Gerrycan

Thanks for your comments. Based on my experience with the (older 103kw) 1.4tsi in my Octavia I'm not surprised at the competence of the 1.5tsi. As I was hoping, it sounds like it might be a bit more economical than my current vehicle although we are at the pointy end of ICE development so gains are likely to be incremental. The version sold here in Australia does not have the PPF fitted which will help a bit more. You do raise an interesting point though about all the new 'safety' tech in the car as I have reservations about some of the decisions it makes for the driver. Not everyone in this forum is a fan of it. I use my basic cruise control a lot, both in and out of town and appreciate its effective operation, but I have no experience of the ACC versions although many users here swear by it. Your wind noise at speed may be due to an ill-fitting door seal? I have had that problem myself but it was easily fixed as it had come loose at one point and the mount just needed to be be pushed back in its hole. Hope the visit back to the dealer addresses your rattles. Let us know how you get on with the now that the UK is opening up a bit more.

If the salesman said it's so, then it must be true! There's probably some truth to what he says but I think that would also be true of your extended warranty too, if you read the fine print. There will be all sorts of caveats on type of wear and tear the components are subject to. For normal drivers the warranties are reasonable and protect against most unusual catastrophic expenses. In Australia Skoda offer a standard 5 year, unlimited kilometre warranty, as long as you are not a professional driver covering huge annual distances. 5 years is standard here for most non-luxury manufacturers with Kia (possibly Suzuki?) and a couple of Chinese manufacturers 7 years and Mitsubishi 10 years with a distance ceilings. The Kamiq gets really good reviews here and has becomes the Skoda top seller, only restricted by supply issues.

My impressions of the two in the showroom was that while the Kamiq rear accomodation was good, the Karoq had the better legroom. Correct me if I am wrong but I thought the Karoq rear seat could slide forward and backward so maybe the rear seat was forward for more boot space?

Seeing as how your profile says you are located on Jersey the question posed by @cardo also crossed my mind. Is your profile location not accurate or do you normally ferry to France or UK?

Could you clarify how the Kia 7 year warranty ' wears off rapidly' ?

I'm a skinny 178cm so a car has to be pretty compromised for me to be cramped but I am aware that some of my larger (taller and/or bulkier) friends are impacted by vehicles I am comfortable in. I think the Australian version of the Corolla sedan operates on a longer wheelbase than the hatch providing better accommodation and bootspace. I read somewhere it may be larger than the European versions of the sedan/estate but I have not confirmed that. I got a few responses about actual Corolla consumption from a local car forum and the owners are getting between 50 and 75 mpg with the majority at the upper end. I guess if you buy a car for its economy then you are going enjoy the challenge of maximising its abilities.

It takes a while to come to terms with a new car's characteristics in different environments and things change anyway as it is run in. Look forward to hearing your opinions when you are ready to post.

Australians think they are rugged outdoor types so most new vehicles released here need to be identified as an 'SUV', even if they are little more than jacked up hatchbacks so there are relatively few estate options compared to Europe. The hybrid Corolla sedan/hatch here only has the 1.8L engine option but the lack of power doesn't worry me as our roads speed limits are very heavily policed and I am not prepared to donate to the government through speeding fines. We are both very busy at work currently so finding the time for proper test drives is difficult. My limited experience with Toyota hybrids pretty much confirm what you say about the box, and they are definitely economical around town. A manual 1.5tsi Scala is also very tempting.

West Wales to London is a long commute so I can understand a some disappointment at only getting around 40mpg, although I suspect you may have 'pressed on' a bit to shorten the journey time. The aerodynamics on the Karoq like many other SUV styled vehicles is not brilliant so higher speeds would exact a penalty. What sort of commute would you have with the new job? Open highway as before or more urban? Hybrid work well in urban, also hilly terrain but on open highway I would imagine there is little difference in consumption between the Scala and the Hybrid. Sure the 1.8NA Atkinson cycle engine is very efficient but so is the VW 1.5tsi. To be honest our old 1.4tsi Octavia can get similar figures to @MrMorm in the right conditions with overall lifetime average of 5.9L/100. Our current vehicles are ageing but still functional (a bit like us) and we are looking at possible replacements which includes a Scala and possibly the much more expensive hybrid Corolla. The Corolla hatch has far too small a boot so the sedan may be the one to look at. Unfortunately the estate version, which I would really like to look at, is not on offer in Australia. I have posted a request for comments from owners of a manual Scala 1.5tsi but unfortunately there have been no replies.

Seeing as how there are a couple of recent posts from different Octavia types about a sudden worsening of consumption I thought I might suggest something a bit different from the others (very plausible) suggestions. A lot of people just set and forget the climate control A/C so it is on all the time, and there is nothing wrong with that. However climate control A/C also controls humidity and I'm just thinking that if the weather has changed from just cold, to wet and cold, then the A/C might be operating both heating and cooling to reduce the humidity which would increase consumption.?? I've not experienced this in the UK myself (none of my UK cars had A/C 40 years ago) but relate it to an occasion when I got my worst open road consumption in unusual local (South Australia) conditions in my 1.4tsi Octavia. It was very overcast but hot (32 deg C) and very high humidity and very uncomfortable so naturally I had the manual A/C on (not climate control) but even on the lowest fan setting it made the inside of the car far too cold. So I had to put the heater on as well to offset the cold air and the combination meant my average consumption plummeted by over 10mpg for that specific 250km journey which I had done many times before in all sorts of weather conditions without the punitive results.

