am doing nearly 70 mpg in a tall C segment car, range showed 710 miles upon fill up, drove 120 miles and it is still showing 630 miles so if I continued to drive that motorway and town driving I would be looking at around 70 mpg and 750 miles out of my 50 litre tank, which I have never got more than 46 litres in. Renault range figure disappears as soon as fuel light comes up weirdly. So I would say fuel consumption can be awesome in a hybrid. I was in no rush, often on the car telephone system so only doing around 60 mph but super impressed. Last winter it was in the low to mid 50 mpgs but it certainly loves the warmer times in the fuel consumption figures. Son's ETECH is more of a proper hybrid, can spend much of its time in EV mode. The Clio ETECH hybrid has much to commend it I think.He is only get 60 mpg average but he likes to not think about being economical, keeps it in the My Sense adaptive mode rather than ECO or Sport. As above some can get 80 mpg plus out of the car, I suspect I would if I was driving it. The mixture of ICE and hybrid works much better than I thought. EV to start the journey off serenely but when you want it the little 1.6 naturally aspirated engine kicks in with quite a nice note, repowers the traction battery then when cruising or braking the ICE shuts down and one is back in pure EV mode. The emission, particularly NOX are incredibly good. Range can be 550 miles upon a fill up from its little 39 litre petrol tank. Price was not massive on purchase, interest free made it a sweeter deal. Much better for the environment than pure ICE but the range of an ICE. Good pickup with the electric motors adding to the typical ICE poor torque from just over tickover. Must admit better than I thought it would be. New Austral with the 200 hp 1.2 turbo engine and ETECH was next level. 80 mph in EV mode, 700 mile range but low CO2 etc. Do miss the tachometer and paddle shifts I have when driving the mild hybrid Arkana but pleasant. Probably hybrids will be redundant when genuine 500, 600, 700 mile EVs come along which should be within a couple of years for the mass market as the current pace of battery improvements but also tumbling traction battery prices it should not be too long that hybrid are also yesterday, but maybe hydrocarbon hybrids will be to be replaced by hydrogen hybrids.

A big thanks to Pete for the repair, in my case the drivers side window switch was also faulty due to water ingress. £6.55 for a replacement from eBay.

They've started using the taxi version of those round here. Just call one via the app like an Uber https://vhhbus.de/hop/

Mine also seems to have miraculously fixed itself and definitely haven’t done any updates. Fingers crossed that’s the end of the issue.

Try dropping a little oil down the plug hole before retesting the compression to rule out any bore glazing.

Yep, pretty sure that's correct. Not sure on compressions, maybe a bit on the low side especially on 2 & 3. Maybe worth repeating and trying in different conditions, cold engine and warmed up, to see if that reveals anything?

64k under my control, the car is just shy of 180000km. And you can really hear the hum at 100km/h... I also drive some gravel, not that much. The roads are generally bumpy, not potholed. But winter does take its toll and snow can be super uncomfortable at times... I'm okay with the timing of this. The "fix", to move the one tyre to the rear, has helped things a lot. Winter tyres will be on anyway in a few weeks.

What happens when you turn the lights to off, the “0” position? Do the DRLs work then? My thinking here is faulty light sensor and so the headlights are being turned on all the time incorrectly.

& if looking for a BMW i3 and wanting to go further between charges and not with the Range Extender one there is the 27.2 kWh or 37.9 kWh usable battery ones.

Nice they've mentioned home EV charging tariff at the very end. That Model 3 RWD efficiency is staggering. I think in the hottest 30c weather my MY LR would get around 4 mi/kWh, so around 300 miles. I found it to have best efficiency around 20c. So the M3 RWD could probably hit 5 mi/kWh in ideal conditions. M3 RWD or MG4 is the pick of the bunch, I think. Also the second hand Zoe 40 is a good buy.

Just relax and bimble around. If on a motorway do not zoom along at 70 or 75 mph. Gentle acceleration, light foot, enjoy the scenery. Gentle to mid level braking so always using regen rather than wasteful squeezing of those disc brakes. Hypermiling bit of foresight needed but no more than the police and advanced driving teaches..................

Surely using a ICE to drive a generator then using the generator's output to charge batteries and also drive an electric motor is less efficient than a mild hybrid?

Just bought a 2017 Skoda Fabia Mark 3 and the only issue was that the screen washers were not working. Pulled out fuse 22 and saw it was blown. Swapped it with the radar fuse below it (for now) and the washers now work! Thanks for the tip, AG Falco!

