SUTTS

Ah ha, I hope it’s that simple. Service manager did mumble they didn’t actually check it prior to returning it to me…

I have a SE-L First Edition, which started to tell me a few weeks ago to arrange the 12 month ‘Inspection’ (I collected it 1st September 2020), despite being on the 2 year long life servicing - set by Simpsons when I collected it. After convincing my local dealership in Maidstone that it did not require a service after 12 months and 3700 miles (thank you C19), they agreed to have it in to simply cancel the Inspection message that came up every ignition cycle. I then had a call to say that this wasn’t possible to do as the car needed the big four software updates as an official recall, and that needed to be done first. I booked it back in and have just collected the car after four days - apparently the last update refused to download until Skoda UK provided guidance on it. Anyway, I have now found that not only had all the phone and radio settings been wiped (not unexpected), but it has completely lost the sat nav (message to say it can be activated by a dealer!), lost Apple CarPlay and smart link, and also the ‘Mode’ button (I.e. comfort/sport/individual) no longer functions at all i.e. does nothing when you press it when driving. The irony is that prior to these recall updates I had hardly any software issues at all, much less than others I have read about on here. I was one of the very few people whose satnav displayed in miles correctly! I’m sure the hardware version had a ‘B’ code after it originally. It now looks like this (pic). Has anyone else experienced these problems after the recall updates?? I’m booked to go back, for the third time, on Monday to hopefully have it sorted out!

No issues with mine, the ACT transition is imperceptible.

I don’t have the issue i.e. sat nav displays units in miles. I checked yesterday and I have the ‘B’ revision unit code on the hardware, so as suggested earlier this does appear to be the difference.

I collected my car on 1st September and it’s had miles on the sat nav from day 1. Very occasional front assist malfunction warning, but after a few seconds it seems to sort itself out with no need to switch off. Literally no other problems (fingers crossed). I haven’t bothered with the recall update for fear of rocking the boat!

Would have been nice to have had the electric boot release. Strange how they added it to the vRS but not the SEL 1st Ed.

The standard Octavia 4 LED lights have washers, and in my opinion are very good. Better than the xenon lights on previous (admittedly older) BMWs I’ve had.

Give it a minute or two (or less) and it will return to normal without having to stop and restart. That’s my experience when this has occasionally happened anyway.

I like the way Petrol Blue looks green in bright sunlight and almost black as the light goes. The paint finish seems good too. Mine’s now got a few lays of polish/wax/sealant on it for the winter. And yes my drive needs cleaning! Job for the Spring.

Mine does too, but as I’ve had no issues I might wait for a while.

What’s wrong with the seats? I’d be a little cautious about putting mine in for a software update as I’ve not had any issues, although that seems unusual compared to most on here.

My SEL FE is on a 2 year lease so I wanted rubber mats that fitted but were as well priced as possible. Bought the below from eBay - advertised for a Mk 3 but the fronts fit absolutely perfectly, and come with the correct fixings. The rear fit is about 90% as it looks like they found a couple of square cm of addition space in the rear footwells, but it’s fine for the money. They’re quite thin but will be more than adequate for a couple of years to save the carpet and the original mats. I paid £15.99 delivered but they’re now down to under £15! Bargain really, and arrived in two days. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303744938340

1,700 mile update Overall things are going very well and I’ve not experienced many of the issues that others on here appear to have... I really like the smooth ride on the 17” wheels, NVH is very low, I have no rattles or squeaks and the whole thing just feels well built. The paint finish is easily as good as my old Audi RS4, and with a layer of polish and sealant on it all it takes is a wipe over with detailing spray after a wash and it comes up really well and very shiny. The 1.5 engine is more than adequate in terms of power and is quite lively over 4K rpm. Once warm it’s very smooth and quiet. The switch to 2 cylinders is imperceptible with no vibration and the additional sealing around the doors is obvious in keeping engine and road noise out. I never had a Mark 3, so don’t know how bad the kangarooing was from cold. It’s not completely gone - I would describe it as being a bit lumpy for the first 100 yards if you pull away straight after a cold start. After that it’s fine. Alternatively idle for 30 seconds or so after starting and it’s virtually gone straight away. Ultimately I don’t find it a problem, and certainly not worth me talking to a dealer about. Gearbox is very light and smooth between all gears and braking is progressive and well judged i.e. not over-servoed. Steering is so-so and as expected somewhat lifeless for a fully electric system. I have the steering set to ‘sport’ on the individual mode which helps a bit. Standard LED headlights are very good, but it’s a shame about the unused strip at the rear on the boot lid! I generally quite like the touch screen and the mod-cons (my most modern car prior to this was from 2009). The sat-nav was set to miles from day one (most seem to be KM?) and on the very rare occasion that I get a failure warning for one of the safety systems it’s only for a few seconds before coming back on line. I’ve not had to switch off/on to sort this like others seem to. I would like to scroll through my ‘favourites’ on the radio using the arrow wheel buttons but it always scrolls through the DAB list instead. To be fair I haven’t consulted the manual on this yet! The touchscreen has never failed or frozen and I’ve had no issues with Skoda Connect. I don’t change the heating/ventilation much so all of that being on the screen isn’t a problem. I like the warm my hands/feet shortcut and use it quite often. When i do use the screen on the move I find the ‘shelf’ to rest your palm or a couple of fingers on really handy to keep steady. I tend to switch lane keeping control straight off as I drive away, but this only takes a second so no hardship there. The collision warning appears a bit paranoid at times when coming up behind someone turning left. It’s only braked for me once, which came as a bit of a surprise! Interior wise I’ve got the full ‘leather’ (not sure it’s been anywhere near a cow), which is fine, and good with the seat heating at the moment. However, specifying that means you don’t get the alcantara dash for some reason and instead it’s a grey, almost denim like material. No real drama, but it was a surprise when I picked the car up and it’s not mentioned in any of the literature. I quite like it now. Otherwise I think the interior is pretty good, well made, and at least what you would expect for a car of this price. I’m still impressed by the fuel economy. 90% of my journeys are a 13 mile each way commute to work, which is a mixture of town outskirts and dual carriageway. I usually average around 52 mpg in one direction and 46mpg on the way home (it’s predominantly slightly down hill on the way there!). Long term average is 46.5 mpg as any other journeys tend to be quite short. Coming from a 2002 n/a 3.0 litre 6 cylinder that averaged low 20’s at best I’m pretty happy with that I’ve had 3 vRS Octavias in the past (two Mark 1 hatchbacks and a 2.5 estate) and this was my first Skoda for a few years, with a couple of BMW’s and an Audi in between them. I’ve also got my old M5 in the garage which is a keeper! I am quite happy with my choice to go back to a Skoda, and will certainly be considering a new vRS for September 2022 before we have to go electric...

Looks nice inside the cabin. That artificial engine/exhaust noise (presumably in sport mode) is awful. It sounds similar to the actual noise my old 4.2 V8 RS4 with Miltek exhaust used to make, but on the outside! His steering inputs were hard to watch as well.

The baulky gear change doesn’t sound right. I can move mine all around the box with 2 fingers - it’s a very light change.