Shmoo

Welcome to the forum! The Canton Sound System option is well-worthwhile ime. I also love the keyless entry & start system and the powered boot, (we have an estate,) but they're both far from essential.

I, for one, am very appreciate of the warning about these potentially lethal spikes. Only last night, my two year old daughter abseiled down from her bedroom window, onto the driveway. (She must have taken the keys to the car earlier and stashed them somewhere.) The first my wife and I knew about it, was seeing the flash of the indicators through the lounge curtains as she unlocked the car. I raced straight outside, and somehow, thankfully made it there just in time. I managed to grab her just as she was crawling into the passenger footwell and reaching up under the dash towards those dreaded spikes! Phew! Close one eh? Thankfully, disaster was narrowly averted in our case, but rest assured I'll be having a jolly strong word with Skoda about their utterly reckless spike placement. These kinds of scenarios should be part of ALL manufacturer's safety basic testing imo. Be warned folks, it could literally happen to anyone...

I have the petrol vrs estate and two kids. (Oh, and a wife, but she fits easily in the boot!) Space wise, it's perfect for us and all the stuff we need to take with us when we go out or away for the weekend etc. Performance and handling wise, it's more than adequate for our everyday needs, and quite good fun for the odd blast when I'm on my own. However, I tend to agree with some of the comments above: with 3 kids I'd be looking at the Superb Estate or A.N.Other family car, perhaps with three rows of seats. I'd really miss the vrs performance if I had to have a reasonably priced or more 'sensible/larger' family car, but I'd rather do that than have three uncomfortable/miserable kids on a long journey... Best of luck with your decision and I hope you all enjoy whichever car you decide to pick!

Oooh, that looks better than our current version, which serves no real purpose for us. One on order, thanks for the heads-up and the link!

This ^^ Our Gap insurance covers up to a value of £30k and was c. £110 for three years with Gapinsurance.co.uk - who I believe I read about on here.

I have a manual kessy too - starts first time every time with a quick press of the button. (Car in neutral, clutch down.) I know you've recently changed the keyfob battery, but try starting the car with the key right next to the button. If it starts reliably this way perhaps you have a dodgy key fob/battery? (I'd guess it is unlikely to make a difference but worth a try?) Good luck getting it sorted out anyway.

Bear in mind that you can still claim ALL the money you weren't correctly paid if he was effectively (illegally,) paying you under the minimum wage. It doesn't matter if it was a mistake, an over-sight or him just being tight. It won't mean going to court and he WILL have to back-pay you for every penny you rightly earned, even if you left with little/no notice. Look into it, 'cos it'll be a significant sum I imagine.

You have the patience of a Saint. I think I might be voicing my experiences with senior management/dealer principal by now tbh...

My new MK3 petrol vrs does the same. I assumed it was due to the recent cold weather and the relatively short runs its has mostly done so far. Mine is still just sub 1000 miles, so I have yet to test it on a proper long run. I do think it looks pretty bad though and may well be inconvenient to whoever is driving behind. Will keep an eye on the levels and see how it goes - but it seems to run perfectly fine, so hopefully nothing to worry about...

Seconded. I am a bit baffled as to why you'd want to go to the effort and expense of making this change?

Less than 20 days into heated screen ownership here, and I'm both really pleased and yet a little disappointed. I'm pleased because this morning's light frost cleared quickly and easily, but slightly disappointed because at night, I see some oncoming car's headlights as having a slightly unusual pointy/triangular/halo effect as they come towards me. Its not a massive issue to be fair, but something I have noticed not having driven a car with a HS before. I don't think the 'issue' I'm seeing would be enough of a problem for me not to choose a heated screen again, but I can see how it would affect some people. I need more time in the car to be sure how I feel about it, but as I don't do much night driving I don't think it'll be a problem. For the record, I wear glasses for driving and have had my eyes tested and had new glasses in the last few weeks.

In a last update to this thread: The car arrived yesterday as scheduled! It was driven to us, (a distance of approx 250 miles,) in pretty crappy winter weather, so as you'd expect it wasn't exactly sparkling and perfectly showroom-clean. I can hardly blame the delivery driver for that though, although he apparently gets a *really* hard time from some clients in these circumstances! He arrived at 9.30am, so was up mega early to drive that far and I appreciated the effort there. He gave me as much time as I needed to inspect the car and was able to explain all the controls and features clearly. The lease company have been faultless in their service so far - I just hope they're as accommodating when they collect it in three years time...! The car, overall, has already exceeded my expectations: Firstly, the ride is FAR better than I expected. I find it surprisingly fluid and supple, (on 18" Gemini's) and living where we do in the New Forest that's a big plus because some of the roads are rather 'rustic' at best. I love the interior - the seats, steering wheel, and general fit and finish all seem bang on. No rattles or creaks to report, although it is obviously early days. I've obviously not tested the performance fully as I try to be mildly respectful until its properly run in, but I can tell it has enough performance to be entertaining and will easily cope with the kind of journeys I'm likely to be doing day-to-day. In terms of extras, the options we chose all seem like good choices: KESSY and the powered boot are *so* handy with two small humans and a four-legged furry bod in the family, so I'm very glad we ticked those boxes. The Canton upgrade, having read some pretty derisory reviews, has more than enough quality and oomph imho, and I assume will 'run-in' and improve with a bit of time and some extra setting up. I have not heard a standard set-up, but I'm glad I chose this option already. Interestingly, there appears to be a extra or two that we did not spec, that have been added/coded to the car. I may be wrong, but I thought the lane assist feature and cornering lights were options, (that I know I didn't pick,) but they are still present on the car. Standard features on the Vrs or a small freebie bonus? Either way, can't complain! So, having covered a whopping 43 miles since delivery, (I've been busy at work!) I'm really chuffed with the car so far! I'm sure the tech in the FL version next year will be streets ahead, but I'm really impressed as a newbie Skoda owner and am looking forward to ownership on these very positive initial impressions. I hope all of you currently waiting for your delivery are equally impressed with your purchases. I think you will be!

This thread should have some information that may be of interest to you: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/395080-vrs-tdi-occasionaly-slow-to-fire-up/ Hope you get it sorted soon.

Quick update: Had an email from the lease company today, saying that my car is scheduled for delivery on 8th December, so it'll be here this time next week! :clap: I ordered it very late September, so it'll have taken about 9-10 weeks from placing the order, which is a little quicker than the 12 weeks that was estimated. Looking forward to getting it, despite the freezing conditions atm - at least the winter pack should prove its worth!

How cool is that? Awesome! Its not about the money at all imo, but the memories! That the smell is still such a strong memory for you is fantastic too imo - I totally identify with that! Seriously, thanks for sharing!