So easy to get good fuel consumption without driving to hypermile. I liked the autoboxes and how they are. The Clio handles great & better than the likes of the Toyota Yaris that is also a fuel sipper.

Most of it is a load of kidology to do with getting through WLTP & RDE2 and real world results that have nothing to do with the real world. IMO & IME of trying them Renault / Dacia have 'Mild hybrid' technology nailed if you want to drive their vehicles and drive them in a way that you get very good fuel economy out of these petrol vehicles. Actually they are doing quite well with BEV,s also. The PHEV,s are there just for helping them with Fleet Average emissions i think and because some customers might actually use them as they can be used and not much liquid fuel used and cheap charging of the battery for short journeys.

Storm in a tea cup. I can hardly imagine a car being make without a bit of hybrid, even in tiny bit like my Arkana which did nearly 70 mpg back from Liverpool yesterday. Son's Clio ETECH can do over 80 mpg if coaxed using its hybrid system to drive on electric half or even three quarters of the time. The hybrid system on the above two cars seems to add only about £2k on to the retail price over the non hybrid and then as soon as you start running the hybrid it is doing 5, 10, 15 mpg better than the ICE only car. One would have to be certifiable to even not want a non hybrid as it is better economy pays for itself I would reckon for anybody doing an annual mileage around or above 8k a year and the driving experience is so much better. Automatic, a whoosh of electric power upon take off. There is so much to like and little not to. 2035 is the real date. 2030 is a non event really in my opinion.

I know there's diverse views and perspectives in this thread, so I thought this would be the best place to ask. What's your view on 2030 ban, what level of hybrid do you think will be allowed after 2030? What would be the minimum EV range required? (assuming it goes ahead, most manufacturers are offering mild hybrid now) In case you need a refresher: https://motorlease.com/article/hybrid-vehicle-types/ You know my views on hybrids: electric drive only, only hybrid I'd accept is serial range extender hybrid (i3 REx). But that's just my personal view, and I'm not sure it's achievable. I've not cared for hybrids for a number of reasons, so I'd like to see what other people thinks and I promise I'll respect different views.

Bilstein B6 and Bilstein B8 are a mono-tube design, whereas Bilstein B4 are a twin-tube design...at least with most VAG cars. I did see some half price B6 for a Dacia, but they were the cheaper twin-tube design rather than the more expensive mono-tube design. Mono-tube is superior to twin-tube. B6 and B8 aren't necessarily harder than B4. It would cost Bilstein nothing to make the B4 harder by using different valving at the manufacturing stage, if that increased the performance. It's better to think of B6 and B8 as simply higher quality than B4, rather than harder. However, once you go past B4 I expect diminishing returns comes quickly. With the VRS, B6 and B8 are probably a good idea.

They are 50 or 75 kWh now. As for the Stellantis MPV,s that are 50 kWh and have only 7 kw on board chargers not even 11 kW ac (an option) they are a damn joke really for what some leased them for. That is really down to the Motability Specialist at Dealerships who probably knew no more than the customers in ordering them. They might do those that go no place far, but that is not why many want their Freedom, or the family want a suitable vehicle. They are not suitable. This is absolutely ridiculous.

I have installed a front and rear dashcam (NextBase 522GW) in my Karoq. DAB is still usable but the rear camera definitely makes it more prone to dropping out when the signal is poor - it's fine with front camera only. There's a weak signal area near me, and I can make the signal disappear by plugging in the rear camera - it comes back when I unplug it again. Any Wi-Fi would be generated by the front unit as the rear is wire only to the front camera, so in my case I doubt it's that. At some point I might experiment with different wire paths and/or camera location to see if I can improve it

I would think every dashcam which supports WiFi also has a function to turn that feature off within it's settings menu. I have one hardwired, without WiFi and have no issues with DAB signal in the Central Belt of Scotland.

As far as I know, Fuse and Fuse Taps are not directional (like a Diode or LED) so current will flow either way through them! So it doesn't matter which way they're installed (They'd probably be key'd to fit one way if they were) Worst that would happen is the same as fitting an LED a**e about face, It' just won't work till you turn it round! 😊

Hello Jakk, if this is a 1.4 TSI you are referring to - that is correct. Previously, Skoda UK dealers were stating 5 years or (I think 60K miles) - whereas, IIRC, VAG (exactly same engine) was saying something like double that. I had mine changed at 6 years (recommendation was still 5 years at time) with only about 23K miles, my old belt and tensioner still looked new! - I believe the recommendation has now changed to inspections only until newly specified (significantly increased) period and mileage.

