edwards

Tsi 280 engines only really have one common failure that is the combined thermostat and water pump housing. Mine failed at 5 years and 30k miles. Cost was £600 to put right at a decent independent garage here in the UK. Other than that they appear to be reliable if looked after. Mine is 6 years old and 36k miles now, honestly there is nothing new around at present that I would want to replace it with.

Any recommendations for an inexpensive tool that can set the electric parking brake to the service position and return it via the OBD port? I don't really need anything with a subscription or similar, a stand alone 'tool' is fine. There seem to be a number of units around on the usual suspect sites but a recommendation of one that will actually work would be nice. I already have a basic code reader but it doesn't have that functionality. I have seen a few Youtube videos where people have unplugged the motors and put power to them directly to wind the brake off but I feel like that wouldn't be ideal. Would be used on a Superb 3 and a Karoq.

Mine is 5 years old now and a little different to a 2023 model, but not much. Best car I have ever owned and I plan to keep it for a while yet. Test drive it in the wet, the grip will surprise you.

Low to mid 20s in town, mid 20s when its warmer. Mid 30s on long journeys, maybe high 30s if driven like a saint. Mid 20s towing a twin axle box trailer on journeys. I only do 5k miles a year so it doesn't bother me. But, honestly if you are buying a 280 then you aren't doing it for economy reasons - if you need that then maybe look at another engine or vehicle.

I love mine. best car I have ever owned. 5 years old now and will keep until I have to change.

I'm in the UK, my sportline has lower suspension for sure. Mine pre-dates the sportline/sportline plus models though, there was just the one model then.

Indeed. Perhaps it was the belt drive to the water pump they were talking about?

Its a super common issue on these engines (EA888 I think). Mine is in a Superb 280 but same engine and my local trusted garage did it for £800. Skoda wanted £1300. Its so common that a lot of parts suppliers do a 'kit' with all the bits for a fixed price.

Likely thermostat/water pump housing leaking on front of engine - super common on these engines. Mine was a £700 job to fix inc. parts at my trusted local garage. Skoda quote was over 1K.

Mine came with Bridgestones from new on 19" rims. Since then I have had PS4s which were also OK - but I don't drive like a madman so unlikely I have found the edge of their perfomance. Currently running Uniroyal Rainsports which I rather like, they seem quiet and grippy but as I said, I'm nowhere near the ragged edge of performance anyway. Another thing to consider is 235/40/19s are not a very common size and often limited in choice or need to be ordered in by fitters.

You for sure don't buy a 280 for economy! That said, on a gentle motorway run it isn't totally terrible. I stick with the 'normal 'tyre pressures myself, a bit of grip is sensible in my view. I specified mine with a space saver from new so I assume (rightly or wrongly) it is OK with the Haldex. The furthest I have driven on the space saver is maybe 150 miles (was a Sunday trip home and no tyre places that were open had the right size) and in spite of the constant 'ACC unavailable' warnings etc, no long term harm has occurred so far.

I have the factory towbar on mine - its an awesome towcar, best I have ever had, so I really hope yours is plated appropriately. The EA888 engines are chain driven, but just in case you think you have saved money on cambelt changes, they are really prone to the waterpump/manifold leaking on the front of the engine and its about a £6-800 job. Mine went at 5 years and 33k miles. Despite that I think you'll love it. Mine is 5 years old now and there is basically nothing on the market that I want to replace it with.

Superb and Octavia boot is similar, a good chunk of the extra space in a Superb is in rear leg room. Given that, the Superb is much nicer for rear seat passengers and kids seats etc and as the kids grow it will be more of an issue. My 12 year old is 1m80 already and struggles in the Karoq (same as Ateca) and is fine in the Superb. If you want power, look at a 280/272 Superb which while it wont have 'sharp' handling it will be plenty quick enough for most people. The 220 is pretty quick too.

A basic no-name amazon set would probably be OK. I would stretch to something like Draper in your place I think. Halfords advance/professional is a step up again but probably not worth it for you, Wera is a step up again but they are totally unnecessary in your place.

I have a plain white 280 estate. On two occasions now I have flashed someone to let them know they've had no lights on etc, and they have pulled over. I was probably wearing a white shirt too so made me look more 'police-y'.

Railway museum is ace and free. North Yorkshire Moors Railway is nice and not very far away. Lots of lovely walking on the moors. Robin Hoods bay is a beautiful little spot but a bit further from York and there is a steep slope down (and up!) to the sea. Hit it at low tide and its a lovely walk along the beach.

