IanJD

I've had a broken rear light since just after I got the car in 2019 when my wife reversed into an overhanging windowsill. Last time it went in for a service I asked how much it would cost to replace, IIRC the answer was £270 😞 When I asked why I was told it wasn't just the cost of the replacement, it was the fact that the entire tailgate had to be stripped out to replace it. Nice one Skoda...

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/Thinking-about-fitting-just-two-all-season-or-winter-tyres.htm

Nothing to do with 4x4 -- DO NOT put all-weather tyres on the front axle only (with summer tyres on the rear) of ANY car, the combination is potentially lethal. Brake in icy/snowy conditions and the back of the car will magically become the front as you spin... Even mixing them the other way (all-weather at rear) is a bad idea (as is mixing on an axle), and might either be illegal (not sure about this) or invalidate insurance (if you have an accident).

Congratulations for doing a much better job than most then ;-)

I'm sure you inspect the hidden inner shoulders of your rear tyres for damage like this regularly and with religious fervour -- especially after other people have found an unexpected problem for you to watch out for ;-)

:-)

So which is heavier, Oooo or Ahaaa? The tone of your post suggested that you were saying that alloys were a lot lighter. If you were saying there's not much difference then I'd agree, obviously it depends on the wheel design -- a lot of OEM alloys are much heavier than they need to be because styling means there's a lot of structurally useless metal in there, and they don't want to pay for expensive forged alloys when they can charge the customer a fortune (several times the going rate) for cheap cast ones, because that's business. IIRC the difference wasn't that big, maybe less than a kilo -- but steel was lighter, which goes against what most people believe. Like I said, if you want to see what an alloy wheel designed for maximum strength and minimum weight looks like, try the original Minilite, or racing wheels. Now they *are* much better (and much more expensive) than steel, but their design priority really *is* performance not pretty looks.

One bothered to do exactly that on the last car I had which had a same-sized steel spare (so not the Superb); the steel wheel weighed less than the (thick cast OEM) alloy ;-) Did you do the same? And don't get me started on the apparently unstoppable fashion-driven trend for bigger diameter wheels, which together with the tyre usually weigh (and cost) more than smaller diameter ones because air is much less dense than aluminium... (go and talk to a suspension engineer before arguing that big wheels are not a style choice)

You said "and definitely not for steel wheels if you care about driving even a little bit" so yes I was replying to you. You obviously didn't read what I said, which is that *high quality expensive* alloys (like yours) are lighter, stronger and better than steel wheels, but this is often not true for *cheap lower quality* ones -- which is most of the wheels on the market when you include OEM (which are almost all cheap made-in-China ones with a manufacturer's badge stuck on), and very likely what the OP will end up with if he gets the "relatively cheap" wheels he's looking for. You yourself said that your (expensive) Ispiri alloys were 4.2kg lighter than the OEM ones, so we're not disagreeing here...

Cheap alloy wheels (i.e. most of them) are cast, have to be thick to get enough strength, prioritise looks over function, and as a consequence are usually heavier than steel wheels and no stronger (and easier to damage). They're a styling option, not a driving one. Expensive forged and machined alloy wheels are lighter and stronger than steel especially if designed for strength not looks (remember the original Minilites?), but this isn't what most cars are fitted with as OEM or what most aftermarket wheels are.

Yes, but it doesn't have the sense to realise that if I'm reversing at 2mph and a car is driving up behind me at 30mph slamming the brakes on isn't helpful regardless of whether the other car hits me or not, I'm not the one doing 30mph...

No, that's not what's happening. I'm in the road parallel with the curb with no cars behind me, I start reversing at a couple of mph ready to turn into my drive, other car is coming up behind me and pulling out to pass me. Zero chance of any collison but car slams the brakes on.

What's even more disconcerting is when I'm reversing into my drive from the road, sometimes if there's another car coming up behind to pass me the brakes are slammed on...

Agree with Redboy, the L&K with DCC is a bit soft with excellent ride in normal mode and better damped with firmer ride but much better handling in sport mode, you can choose which you want. Sportline with DCC is harder and noisier in both modes because of the lowered springs and bigger wheels with lower profile tyres (yes I drove both). I wouldn't like to have either without DCC, OK for cruising but too bouncy if you want to hack along. So I'd say DCC is a must with the 272/280, L&K or Sportline is a personal preference depending on equipment level and looks -- I think the Sportline looks a bit boy-racer tacky and is missing some things I wanted, others think the L&K looks too limousiney and is over-specced. YMMV :-)

Having gone from a (2017) 220 with 6 speed DSG (DQ250) to a (2020) 272 with 7 speed DSG (DQ381)... 1. At lower (normal driving) engine revs there's little difference in the engines, but the 272 goes like a rocket if you really boot it 2. The DQ381 7 speed DSG makes a difference -- first gear is lower (quicker takeoff from standstill), top gear is higher (lower revs/quieter/better economy when cruising), changes are smoother 3. 4WD makes a *big* difference -- trying to pull out quickly (especially in the wet) was always a gamble in the 220 (wheelspin/banging galore), no such issue in the 272 The 280 would be the same except for #2 since it has the same 6 speed box as the 220. On the 220 I had very occasional cases (probably no more than a couple of times a year) where the box didn't pick the right gear or paused (white-knuckle moments) when pulling away, usually after having just stopped (or almost stopped). The 272 seems less prone to this but I've only had it just over a year and have only driven half my usual annual mileage so this could be an illusion...