Directional is probably a strong word... They are very simple things. Quick sketch: So yes, it fitted 'upside down', both the circuit and new accessory will be drawing power through the original fuse. It 'could' cause nuisance tripping but given how much power a dash cam uses, it's quite unlikely to cause any issues. If you remove the original fuse and the accessory still works, you got it right. If you remove the original fuse and the accessory doesn't work, you got it wrong. Simples If you do want to use a multimeter, remove the original fuse and the tap, then see which of the fuse connectors on the board has 12v. That'll confirm which side is power...

Does DAB work if the dashcam is off? If so, a different camera may solve the issue.

Dashcam I fitted to my previous Lexus killed DAB, same camera switched to my current Octavia, same semi-hardwire bits (piggyback fuse and hidden trailing ciggy socket) no problems. The Lexus dealer had no idea how to fix it, I just lived with it.

New tensioner acquired from TPS. Could have gone aftermarket but went OEM for the supposed definitive "K" version of tensioner. Not too steep at £56.00

I know it was 10 months ago but did you call them? What did they say? I'd be returning the car to the dealer who fixed the supposed rear speaker problem. Who am I to say the rear speaker didn't have a leak, but I find it extraordinary that would cause the passenger footwell to be damp. It's very rare for someone to have a unique issues. Never heard of a leak around a speaker before so I'd take an educated guess and say that was never the source of the damp footwell.

Lack of gas due to a leak is the most likely cause in my book, however a re-gas is a waste of time without getting the leak fixed first. If it isn't obvious under the bonnet using UV active dye inserted into the system, it could be the heat exchanger matrix behind the dash leaking. Hope for something relatively simple!

Owners manual page 298 shows how to manually lock passenger door. Car booked in to source the problem, Had to agree up to 1 hour check, cost of up to £150. I asked if this meant stripping door to gain access, ‘ Oh no, we just plug it in!’ Will keep you informed after next Wednesday.

When I was ordering the factory options I specified a full size spare (steel not alloy) never keen on the space saver options & would only have one as a last resort ! Would at the right price have the matching alloys like the SEL versions have fitted from new.....only had the spare out to check the pressure !😉

There is one more option. Buy OBD11 and change the throttle behaviour from gradual to linear.

BOTH REAR FOGS FOR 2020+ MODELS I’ve The 2022 Facelifted Superb With The All LED Tail Lamps Setup I Was Scouting For A Long Time To Do This Mod Too As Only A Rear Right Side Fog Light Made It Look Like A Cost Cutting On Their Flagship Car! Then I Came Across This Post & Wanted To Give It A Try Firstly Let Me Tell You That I Tried All VCDS Codings & None Of Them Work NO VCDS CODING IS REQUIRED FOR IT It’s Just A Case Of Hardwiring It From The Right Lamp To The Left One 😁 And As No Proper Way Is Listed Anywhere For 2021 Onwards Models And Our Connectors Are Totally Different From The Previous Gen Lamps, So Let Me Share The Whole Process With You Guys 🤪👍🏻 STEP 1 - Unclip The Boot Closing Button & Remove It Aside, And Then Remove The Rear Trunk Liner (Which Is Held In Only By Metal Clips), So Pull It Apart In Downward Direction As Shown Earlier In This Thread With Plastic Trim Removal Tools STEP 2 - Find Both The Connectors For Both Left & Right Lamps As You’ll Notice From The Above Pictures, The Left Light Connector Has 5 Wires Going To It & 1 Empty Slot In The Connector Whereas, The Right Light Connector Has All 6 Wires & No Empty Slots STEP 3 - Take 2 Pin Crimp Connectors (You Can Find These Easily In Old Computer Cables, Just Pull Them Out Of Any Lying Sockets) See The Attached Picture For Reference STEP 4 - Attach Both Of These Connectors To Both The Ends Of A 1-1.5m Long Wire And Solder Or Electrical Tape It Properly! STEP 5 - Now It’s Just The Matter Of Putting One End Of The Wire Into The Empty Slot Of The Left Connector (Refer Step 2) And The Other End Of The Wire Gets Joined Into The Bottom Right Light Purple Coloured Wire Which Is For The Fog Lights! Now Pack Everything Back To As It Was AND VOILA YOU’RE DONE! ✅ Enjoy Both Fog Lamps Working With The Same Switch 👌🏻 I Wonder Why They Provide Lights On Both Sides But Different Wiring 😞