davembk

I have the 2024 I’ve got the 2024 190 4x4 tdi estate. I hadn’t read before how the 150 is smoother etc. I can see how it could be though. The 190 is a bit gruff when under a substantial load. I pull a small Eriba caravan though and it’s well suited and I can just about get 40 mpg towing it if concentrating and although this will be hard to believe were the dash evidence not in a photo, I got 82 mpg solo on a 120 mile mostly motorway trip. I drove like a nerd but showed it can be done. So that was in the 190 with its shorter gears. I guess the 150 would have given even more mpg but all the same I’m happy with the 55-65 mpg I consistently get solo on most journeys albeit still with a very gentle accelerator foot and crafty drops into neutral on gentle downhills that the car would stop on if in gear. Adding to this, Eco mode automatically sets neutral on those slopes. I’ve never driven the 150 but can see how it could be a slightly silkier drive. The 190 to me though is also a very docile cruiser.

I only ever get approaching 80 mpg on a journey of mostly free running motorway, but I can still get 60+ mpg on undulating winding roads. It takes a lot of concentration though, neutral down slopes (eco mode or doing it manually) coasting up and down over again, extremely light throttle etc, and it works. It doesn’t mean holding up traffic either, always pretty much up to the speed limits. And this is the 4x4 that’s supposed to be less efficient than the 2wd. I had the 2wd before and I never or rarely got over 70 mpg. If I revert to what I’d call normal driving then it’s down to anything from 40mpg to low 50’s

Good points but no, the motorway was straight and unobstructed. The bridge was one of the many I had already gone under. The traffic in front had not braked. I don’t know whether the car logged these alleged hazards via its sensors or via its road database. Every A road has countless examples of where minor roads cross but they are not junctions as far as that A road is concerned. The car wanted to come to a complete stop because it incorrectly thought it was on a minor road, coming to an A road junction, where in fact it was the other way round.

Reversing up lanes, this happens a lot where I live in the rural west! I was chatting to a friend who’s got a modern Mini. Apparently, one of the assist features it’s got is remembering in detail the last 100 or so meters it has travelled, so that if you need to back up, it will do it for you.

I’m just wondering if anyone else has had this: The car, unexpectedly applying its brakes when in ACC. The car is the Mk4 L&K 190 dsg 4x4 estate In both cases the car falsely thought it was approaching a hazard/characteristic which did not exist on the road I was travelling on. Case 1: On a clear straight motorway, the car braked and displayed the message…..” bend in road” This was when going under a motorway bridge so maybe the car thought it was on the road above which happened to have a bend. Case 2: On a clear straight section of A road, the car braked with the message….”junction ahead” It was where a minor road crossed the A road. So yes it was a junction, but only relative to the minor road not the A road. In both cases I quickly overrode it, and luckily, no one was close behind, but the implications do not bear thinking about. If it had only happened on the A road then I’d not be too worried as I rarely use ACC there. But on a motorway, I do, and so this is a big worry. I’ve called Skoda, and may take the car in. Strange one 🤔

Just adding that the car isn’t showing any problems.

I was told the same. It’s booked in for the week. It’s the 190 dsg l and k 4x4 if that helps. I’m a bit jittery because I can’t understand why it’s going to take so long, unless they aren’t 100% comfortable with what they’ll be doing and so want time in case of problems. Apparently it’s a complete software replacement, scary!

I have the 190 dsg 4wd estate and the consumption is pretty good. If I drive with no intention to save fuel I never get under 45 mpg. Most times however, in all types of terrain I average about 54 mpg. If I really put my mind to it I can get 80 mpg average, about 3.5 litres/100 km On the same trip, 80% motorway and 20% undulating lanes it went to just over 81 mpg That’s pretty good for a big non ev estate car. That was using normal grade diesel and not Ultimate.

Well the mpg has got even better! Even though it’s down to driving style, I think it’s still amazing that 80 mpg can be got from a non ev car this big, and, from the less efficient version of diesel

They really are economical cars. I’ve done over 80 mpg in my 2 litre Dsg 4x4 estate, and easily manage 70 mpg on most trips. More mpg can’t help but mean less co2 so realistically my car is a very minimal polluter. I’m like you, I drive conservatively and get a lot of fun from it (and money!) Yes, 80 mpg, admittedly on motorway but including 20% of tedious switchback 30 mph speed limit ridden minor roads. You should just be able to make out the figures 🤞

Ps, I didn’t take the photo, both hands were on the wheel!

