ettlz

Welcome to wonderful world of electronic throttle pedals trying to second-guess your driving intent. Additionally, the Fabia's clutch and gas pedals are incredibly light which makes it harder for the brain to judge exactly where the pedals are and what commands they're sending to the vehicle. What I've found: There's an inactive spot at the top of the gas pedal travel. (The ECU sees all this movement, it just ignores it.) Beyond that zone the pedal response is very sensitive so fine foot control is required. Techniques for fine control include using the arch of the foot (which is more sensitive and moves less) or using the right of the ball of the foot with a twisting motion. The clutch goes from biting to slipping to fully enagaged roughly in the middle of the pedal's travel over a region that's smaller than you'd expect. This can be hard to judge from the lack of feedback underfoot. I suspect what's happening is as follows: You set the gas, and pull the clutch up to biting point. The car begins to accelerate and the front end lifts. You continue to lift the clutch pedal, and apply sufficient throttle to keep the engine revs level. The clutch pedal reaches a point where it's engaging more than you think, which slows down the engine a bit. Finally the clutch then engages fully, so the car's speed is suddenly locked to the engine's. The car stops accelerating and the front end dips down. The loss of acceleration is what you feel. So you can try, in combination depending upon requirements: Slow down what happens in steps 3-4 by identifying the bit of pedal travel just before full clutch engagement and slowing your left foot's movement. This gives two sides a bit more time to equalise their speeds. Apply a little more gas progressively throughout engagment, so that the car continues to accelerate throughout engagement, but with a softer edge as the car transitions to constant speed. See the note on fine pedal control above. If the car's going fast enough for it, just change to 2nd gear before fully engaging the clutch anyway. Obviously don't torture the clutch with excessive slipping or rev differences. Other considerations: As soon as the clutch starts to bite, if possible get both hands on the steering wheel and keep a good driving posture to help pedal control. Feel the car's acceleration response as it the clutch acts. Use different footwear. I'm not joking here -- anything that alters my foot sensitivity or the thickness underfoot throws out my smoothness until my brain recalibrates.

I get a rattle from the handbrake release button, but from the driver's seat it sounds like it's coming from the dash.

Yep, definitely overpaint. I took a closer look at the bottom of the A-pillar normally hidden by the bonnet, the Black Magic fades out to the car's main colour.

Pretty straightforward: are the roof and A-pillars on a colours edition painted or covered in a very conformal wrap? (I'm leaning towards paint applied over the vehicle's main colour as there's a slight lip where they meet.)

This is how it starts. First they remove an axis on the air vents. Next it'll be the beloved ice scraper under the petrol door.

Does anyone else get water leaking into the engine compartment where the two halves of the scuttle panel meet -- especially after washing or heavy rain? The bit bulging out to the left of the clip looks like foam padding between the scuttle and metal support, water squeezes out of this until it dries.

OK, whose 'simply clever' idea was it to remove the azimuthal control on the air vents, and use the left-right slider thing to vary the flow? Or have I missed something?

The top 5 litres (roughly) in the tank don't register on the gauge -- the surface level's probably above the float at that point. Was like that on the Mk3, my Citigo, my parents' Up!s, my old Mk4 Ibiza, etc. So if you've just filled up, for the first 50 miles it look you've got yourself a perpetuum mobile.

Using Sainsbury's 97 (E5) -- Cambridge to Southampton journey today (mostly motorway) averaged 57.7mpg. Really pleased at only 250mi old. Prior Mk3 (also 1.0 TSI 110) would do ~60mpg on the Southampton to Huntingdon run (with favourable weather, plus a few 50mph VSLs on the M25 ).

Also just upgraded. Still getting used to mine. Though the Mk3 could be a pokey little riot, the Mk4 is a superior car in every way. So much more refined. Down sides: had to find extra room in the garage; had to buy a special bolt to fit my Mk3 spare kit into the receptacle (2G0 803 899 A); and too quiet -- I can't hear that 'Three Pots of Fury' engine note (for gear shift purposes, of course 😉). (The throttle curve also seems a bit more non-linear with all the fun near the end of the travel, but that's just a right foot calibration issue.)

Those aero inserts have to go. And I need to find another 10cm in the garage.

Just gave the nod to a Colour Edition in Graphite Grey while the trade in on the Mk3 is good. Hoping for August/September delivery.

My previous one was Quartz Grey (a.k.a 'Metallic Dull Green') which I initially thought was a bit, er, 'middle-aged' (bought from stock, only cared about trim and powertrain). But now I'm on Race Blue I appreciate how well Quartz Grey hides dirt and minor scratches.

Could be the gearbox mount.

I noticed this when I had a 1.2 with the 6 speed: to go 3rd to 6th without nasty noises I had to slow down the shift to spend a brief moment 'visiting' neutral (which is often regarded as a good sympathy habit anyway), though going via 5th worked fine on mine. Maybe the synchroniser rings are struggling on 5th and 6th to slow down the clutch's driven side through such a ratio?