Phil-E

They're much stricter when it comes to appropriate tyres. There's no fixed time period where you have to have winter tyres (or M&S marked all seasons) but the tyres have to be appropriate for the conditions. If it's frosty, icy or snowy then you can be fined for not having winters on (60€ I believe). And if not having the appropriate tyres on causes you to get stuck, have and accident and/or impede other traffic then fines can be quite large (plus points on your license). But the general rule is O bis O (Oktober / October to Ostern / Easter).

I think the spark plugs should be changed at this device too (every 60k miles).

I've also been considering the same. I've seen a lot somewhere before that comes with pre-cut sheets that fit in the boot, doors, under the seats and floors etc. You can also buy sheets to cut yourself which is obviously cheaper. The key areas are the spare wheel and boot area which can cut down any booming noises. The doors are also another area to do. Then under the rear bench. And if you want to go the whole hog then take the roof liner out and add extra in there. Not that my car is loud. Quite the opposite. It's super quiet (compared to all my other cars) but that just makes me want it even quieter! Lol

I've used snow chains once. We drove across to Germany once in our old Peugeot 306 1.9 D. This was way before I even knew about winter tyres. Got to the families house and they live up a steep private road and we couldn't get up the hill so stuck the snow chains on. The next day we booked an appointment locally and had winter tyres fitted since we were going to a ski resort a couple of days! I've just bought my 4 seasons and got an appointment on 17th for them to be fitted. Can't be bothered swapping the wheels and tyres over any more. We live in a flat city and my journey to work is super easy and on a main road so we don't need super duper the best winter tyres.

I honestly don't get this obsession with big wheels and skinny tyres. Yeah, sure on a performance vehicle it's going to improve the handling etc... but even then when driving them day to day I'd far prefer a smaller wheel/bigger tyre combo as it's a much nicer balance between handling/performance and comfort. My previous car came with 19" wheels and skinny 235/35 tyres. Yeah it handled like.it was on rails but the comfort was awful. A drop to 17" 235/45/17 was a massive improvement. And now on 205/55/16 it's a pleasure to drive. Soaks up the bumps etc but the car is still responsive enough when needed. And when driving fast I actually find it inspires more confidence out on the road. Since the roads aren't perfect you can just sling it around on the bumps without it crashing and banging around. My previous Octavia also had 205/55/16 tyres and I did a couple of laps of the Nurburgring. My passenger was impressed with my commitment into the Karussell and I was faster than a tuned up Clio on lowered suspension and skinny tyres that had just passed me 😂🤣

Guess that's gonna be the case with any hybrid vehicle. Once the battery has run out then it just turns into normal 1.4 TSI (but with the added battery and motor weight). Guess the advantage may be that the engine will still cut out when coasting or descending hills (not sure if this is the case at motorway speed?). Guess the better way to think of it is that it's a 1.4 TSI with the added advantage of being to do shirt trips on pure electric (or hybrid). So for city driving (which is when a car is usually at its worst in terms of fuel economy) you can make massive gains by burning zero petrol.

My car won't do 130mph but came from the factory with H rated tyres. They always fit higher rated tyres than the car is capable of. Here in Germany they are very strict on tyres come the TÜV (MOT) and check the size, load and speed index are correct. They should also technically check this all on an MOT but I know for a fact this isn't always done. I've just ordered just new tyres but gone for a higher V Rating as they were strangely enough cheaper than the H rated ones.

And if you happen to find yourself in my region then there's an interesting little place in Bielefeld. It's connected to the Harley Davidson garage. An old factory that now housing a private collection of cars. Basically people pay to have their cars stored there and you can just go in and see them (laid out like a museum). Nice cafe there too. Stadtwerk Bielefeld it's called. Bielefeld is also home to Dr Oetker. And in Paderborn there is the world's largest computer museum if that's your thing.

Well Germany certainly has a lot to offer. Some beautiful places to visit. Guess it depends what you're after. Obviously the Nurburgring is a must while you're here. And in that region is the Mosel valley. A big wine growing region on the River Mosel.

So I'm back in a Skoda finally. 1.4 TSI 122 DSG Family. 1 owner from new with full Skoda service history (apart from the last service done at the dealer we bought from). Specs are: AFS II Xenons Dual zone climate with heated seats Rain sensor Auto lights Cruise control Maxidot Factory tinted rear windows 4 electric windows Variable load surface in boot (not sure what it's called in English) Swing radio (ugh) Factory fitted removebale tow bar Stuff I've done: Rear LED number plate lights (the full replacement housing with built in LEDs) LED sidelight bulbs (although don't think they're canbus as the warning is on- they're Osram) Cheap bluetooth kit plugged into the Aux socket for now VCDS: AFS II enabled (yeah, it appears this isn't actually enabled fully from factory) Refuel quantity CH/LH via fogs XDS Differential enabled Cruise display (didn't work 😔) To-do: Full set of interior LEDs ordered from ebay LEDs for the DRL ordered Canbus sidelights Rear boot trim protector in silver ordered Heko wind deflectors ordered A few scratches to touch up (touch up pen set ordered) Android stereo/sat-nav at some point Gave her a wash and polish today (washed, washed again with clay mitt, autoglym paint restorer, poorboys black hole, meguires tech wax 2.0) Had a maiden voyage down to the Mosel region last week. 3 adults, dog, boot full and 3 bikes on the tow bar. Performed well. Did just over 40mpg which wasn't too bad especially considering the higher (or no) speed limit here. IMG_20200627_110400 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr IMG_20200627_104056 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr IMG_20200627_104129 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr IMG_20200627_104117 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr IMG_20200627_104159 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr