SoupDragon

You can control the heating easily and it is dual zone. It's difficult to use it for anything else on the move. If the radio is on, leave it on, you can select stations and volume form the steering wheel. My backlight is set to 50% and I don't need to change it. Anything else needs a passenger to sort out.

Fishcann, You have put it into words. that is exactly what happens to me.

It's not a subtle noise, it's a bad noise of mechanical distress. It's the gears have not fully engaged and are rattling against each other. the trouble is that when you changed to third it felt that the gears had gone in correctly. Is that what you are hearing? Also, with third not engaged, the car slows and you have to try again with a very strong push.

No welcome pack here either. With the MK3 I got a pen, a large mug and a steel key fob that was far too big for any practical use. I gave it back, apart from the pen. I got the Amazon USB converters which are very neat and £7 for two. With USB C you can't put the plugs in the wrong way round, they say.

Roottoot, thanks for the info, that's interesting, I will follow the link.

Trakus, your problem sounds similar to mine. On my car, it seems to be better with the engine cold but as it warms up, the 2nd to 3rd change becomes more difficult. I don't know about a strange squeaky noise. On mine, when you think you have correctly selected 3rd and lift the clutch, I sometimes get a noise of gears touching but not properly engaged followed by rapid loss of progress as I try again and have to give the gear lever a really good shove. Third gear has become so unpredictable that I am now changing from second to fourth and trying to avoid 3rd altogether.

Thanks SUTTS, the change on mine is very unpredictable, the worse I've ever known. It never 'falls in' and sometimes really pushes back. It's back to the dealers next week for attention.

I have the SE 1.5 petrol manual First Edition, just a week old. I have driven about 250 miles so far. in Petrol Blue, it's the best looking car in the Morrisons car park as far as I'm concerned, but I am biased. I made an 80 mile journey on Sunday in wet and foggy weather on town, A and B roads and recorded 53 mpg and I am very happy with that except my brand new car got covered in mud. The lights and wipers on automatic were good, the interior is very comfortable and quiet up to 70+. The ride is good and trusting, I had no sudden worries on bumps and corners and potholes. My previous car, Octy Mk3, could jump around on bad roads and the 4 is a big improvement over that. I used the front fog lights and found them useful for lighting the road edges and road signs. The interior space is amazing, especially in the back and the boot space is huge. The infotainment system is bonkers, it is unusable when you are driving, you need a flight engineer in the passenger seat to operate it when moving. The 'Lane Assist' is probably very well meaning but on B roads it bongs its head off and keeps on telling me to 'Please stay in the centre of the lane'. It pleaded with me so often, I started swearing back at it. On wide main roads it's not a problem but on English country roads it may be beyond its limit of understanding. It is a very handsome car and I find it comfortable to drive. it is refined and pleasant to be within. However, it is going back to the dealers next Monday for attention to its gear box. The change from 2nd to 3rd is very difficult. I have been caught out too many times already on roundabouts in no gear when trying to change up. I will let you know what happens.

Sorry Larryli81, I do not have a smart phone and I do not know about Skoda Connect, but I think I have read that there is a software update, on this website. The car is going back to the sellers next week for a proper extended test and inspection, I will let you all know what the result is.

That's a good price for the mats Czechers, I paid twice that when I got them from the Skoda dealers. They are good heavy duty rubber.

Octavia hatch Mk4, SE with 16" wheels and Kumho tyres. I previously had the Octavia MK3 with the same 1.5 petrol engine and the MK4 is much quieter in all respects. Haven't tried it with the rear seats folded down though, the MK3 was much noisier with the seats down. Also getting 52.9 mpg round town and on B roads. Only complaint is the notchy gear change from 2nd to 3rd. The garage wants to keep the car for a week (with a curtesy car) to find out what is causing the problem. It's got the same rear beam suspension as the MK3 which was blamed for the noisy ride. I think the SE L hatch gets the multilink rear springs.

I had a Mk3 hatch and have traded it in for a mk4 hatch. The mk3 rubber mats fit the new car perfectly without any trimming.

I have had the car for nearly a week, 250 miles now. From the outside, in Petrol Blue, it's the best looking car in the carpark. From the inside it's well sorted and very roomy, especially in the back. To drive, the 1.5 petrol engine is fine and does not have the jerky habits it had in the Octavia 3 which was my previous car. My only problem is the gear change. The change from 2nd to 3rd and 4th to 3rd is not easy. The gear lever pushes back three times as you engage third. The third push-back is the strongest and I have to concentrate and push hard to make sure the gear engages. I took the car back to the garage and the tech. re-calibrated the gear change mechanism. The set up is slightly better but still requires great concentration and deliberation to select 3rd gear. If third has not been selected correctly, the gears do not mesh correctly and the gear box makes the sound of grinding gears and progress of the car obviously stops. This effect makes me very anxious every time I use 3rd gear, I am never sure if 3rd has correctly engaged. I do not know if the shift will improve with miles but I will register my complaint with Skoda. Does anyone else find the gear box sub-optimal?

Thanks Fishcann, its all very Playstation generation. I wanted to sit in the car this evening and find out more about its controls. It took me nearly an hour to find out how to turn on the interior lights. With the contactless key there is no 'ignition on' position. I feel so dinosaur. Just three years since my Octavia 3 which was ordinary and now I am past my sell by date. Still like the car.

Got the car today, petrol blue SE hatch 1.5 manual. No rear wiper. Classy exterior, nice comfortable interior. Very refined ride. I need to read through the manual before I start pressing any of the buttons especially the one marked SOS The steering is exceptionally light and the engine only just audible around town. the car is very easy to drive, everything comes naturally to hand. I traded in my Mk3 Octavia and the interior and refinement is a big step forward. A useful thing to know: I had Skoda rubber mats and the big rubber boot mat in the Mk3 and I transferred these without any trimming into the Mk4. I don't think the door sill protectors are available yet. The fist thing I want to get is LED boot lights, the supplied lights are just feeble orange glow worms. Every time I stop I reach for the handbrake lever which has been replaced with an electronic switch. I do not trust it yet, but then when I started driving you could never trust the handbrake.

I will collect my new Octavia hatchback on Monday and I had a look at it today. It has no rear wiper, I suppose they know what they are doing. I had an unexpected surprise when I eventually got through to my insurance supplier to notify them of the change of car. The current insurance runs out at the end of December and to change the car now costs me about £5 less than the Octavia mk3 that I had previously insured, but there was a fee to make the change. I am not complaining about that.

I have ordered an Octavia mk4 hatchback SE First Edition 1.5 Tsi. To get the offered discounts I accepted a pre-ordered specimen which comes in petrol blue with a spare wheel and I wanted the 1.5. (I trust they have got the hesitation on pulling away sorted out by now). I am trading in a Mk3 Octavia with the 1.5 engine and that engine was a P.I.T.A. but less difficult to drive after the software updates. When I have looked through the spec. it seems that the Mk4 hatch comes without a rear screen wiper unless it is specifically requested (at no charge). I guess that if that is the case, the car will come without a rear wiper. The only problem I had with the Mk3, apart from the hesitancy, was the rear wiper washer used to get blocked and I had to take the cover off and clear the jets, but I was never able to re-align the jets properly. So I am asking Mk4 drivers, is the default build no rear wiper and if so, does the rear screen keep clear when it rains? Another question: does the 1.5 petrol engine in the SE have Eco mode, where two of the cylinders are turned off when the car is cruising? How does the Mk4 compare with the Mk3, it gets very good reviews everywhere. and looks classy

I think I have the answers to both my questions... Skoda UK tell me that the contact list is not held in the car memory, it is transferred in from the phone each time it is connected. The list of phones is deleted from the Bluetooth menu whish is accessed from the Media menu, then Bluetooth menu. Thanks for your help johnboy

I am shortly px-ing my p.p.c. Octy 3 for an Octy 4 and I was thinking about personal data I don't want to leave in the car. When you use a phone in the car, all the phone's contact list is available. I thought it would be a good idea to delete this list but I have not been able to find a way to clear it in the car. Does anyone know if the list of contact details is held in the car or is it uploaded from my phone every time I connect it? If held in the car, how do I delete it? Also, there is a list of all the phones that have been used in the car. How do I delete that list, there are some really silly names there? The Octy 3 has served me well (apart from jumpy 1.5 engine partially fixed ) and I was going to pay the final lump sum and keep the car but the way it works is that you get a brand new car for less than the final payment. My heart said "pay it off and keep the Octy 3" but my head said "that's silly".

The software fix I mentioned was strictly for the 1.5 petrol engine. The problems seems very similar.You could ask your dealer if there is an update for the diesel. When they updated the petrol version Skoda never announced it, you had to find out for yourself.

A well known problem with the 1.5 petrol engine. Skoda brought out a software fix about a year ago which helps a lot but is not a perfect solution. I am guessing that you have not had the update applied. Skoda never advertised the fix and you have to ask for it. Some members are finding that the fix makes their fuel consumption higher, I don't find that. Perhaps you could record your long term consumption before and after if you get the software update. I hope this helps.