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I must say that I read many reviews of the car before buying one and I don't recall any saying it would be difficult to park. You have obviously read different reviews to me, but rest assured not every road test says it will be hard!

No, they certainly don't all look like that on 16s! https://www.dropbox.com/s/ml4nn1ku68zvxkb/20131122_142915.jpg Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk

The car is also in 4wd every time you pull away from standstill. You can feel the system release to 2wd if you are turning at the time. Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk

Depends on your phone. It needs to be able to hold more than one simultaneous bluetooth connection. Michael Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk

Unless you want to spec it to Superb Elegance standards, in which case the Octy is more expensive. Yes, I think you'd have to go for the estate if looking at a Superb. It's not the widest of cars though - you won't get three child seats in the back. Michael Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

"Dealer fitted" - so are they aftermarket ones rather than specced at time of purchase? I also have front and rear sensors but no Park Assist on my March 2013 Elegance. The sensors (front and rear) are not normally on but the system is activated by dropping into reverse or pressing the single button. Michael Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Does it operate this way in any VAG vehicle? If not then I doubt very much we'll see it in VCDS. Michael

Yes - he was quoting the OP.

That advice was on a press release back in March and is nowhere to be seen on the current guidance documents themselves. Doesn't make it incorrect, but the ABI should be consistent if it is the approach to take. Michael Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

There's a significant difference in spec between the SE and Elegance. Personally I would consider getting the 140 if it allows the Elegance. Think about what will give you the most pleasure with your time in the car - extra torque or the comfort and toys of the Elegance. Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

That's not my reading of it. The link below gives the Association for British Insurers formal stance on the subject with a list of which insurers need to be notified, and about what, when fitting winter tyres. A few wish to be notified only if the customer "has or is fitting alloy wheels" and a couple wish to be notified only if the customer "has or is fitting alloy and/or wider wheels". However the vast majority of the insurers on the list do not need to be notified at all. The very fact that certain insurers explicitly state they do wish to be notified about alloys with the fitment of winter tyres implies that the others in the same table do not. Michael Link: https://www.abi.org.uk/~/media/Files/Documents/Publications/Public/Migrated/Motor/ABI%20guide%20to%20winter%20tyres%20The%20motor%20insurance%20commitment.ashx

I'd think these will be a given as they are on the new Octavia. Michael

Yes, I believe the dealers (or anyone with VCDS) can adjust the maxidot fuel reading. It is often inaccurate but at least it is consistently inaccurate, so once you have it adjusted it should be pretty good. When you say it's doing 43-45mpg "But nowhere near what it should do" - how have you set your expectations as to what it should do? Don't believe the official figures of course. The best way I know of finding out the true mpg of a car before getting it is Honest John's Real mpg page - http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/ . Michael

I remember pulling into a service station in France on the bike and having great difficulty not dropping the bike. The forecourt was quite literally like ice at the pump I stopped at - I had both feet down and could skate them about with my weight on them no problems at all. I quite liked it when it rained - at least you could see the diesel! Michael

I use fuelly too. Maxidot on mine is about 6mpg too optimistic - quite a long way out. Michael

I've gone for the TS850s as well. The 16 inch winters are much quieter than the 18 inch summers, which I am liking! Wheels and tyres from mytyres. Michael

I'd try your local dealers. The VAG policy is that staff have cars for 6 months and then they are sold on, so there's always a good number of nearly new vehicles within the dealer network. In August we gave our requirements to the dealer and he found us a 5-month-old 13-plate 170 4x4 Elegance estate with under 6k on the clock with some good options (tinted rear windows, upgraded sound system, front & rear parking sensors, front & rear heated seats, full-size spare wheel etc. etc.) for the princely sum of £21,500. This vehicle wasn't advertised anywhere publicly. Michael