Mine did that. IMO diamond cut alloys are just a bad idea in general, the laquer really doesn't grab the clean turned metal surface at all well. Depends how much you like the diamond cut finish. I ended up getting all 4 wheels refurbed and painted all over metallic dark grey with no diamond cut. The company that did the work used a standard BMW alloy colour so I could buy touch-up paint in the correct shade. I'll be honest I think I prefer the look to the DC finish anyway and its certainly easier to live with.

yep, superb news. looks like I shall be taking my tent and stove at the end of the month 🙂

No surprise I would go 280 superb. less shouty than a VRs but with plenty of go (and stop to). I've had mine 5 years and still can't think of something I like better. You will find out when you drive it, but think carefully about the 220. I test drove a couple and its plenty quick enough, but I found that only being front wheel drive it was very very easy to unstick the front wheels turning and with acceleration. I guess you would get used to it and drive accordingly, but where is the fun in that. The 280 does have some extra horsepower, but to me its main attraction was much better grip from the 4x4. I have never managed to unstick mine and I have tried pretty hard! In many ways a 220 with 4x4 would have been ideal but sadly they don't make one.

I would try Skoda but I suspect at that age it will be a no. You might be lucky, ask nicely and cross everything. If not, then re-finishing is an option but its expensive, can only be done a limited number of times as can only skim a bit off x times, and in my experience doesn't last that well. I think laquered bare metal is probably just a bad idea for longevity, and they are a bugger to touch up if you ding them. In the end I got all 4 of my wheels powder coated a solid colour (a BMW metallic anthracite called Orbit grey that is a pretty close match to the Skoda background colour) for nearly the same price as refinishing 2 diamond cut ones. I actually prefer them to the original and they have the advantage that if I ding them now, I have the correct touch up colour to hand and can do bit of invisible mending. I used Maxpowder in Apsley, near Hemel Hempstead. no idea where you are based but their website has prices as a guide https://maxpowder.co.uk/

I had the diamond cut 'sportline' alloys on my Superb re-done in BMW orbit grey all over and dumped the diamond cut. Way better to maintain, can be touched up with normal paint, no more white patches where the laquer fails. Cost me £355 for all 4 including one that needed minor straightening. I will be honest I think I actually prefer the look to diamond cut on my car which is white. I used Max powder in Apsley https://maxpowder.co.uk/ happy with their work.

Personally, I'd not go much more than you are weight wise - I think the CC used to say up to 100% was OK if you were experienced etc. Are fixed bed vans a lot heavier? Genuinely interested as I am a bit out of the loop since my dad passed away and mum gave up caravanning. Their last one was a 4.8m single axle 2 berth full width bathroom effort which I only ever towed with the Superb.

I've had a fair bit of previous caravan towing experience with my parents outfit(s) and although I don't have a caravan now, I tow a twin axle box trailer with our Karoq. Its an 8' x 5' x 6' high box and about 550kg unladen. Its probably at around 1000kg when in use. I can't really comment on stability because the box trailer is inherently pretty stable due to short wheelbase, low down weight, small windage area etc. It does struggle a bit with the load when full combined with aerodynamic drag - the box trailer is flat fronted though. It will still roll along at 60 on the motorway other than on long, steep slopes where it does fade a little. The fuel economy does nose dive even if you are gentle with it. I suspect you'd only get away with a modest caravan given the old '85%' rule of thumb gives you a max weight of about 1100kg (car is 1303 apparently). It would certainly move that kind of weight so it would just be down to sensible loading etc to make sure it remains stable. I should perhaps caveat this with my other tow car being a Superb 280 4x4 - I am probably a bit spoiled by that being basically effortless.

They found my water pump leak at MOT, enough to be mentioned on the MOT 'cert'. I put my coolant pressure tester on it cold and it didn't even loose pressure over 60mins, but the drip and staining was deffo there so perhaps leaked only when hot. A lot of Golf forums (where the engine is more common) say to leave it alone as it will 'never get worse' but I couldn't bring myself to do that. Knowing my luck it would go pop while towing the trailer in the middle of the night with the kids and dogs aboard on the side of the A30 Cost me £670 at my local independent, including the parts kit with drive belt etc. Its such a common failure most parts suppliers do a standard parts kit for the job. like you, I could have done without the unexpected cost.

2.0 petrol engines commonly develop a coolant leak from the combined thermostat/waterpump housing on the front of the engine with coolant then running down the front of the block. Apparently it rarely lets go spectacularly but its not something I was prepared to leave on mine (a 2018 Sportline 280 with 30k miles). Its a common fault on the engine in all the vehicles it appears in (Golf most common). cost me £660 inc parts to get fixed at my local independant. Other than that the 2.0 petrol units appear to be pretty reliable.