Rodge

You will probably want to turn the temperature up slightly in the summer. 20 °C all year round will feel warm in the winter and cold in the summer.

I don't believe that engine has ever been used in the Mk III Octavia in the UK. And the 1.0 engine that came later has been described very favourably by owners on Briskoda.

I would suggest looking for cars built after May 2015, which is when the 2016 model year started. The 1.2 TSI engine was upgraded from 105 to 110 PS and (I think) from Euro 5 to Euro 6 emissions. Also the infotainment system was upgraded from MIB1 to MIB2 with a bigger screen and optional SmartLink/Android Auto/Apple Carplay support. If the car doesn't have SmartLink as standard it can be enabled by a dealer for about £140. In spring and summer 2015 there was an offer which added cruise control, and auto wipers and headlights to SE models.

It has often been claimed here that this is not the case with modern cars. The pump apparently runs slowly to keep the system lubricated even when the aircon is turned off.

When my car had its first service I asked the dealer to check the headlight alignment and they raised them slightly, which helped, as did fitting brighter bulbs. With the right alignment, I don't think they're particularly worse than any other reflector halogen setup.

Only in the UK...

Sorry, I don't have an answer to the original question, but one reason I use SmartLink / Android Auto is so that I don't need a phone holder.

As the so called "Highway mode" is presumably legal, it should be considered the standard position, which means that below 56 mph you are getting reduced range. On rural British roads you need maximum range down to at least 40 mph. It should switch to highway mode at 60 km/h, not 90!

My ordinary petrol 1.6 Ghia Mk 1 Focus with standard suspension and 15" alloys has much better ride and handling than my Octavia. Unless your Fords had sports suspension or they were Fiesta based cars then your experience differs from what most people report. My Octavia is terrible over uneven surfaces and potholes. And the current generation American designed Mondeo is apparently terrible too. :-(

I managed to get my dealer to a a minor software update on the infotainment system during warranty by giving them a list of minor issues that I'd had with it. They had no idea whether it would fix them, but it seems to have been better since.

I thought £150 to spec SmartLink on my new car was great value because it was so much cheaper and better than the built in satnav.

Or, even better, put the handbrake on, don't dazzle the driver behind and properly hold the car in case someone at the back doesn't stop.

I think the colour maxidot is more worthwhile if you have the built in satnav. I'm quite happy with the black and white on mine.

I will have a similar dilemma next summer, when my car will be 5 years old with less than 30,000 miles. In other markets the belt is fitted "for life", with inspections at higher mileages. I will certainly keep the second cam belt for more than 5 years. My 2003 Focus had its changed at 10 years and 100,000 miles. Cam belts in Britain are obviously not what they used to be.

Headlights have always dimmed when starting the engine. Starter motors consume a lot of current. Stop-start has nothing to do with it. If anything with the better batteries fitted to stop-start cars the dimming effect might be less.

Isn't there a risk of exhaust fumes getting sucked in through a partially open boot lid?

One of the things I like about the Mk III is that the screen looks properly integrated into the dashboard. The new one looks like they forgot to include the screen and at the last minute just stuck an iPad on. Totally agreed on touch controls too - you can't use them without taking your eyes off the road and on a bumpy road there's nothing to brace your hand against as it wobbles up and down trying to touch the right button.

Press the on/off button for 10 seconds.

That might be MY17 and will definitely be MIB2. MIB2 was introduced with MY16 at the end of May 2015. Smartlink/Android Auto/Apple Carplay, which you said you have, is not available with MIB1.

On my Focus a double press of the unlock button unlocks all the doors instead of just the drivers door. A double press of the lock button activates the deadlocks. A long press of one of the buttons is required to open or close all the windows. I've never had it happen accidentally with the Focus, which it did with the Octavia until I got a protective key cover.

I think the servicing schedule commonly recommended here can be summarised as every 12 months / up to* 19000 miles, whichever comes first. *as required by the car.

Could it be a CAN bus problem? I use CAN at work, but I'm not familiar with how it's used in cars. Unreliable data transmission might cause widespread problems. This could be caused by a dodgy connection or failing termination. Usually the cables should be terminated with a resistor at both ends and the screen grounded in one place, but I have no idea where these terminations might be. How does the car monitor and report such problems?

Using Google maps with Android Auto I've occasionally had problems with Bolero getting stuck in announcement mode after giving some directions, which reduces the volume of the radio. It seems to be more likely to happen if I'm trying to adjust the volume as the announcement finishes. I've not found a way to fix it other than to wait for the next direction announcement.

The manual says that the light comes on when there are 7 litres left, which my refills approximately agree with, but I don't think it's as accurate as my Mk1 Focus. The range indication says 0 when there are still at least a couple of litres left and I don't usually look at it.

I would expect the correct level to be between the top and bottom of the flat rough section. That looks much higher. And new car engine oil is always golden yellow. It goes black when it gets dirty.