Hill hold is great. I had it on my last car (a manual MINI Clubman Cooper S) and it was very useful. I don't have it on my Superb although apparently it can simply be enabled through VCDS coding - I'll give this a go when I can. Quite apart from the system working well I also believe it works on all four wheels rather than the handbrake working on just two. If in the French Alps during the snowy season (which is where I'll be taking mine) this could be a definite bonus! Michael

I'm obviously missing something. I downloaded the manuals from the link in the sticky, http://new.skoda-auto.com/en/mini-apps/owners-manuals/superb (incidentally the link doesn't work for me today). From memory I downloaded the manuals for Jul-Dec 2012 and Jul-Dec 2013 production (pre- and post-facelift) and neither had the info on winter tyre pressures, and nor does my printed one - hence the thread. Where are you guys finding this info?

That's great, thanks Anthony. My manual doesn't have that info (2013 pre-facelift) and I can't find it in either the pre- or post-facelift manuals online. How old is yours, and in which country? The info tallies with what I've found for other VAG cars though - I'll go ahead and up the pressures. Michael

Yup, they're fitted the correct way round. Huskoda's advice makes sense, even if it is contrary to what I initially expected. Flex in the sidewalls could be exactly what I'm feeling - the car seems to be cornering one way and then the other when at high speed. Note this is ever so slight, but being used to the fairly rock-stable tracking of the car at speed I was a bit surprised. I've been looking around elsewhere and some other VAG handbooks recommend increasing the tyre pressure by 0.2 bar when fitting winters.

It could indeed be a dodgy bovine component of my car! Actually it's only happened to the driver's seat and was quite dramatic, so I might know what it is. The car went back to the dealer just after I bought it to have a couple of nicks in the driver's seat leather repaired - they had an upholsterer who deals with these things. I wonder if he sprayed the entire seat base in something which has set and then in the cold weather caused the leather to crack under stress. Going back to the dealer next Tuesday for them to have a look. Michael

Put the winter tyres on at the weekend. The ride is certainly quieter on the 16" Continental TS850 tyres compared to the standard 18 inch summers. I couldn't find any guidance on pressures for the winter tyres so inflated them to the standard pressure for 16 inch (which if I recall correctly is 2.5 bar front, 2.6 bar rear?). I find it very strange that the higher profile tyres run at a higher pressure than the low profile 18 inch, and I've also found the ride on the motorway to be a little nervous - feels like it needs constant course corrections. I expect that reducing the pressures will cure this, but I was interested to know what pressures people are running on their 16" winters? Michael p.s. Photo was taken before inflating tyres - they were fitted to the rims at 2.1 bar each.

Exactly as RichieJ says. How old is your car, and which bluetooth module does it have in? If it is a recent one then in Maxidot go to Phone - Settings - Phone Settings - Phone Mode and select 'Handsfree' rather than 'Premium'. 'Premium' is using the rSAP (remote SIM access protocol) to use the phone's SIM info but effectively disabling the rest of the phone including its radio; instead the car becomes the phone. 'Handsfree' is the usual old-fashioned way of connecting. If you have a slightly older version of the bluetooth module you will need to delete the pairing, forget the car from the phone and vice versa, re-initialise and re-pair, and when the phone asks if you wish to allow remote access to the SIM you say 'no'. It will then connect via 'Handsfree' only. If it's an even older module you're out of luck I'm afraid - they only supported 'Premium' (which is why they didn't work with iPhones which don't support rSAP). However you can change the bluetooth module, and there's plenty of threads (and sticky ones at that) about doing exactly this. Michael

I got into the car this morning, leant on the drivers seat and heard a noise a bit like a zip undoing. Looked down and the leather of the seat was cracking all over. The car is only 8 months old and it wasn't especially cold today (car estimated 4.5 Celsius). It's going back to the dealer to sort out, but has anybody else experienced this? I know the leather isn't the thickest but I'm slightly concerned it might be a faulty batch, in which case the rest of the car could be at risk (something else the dealer will be looking at). It does have heated seats and I do use them, but I would expect rather better!