Well it’s been just on a year since I got this Mk4 L and K 190 dsg 4x4 estate car. That’s been time to well and truly be able to compare it with the non facelift (2018) Mk 3 I had before. I jotted down a few things that I think are better: Its looks A bit more boot space Extra comfort features Stalk mounted gear controls Parking camera Extending seats Space saver wheel Retracting tow bar Rear seat drop-down mechanical remote control Things that maybe they should have kept but which aren’t there any more: Only one umbrella but recessed for two, a bit Scrooge-like 😭 No sunglasses holder 😭😭 No permanent live at sockets/usb’s 😭😭😭 No indication as to which gear you’re in, unless you’re in Sports mode 😭😭😭😭 Comfort Drive mode feels a bit harsher such that it is hard to tell from Normal mode 😭😭😭😭😭 I can live with all that! The rest of it: It does feel a great car overall, as did the Mk3. I can’t really fault this car just as I couldn’t fault the old one. One thing coming from both cars is the great mpg, I admit to being a bit of an mpg nerd but a car this big averaging 70 mpg over 100+ miles with urban included, you’d never think it. Reviews say mid 40’s for the 190 but I regularly get over 60 mpg and never below 50 mpg wherever I drive. So I’m a happy old boy!

Hi Woodsy, I’m still not fully expert with all of this but I can say that with ACC on, the car adapts to changes in speed limits. For instance say I’m in a 40 mph zone and set the speed for 38 mph, the car will happily maintain that speed, to the point of braking if a downward slope starts to take the car above that speed. Then say the speed limit goes to 60 mph, the car will accelerate quite assertively up to that speed, and back down if say the limit goes back to 40mph. I don’t know if it goes back to 38 mph or just the 40, ie the initial setting being lost but I’ll try it out next time. I also don’t know whether it uses traffic sign recognition or gps but I’ll look at that too. If it’s sign recognition then I see an issue when going to a slower limit, because if the car only acts when it sees the speed limit sign then it won’t have had time to reduce to that speed before it enters the zone. Unless it applies the brakes very forcefully maybe. So yes I’ll try all this out too. So many things still to learn and so far it’s all been pretty good.

That sounds good. My car is the Mk 4 Superb Estate 2L tdi 4x4 dsg I had read the mpg data before buying but knew that I’d get more out of it through fuel stretching driving. I was right, on start stop journeys it’s always mid 50’s On uninterrupted drives it’s always nudging 60 mpg. On a recent drive from Minehead to Reading, which involves a tortuous 20 miles of Minehead to Bridgwater road, I got dead on 70 mpg average. If I was lead footed then I’d wipe all that away and probably only get half that mpg. This car is a 4x4 so it puts to bed the notion that 4x4 cars sap mpg. My previous Mk 3 was fwd and achieved about the same mpg. I arrived back from the Lake District yesterday towing my Eriba Triton 430 caravan. Admittedly, although not minute, it’s a compact but fully specced caravan, and aero, compared to the average white boxes we see around but the 40.6 mpg was brilliant in my opinion, and again, included those undulating windy roads on the last 20 miles home, before which it was nudging 42 mpg average. So, like you probably, I believe it’s how we drive, not what we drive.

Hello Johnny, My Mk 4 193 dsg 4x4 estate tows an Eriba Touring Triton 430, which is a compact caravan weighing under 1000 kg. Whilst towing it manages around 35 mpg in all terrain but on big roads it will get over 40 mpg. I got 44 mpg from Minehead to Horsham on all sorts of roads albeit mainly motorway. One thing I do notice though is: The car sometimes needs to be brought down a gear when towing, say when in 7th at 60 mph on a significant upward incline. When this is done ie dropping to 6th, either manually or via sport gear mode, which typically holds onto gears, the mpg is seen to rise. So although generally, higher gears = greater mpg, the dsg sometimes appears to carry that too far and gets overgeared, requiring intervention now and again. So in summary, with a dsg 150 non 4x4 I am sure you would get around the same with a considerably bigger caravan. This new car is quoted at about 49 mpg solo but I am getting way way more than that, easily as much if not more than my previous Mk3 190 dsg fwd. It is definitely largely down to how it’s driven. If I’m heavy footed, which I rarely am then yes it’s mid 40’s but typically it’s easy, and extremely satisfying to average over 60 mpg, without being a slouch either. It once averaged just over 70 mpg on a trip from Minehead to Reading, at a good 70 mph motorway pace. I’m more than pleased with this car, knowing that it really does eke out the fuel, saving lots of money.

Things that keep me awake at night Part one: I’ve played with various engines in my time, fitted them, their pistons/rings, crankshafts, become well versed on what happens when you get the plug leads on wrong 💥etc and therefore know this: Piston rings are never a complete circle, they have to spread during installation, to get over the top of the piston before dropping into their allocated piston grooves. They also need to be a non-complete, sprung circle, to expand properly against the piston wall. Most pistons have 2 compression rings and 1 oil control ring. My issue is regarding compression and a thought that has always bugged me: How do (some) combustion and exhaust gases not get past the incomplete circle gaps (where the ends of the rings meet) of those 3 rings, and thereby end up in the crankcase? If they do, doesn’t this, albeit only slightly, degrade engine performance and cleanliness? I know that the gaps are very small on installed piston rings, and are only partially proud of the piston wall but all the same, they must still be a source of compression loss however small, even if the gases do have to track through all 3 ring gaps, which are most likely not in line with one another either, thus making the journey longer before making it to the crankcase. One thought I have is that the adhesion of the engine oil might be enough to plug the gaps but I don’t know for sure and I can’t really envisage this happening 100% ie the oil viscosity withstanding those compression forces, especially during the ignition stroke 🤔 So at the moment I am a lost soul, staring at the wall for hour upon hour, and if anyone can put me out of my misery with some words of wisdom then I’ll be happy once more 🙂