I donned my Dirk Gently detective hat to confirm that you are right, although strictly speaking it appears a trilogy in five and half parts . I have some catching up to do My problem is I am an obsessive compulsive reader and gave up on books in recent years so my wife did not become a 'literary' widow. I'm sure I can manage just two books though......right??

Had to laugh when I read the topic title and laughed again when I read what the Superb replacement was. Now that is downsizing! Heard the original radio version when first transmitted, seen the tv and film versions, read the four-part trilogy book set, but not seen the musical. Going to have a nice hot cup of tea now and see what that generates

The 1.5tsi has just been released here but is dsg only and a lot more expensive. I do not want to pay more than A$30k. 5 year unlimited mileage warranties are fairly common here except for Korean or Chinese 7 year and elite manufacturer pathetic 3 year offerings.

It seems manual 1.5tsi Scala owners are either rare or shy. So today I popped into the swish new Skoda dealer facilities, which are much more conveniently placed than before, to get the measure of the two prospective candidates. Candidate one is the 1.0tsi Kamiq: Surprisingly roomy for a compact hatchback (sorry I refuse to call it an SUV). Very good passenger accommodation front and rear and a reasonable boot. Candidate two is the 1.5tsi Scala: A bigger (longer) boot than the Kamiq with slightly less legroom in the back (I think) but with less apparent internal width. They only had higher grade models of both, with features I am not interested in because I think leather, a pano roof and any colour other than white is ridiculous in a country with very very hot summers, so this was a very provisional assessment. I would have to wait a bit until rare low spec manual versions were available for the wife and I to try. I have to say I am inclined toward the Scala because not only does it have a substantially more powerful engine, it is quoted with similar consumption figures. Another factor is that without any haggling the drive away price of the Scala at A$26990 is $1000 less than the Kamiq.

The local Australian Skoda website is indicating that the base 1.5tsi manual is available and may be in my price bracket. I can only find comments from 1.0tsi and dsg owners Current car is a 1.4tsi mk3 Octavia estate so this would be a step down in size so comments welcome also comments on performance, economy and handling would be useful. Cheers

After a long delay the the mk4 sedan and wagon (estate) has had a limited release here in Australia with more tech and substantial price increases New Skoda Octavia: Full Australian details - carsales.com.au The RS 245 version has the expected 2.0tsi and 7 speed wet DSG option. No hybrid version and no manual (sob). The 'base' version has the old 1.4tsi engine with an 8 speed Aisin torque converter transmission. No 1.0tsi Octavia ever released here, no hybrid, and no manual (double sob). The Australian 1.4tsi/TC combination is or will be available on Karoq, the mk8 Golf and now the Octavia, and is probably an experiment to overcome resistance to the dry DSG which is blighted by a horror run a few years from incorrect lubricant spec and ongoing issues where local drivers wear out clutch packs driving them like torque converter boxes in slow traffic. Interestingly the 1.5tsi and dry dsg is available in the recently released (here) Scala and the Kamiq. Only the Kamiq 1.0tsi has a manual version. Note that Australian politics is about 10 to 15 years behind the rest of the world regarding recognition and reaction to global warming so no incentives for reduced emission. Our vehicles still only need to comply with Euro 5 standards.

Hi @FyllCee awesome consumption but you converted to the smaller US gallon. 5.6L/100 equals 50 mpg (imperial) for the UK.

Isn't the DSG in the 1.6d Passat the 'dry' DSG as opposed to the 'wet' DSG in the more powerful 2.0d. I'm assuming the 1.6d is limited to 250Nm torque, if not then it will be the same 'wet' version. It might account for any differences you experience, even though their operation is very similar.

Looking at your list of cars and requirements it seems that you want a big, comfortable, sporty and powerful car at a reasonable price. I can't really think of one that fulfils all your needs without pushing into the pricey upper Mercedes or AMG category. According to many who have posted about theirs even the 280 Superb cannot really be considered a nimble car despite its many other redeeming features. It's either two different cars or you compromise on something? It is probably a bit too small for you but I always thought the previous edition BMW Series One with rear wheel drive and turbo six cylinders offered reasonable bang for your buck in terms of performance and handling. I think they were still in production in 2019 I did have a chuckle about your comment about being 40 and too old for some cars though.

A lot of discussion and useful information in this thread. Running in TSI engines - Skoda Superb Guides - BRISKODA Just don't put too much load on the engine during the first 1500 km so avoid Economy mode so the gearbox is not trying to maintain excessively low revs. Avoid excessive braking for the first few hundred km so they bed in nicely and won't be warped. Similarly avoid hitting kerbs, heavy braking, acceleration and cornering for the same distance so the tyres scrub off the initial smoothness. You will surprised how much the steering and handling feel changes as the tyres 'bed' in and the braking performance improves from improved grip.

Seeing as how the car is quite old I take it you have had it checked for error codes (malfunctioning sensors, injectors etc), that brakes are not binding or any fuel leaks? Assuming that those things have been checked and it appears to be running ok then it may just be a 'lemon', a car that never actually got good consumption from new. They do occur (ask me how I know, and it was not a Skoda) and the dealers are particularly unhelpful even when the car is new. How well does actual consumption (distance travelled against refuelling quantity) match up with the display (average since refuel)?

What wheel and tyre size are currently fitted to your car?

Jeez that seems to have come around quick.

Depending on your agility you might have to consider how difficult it could be for you both getting in and out a smaller car. I taxi my mother in law around in our old Echo. That works well as long as I do not park next to a curb. It also has a relatively high roof so no ducking. Hopefully you will already have had your jabs and be able to circulate in a couple of weeks to check things out?

That is pretty weird. Don't suppose they told you what they 'fixed' each time?