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...

The Superb (e.g. 2017) used to remember settings, the newer ones (e.g. 2019) don't -- I use individual mode (with just DCC set to Sport) and have to re-enable it though the menus every time I start the car :-( If you have the auto-handbrake enabled (and the car remembers the setting) this is probably why you think start-stop is dangerous -- try turning it off. Hill-hold happens all the time, if the car is on a slope it keeps the footbrake on until you press the accelerator. Auto-handbrake sets the (electric) handbrake on, as if you've parked.

Start-stop and autobrake on the Superb (with DSG) works like this. Start-stop is enabled by default at startup, you can turn it off but this is forgotten when you turn the ignition off. Auto-brake (handbrake) is disabled by default at startup. With start-stop on and autobrake off (default setting), when you stop the car using the footbrake (or just before) the engine cuts out, and stays that way as long as you have your foot on the brake. When you take your foot off the brake the engine restarts, and (in a TSI) is running by the time your foot can press the accelerator -- result, no delay (may not be same on TDI due to longer cranking time). The car also has hill hold so if it's on a slope the footbrake stays on after you take your foot off it and releases when you press the accelerator to move off. If you turn auto-handbrake on (switch on centre console), the engine doesn't restart when you take your foot off the brake, it only starts (and handbrake releases) when you press the accelerator -- in this case there is a noticeable delay which I agree is dangerous. For TSI engines which restart quickly (and start and stop without a judder) there is no delay or annoyance with start-stop only, this was the case for my previous TSI220 and current TSI272. For TDI engines which restart more slowly (and also with a noticeable judder IIRC) there may well be a delay as other people have said. So the problem is not start-stop as such, it's start-stop with the TDI engines. It works fine with the TSI engines which will also consume a lot more fuel at idle than the TDI, so start-stop could make sense for these. With the TDI engines with much lower fuel consumption at idle (no throttle), slower starting (longer delay), and more noise/judder when starting and stopping, it doesn't make sense. What is really annoying is that like many other things (e.g. driving mode) the Superb no longer remembers driver-selected options next time it's started. Maybe this is now mandatory to avoid manufacturers fiddling emissions tests by secretly enabling "eco" options instead of standard ones (so VW could be to blame...) but it's really irritating -- for example I always want DCC to be in sport mode (less bouncy) but have to select this every time I restart the engine :-(

I agree that stop-start is a largely pointless eco-economy mpg/CO2 fiddle which does little in real life (which doesn't stop turning the engine off when in a queue being compulsory in Germany), but my point was that objecting to it because of start delay is an auto-handbrake issue, not a start-stop one. Autohold (e.g. on a slope) doesn't need the auto-handbrake turning on, with stop-start on the car holds on the footbrake until you press the accelerator. All this assumes a DSG (which both my Superbs have had), maybe it's different with a manual.

Mine (TSI272) restarts when you lift your foot off the brake, it's running by the time your foot presses the accelerator, so I don't understand people who complain about a delay. Unless they've turned on the automatic handbrake, in which case the engine doesn't restart until you press the accelarator and there is then a delay. So I'd say the problem is enabling the auto brake, not start-stop as such.

That's exactly what happened to mine -- plenty of tread on the outer visible bits (the part you check), inner shoulders worn through to the metal until one tyre punctured. Which was how I found out, came out one morning to find a flat.. 😞 Skoda tried saying that I must have hit a kerb, I pointed out that both sides had done exactly the same thing. Luckily car was leased with full maintenance and tyres so they agreed to replace them, then tried to say I should pay for a full tracking check. I told them it was their car and their problem since it had obviously been there since new, leasing was via Skoda/VWFS so they eventually agreed to pay. If it's your own car, good luck trying to persuade Skoda to cough up 😉

The pictures I posted were from my TSI220 which was FWD only (and tyres had been on since new), so I don't think this is specifically a 4x4 problem, it's an MQB chassis problem which is the platform used by all the VW/Audi/Skoda models mentioned... 😞

There have been multiple reports of this happening with Superb, I got caught out about a year ago -- see my posts here...

I've had Volvo and 5-series and E-class estates and they did all go flat -- but the reason for all of them is probably that the boot floor level is a lot higher to start off with than the Superb, so the luggage area is shallower and holds less but it's easier to get the seats to fold flat with a higher floor level.

Mine are far less hot than my previous Superb L&K, I'll see if there is a setting for this next time I drive the car -- say, in three months or so... 😞

Are you sure the LED lights don't move? Can't check now but I'm pretty sure mine do at least a down-and-up when they're turned on, if not a left-and-right like the HID lights used to do... (but for cornering it definitely does light up extra LEDs)