edwards

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.

If yours is a DSG car, sport mode can be engaged by pulling the gear selector backwards and disengaged by repeating the action. Very useful for a quick burst of power/speed - I use it a lot for exiting junctions while towing.

Mine is a 2018 with 30k on the clock. Owned by me from new and driven relatively gently most of the time. Coolant leak noticed at MOT last month, quote is £660 to replace from the independent garage I use. I did ask Skoda, they quoted £1120, so I figured even if I was to get some contribution from them on a 5 year old car, they would still be more than my independent. Its such a common problem on these 'EA888' engines across all the VAG group brands that a lot of parts suppliers offer a 'kit' replacement with the belt, gaskets etc as well as the pump and thermostat. Other than that I have needed new tyres all round at 27K and it needs new rear pads now, going to be done with the water pump next week. Normal servicing with fluids etc at Skoda, including Haldex at 4 years. I still love the car and can't see anything on the market now that would make me want to swap it. It tows like a dream (8ft twin axle box trailer filled with pushbikes and luggage) and has enough get-up-and-go to surprise the local boy (and man) racers at the lights. Me being a 50 year old man with a big grey beard in an estate car, they just don't expect it

My 2018 sportline alloys looked awful after 4 years, I recently got them all refurbed and coated in all-over gloss metallic grey (BMW orbit grey actually) and I am much happier with the look and the repairability.

I believe its for anchoring the bottom of the load net in a forward position when the rear seats are folded/removed.

Don't let me put you off if you want one - my use case might not be the same as yours. I keep cars for ages normally (last one was 15 years) so if you will swap it out in a few years then its maybe not such an issue. My experience on one of my old cars and on a number of friends and families cars with sunroofs tells me that if you are going to have a sunroof, learn where the drains are and clean them out regularly before they block as well as maintaining any rubber seals with something like aerospace 303 spray. Those steps should help ward off failure with any luck!

I have a 2018 280 Sportline combi. It sits at 2300rpm ish in 6th at 70 and I don't have an issue with noise. The later 7 speed in the 272/new280 with GPF would probably be quieter and more economical at cruise, but if you are buying a 280 for economy you are doing it wrong already 🙂 Mine is from before the sportline/sportline plus models emerged so it already had a pretty good spec including the bigger screen. I was lucky enough to buy mine new so I could add a lot of bits to it like 4 heated seats, heated screen, reversing camera, towbar, traffic sign camera etc. I specifically avoided the L&K partly because I was less keen on the looks and partly because I expressely didn't want a sunroof as every one I have ever owned has leaked in the end and I plan on keeping the car for 10 years plus. mine has flaps but I'll be buggered if I can tell they are working or not! the only pops and farts in the car are comming from me after a curry!

The wheels have been re-finished without the diamond cut too. Not a bad thing IMHO (I have done similar to mine) but perhaps an indication of a previous owner 'personalising' the car, maybe they have done similar with the grille? I'll be honest I would probably still walk away.

@john999boy maxpowder.co.uk in Apsley. Prices inc VAT below. Extra £10 if you leave the car with them.

@Colin170CR My missus curbed one but I was responsible for the other two. Only little dings but coupled with the clear lacquer letting go in a few places they just looked a bit tatty. I've never loved the diamond cut wheels anyway so no real loss - I think I prefer the new solid grey metalic colour. Its pretty close to the Skoda grey on the alloys anyway (actually BMW Orbit grey, useful as I can easily get touch ups) so looks reasonably 'OEM'. The wheel people I use charge about 2/3rds less for straight powder coat than diamond cut which is another reason why. My car is white so it always looks dirty, this time of year I just resign myself to it.

Today I got my Superb back from the wheel people having had all 4 wheels stripped, checked and powder coated metallic grey. At last the awful diamond cut finish is gone I guess its now just a matter of time before the first ding on these, but at least now I can just touch it in with the right colour paint!

Firstly, congrats on the purchase, its a nice looking car. Having made this switch in 2019, except it was from a manual 1.2 petrol SEL to a DSG 1.5 petrol SEL.... The Karoq is a very accomplished car and incrementally better than the Yeti in just about every area. I imagine it will take you about an hour to fall in love with the DSG. A lot of the new features are things that just happen anyway and the rest are mostly self-explanatory. The only thing I really miss is it just doesn't have the quirky looks and character of the Yeti, its much more of a bland euro-box.

totally - best to have it look right and have the correct length hoses etc. That said, its actually pretty easy to shorten and bleed shimano brakes yourself if you want to - youtube is your friend 🙂

Cheap cable disc brakes are generally awful even when adjusted perfectly in my experience. There are better ones like TRP spyres that do move both pads at once but they are still not great. Next step is hybrid hydraulics like TRP HY/RD or Juin tec whch have hydralic calipers actuated by a cable. They are another step better but really, you know where this is heading...... 🙂 Full hydraulic is the way to go really. My preference would be for Shimano but really even inexpensive Clarks or similar will be an improvement and be less maintainance.

mine isn't super quick and anecdotally seems slower when my front screen is on too. but I guess jumping in the car on a wintry morning and bunging heated seat, front screen and back screen plus lights and all the other load, something has to give or there'd be no power to move the car forward 🙂

Superb 2 280 is more a long distance cruiser that has good performance - its not the same thing as a Golf R. its Apples and Oranges.

I can't believe you aren't considering 'sassy pink' 🙂

Roof racks are economy killers - mine with 4 bikes on it to stir up the air is nearly as bad for economy as towing the box trailer. I got fed up with (over)loading the car for holidays with roof rack, towbar bike rack and bags rammed everywhere. When we got a springer spaniel that was the final push needed to get the trailer for all the other crap so he could travel in the boot. Now we have a pretty much empty, comfortable car and all the crap is in the mobile shed behind. When we get to the holiday let I just unhitch it and job done. FWIW I have never thought I needed more torque with the 280, and that's with doing a fair bit of towing where would notice a lack of torque. My dad had a Volvo 5 pot diesel that were known for torque - I drove that a fair bit and the 280 would kick its arse.

About 2400rpm. I suspect the 7 speed will be 400rpm or so less than that if the missus's Karoq is anything to go by (realise they aren't that transferable, but its all I have to go on).

low 20's around town, maybe a bit more if it gets time to warm up. Mid 30's on any kind of run, maybe 40 if I am gentle. Towing a 6'9" to the roofline 5' wide flat front box trailer knocks 6-9mpg off dependant on speed. Remember Skoda like you to use Super Unleaded in a 280 so factor that in to your pounds/mile calcs. With prices like they are, and a 66 litre tank, I managed my first ever £100 fill up the other day. But if you are buying a 280 for economy, you probably shouldn't.

I get better MPG towing a box trailer up the motorway than I do around town from the sportline. Its just the nature of short journey driving. Luckily we have a smaller car for those journeys, but that is *probably* a bit of a expensive solution for you 🙂

Only one rim brake bike left in regular use in the family thank god, and that's road calipers so a bit easier. My 1992 MTB is rim, but that's basically a museum piece now. I know people seem to go on about how rim brakes are fine, and disks are so much problem etc etc, but in my experience with all of our bikes, disks are massively more reliable. They need less fiddling and adjustment and are easier to swap out pads and rotors when they are toast, as well as just being more powerful and more reliable in adverse weather.

Postponed 😞 My dad died a few days beforehand, I still went and did the first day thinking it might help my state of mind but it didn't, it made it worse. Binned it off and came home to my family. I'm physically in the best shape I've been in since my early 20s (I'm late 40s now) but it turns out that you need to be in good mental health to cope with a ride like that too. First day was 110 miles and 11k feet climbing and that was no issue physically so I am aiming to keep that fitness up and hopefully have another crack.