Ok here are a couple: Another observation when comparing with the mk3 Rear passenger heating controls: No air flow control wheel anymore. Only directional control. Seems a bit of an oversight. Maybe there’s a control that the driver has instead eg heat or not heat the rear. Haven’t looked at that yet. Heated rear seats still there though. No more front fog lights. I think the led headlights do it all now. The little offside under dash cubbyhole is now gone. Always the way when you’re comparing against what went before. Otherwise one would be none the wiser. No getting away from it being a lovely car though 😊

Yes, I use a sheet to protect the bumper when our dog goes in and out of her dog crate and I sometimes find that the sheet triggers it. Fun 😊

Dgate, I think it would be possible to fit a larger spare wheel but it would probably need a bit of diy, because not only does the Canton amplifier fit on top of the side profile of the space saver wheel, but, on top of all that sits the polystyrene tray with all the wheel removal tools. So I think you’d probably need to raise the boot floor, unless the tools stored somewhere else.

It’s now just under two weeks since I collected my Mk4 L&K 193 ps dsg 4x4 estate. So I thought I’d share a bit about it: I’d had a 2018 Mk3 non facelift L&K 190 ps dsg fwd which I’ve been very pleased with in the almost 6 years I’ve had it. I wanted one last estate car before I eventually downsized, so I went for it. I’m guessing I might be one of the first in the uk to get one of these. I’ll try to feedback my experiences with it in case it’s useful for anyone thinking about getting one. Because I tow, I stuck with diesel. So far: First impressions are very good. The gadgetry is a leap on from the Mk3 although you could argue that the Mk3 was good anyway. Example: Self learning parking on the new car. I reversed in an S shape track into a corner of my driveway. The car asked if I wanted to save the manoeuvre for it to do itself next time. Self regulating speed in response to reading traffic signs. Stuff like that. Other stuff in no particular order: CD player in glove box is gone. Apple car play + Android does it all now and I also believe the new car has its own registered SIM. No more tyre gel. Space saving wheel now. Floor is still at low height so retains maximum space. Space also gained in rear side of boot because the Canton amplifier etc which was there, now houses in the spare wheel. Only one umbrella this time, although both doors still have a recess. Power outlets (the old cig lighter sockets) are no longer permanently live. They come on with ignition. As far as I can tell, the new car unlike the old, does not after a time, turn the ignition off on an unstarted engine. The ride and quietness is very good. The old one was great but it seems as if everything is soundproofed a bit more on this new car. I’d say though that the suspension on the old car was gentler. This is when comparing Comfort mode. Both cars have 18” wheels. The new car sits quite a lot higher at the back. Maybe all suspension settles and softens. I’m sure the old car was higher when new. Infotainment. The satnav map on the new car, unlike the old, has no altitude reading. Regardless, the map seems better and clearer overall although it still carries that trait where, if you expand the view, the text stays small. Rev limiter, when car in Park: The new car does not seem so far to have this although I obviously have not tested it too much. It’s a 7 speed as opposed to the old 6 speed. I’m getting the feeling that it’s longer legged as a result rather than closer geared. I tow an Eriba Triton caravan, and just like the Mk3 car, the Mk4 is a complete dream when towing and averages just over 35 mpg. The caravan is a small 950kg aluminium thing but the mpg is still pretty good. The co2 emissions are stated I think about 157 gm/km whereas the old car was about 132. Maybe the 4x4 has something to do with that. The quoted solo mpg is in the high 40’s as opposed to 54 on the old. But, I’m getting pretty much the same on the new car albeit without the bike roof racks on yet, and just like with the old, 65 mpg on a steady A road trip has not been over difficult to get, and easily does 54 on the motorway at 60/70 mph Once the racks are on this may all drop a bit. Rear seat release from boot is new and it’s great. Seatbelts add security and tighten up when the new car reaches about 15 mph. Front seats move back when doors opened, makes exit easier I guess, a nice feature. All in all this promises to be a great car, an improvement on outgoing one if that were ever possible. So far I’m happy and still singing it’s praises😊 Hopefully I’ll add more as time goes on.

Thanks ApertureS, for the confirmation that it is dumb. I think it’s time for me to get that multimeter out. Hmm how often is it used 🤔 Well until we noticed it wasn’t working, probably about 3 times in 3 years. But now, probably 5 times a week when I can’t resist testing it. It’s this time window thing that’s the puzzler. It may well be that it’s been like it from new and that the time we noticed it not working was the only time we’d used it later in the day. I’m not imagining it. It definitely ties in with a morning to mid pm time window and it seems consistent. What I’ll do is get my multimeter when it’s not working and hopefully find a point where the power is lost. Unless of course it isn’t lost and gets all the way to the motor. In which case it’s a strange motor fault 🤔 The other thing I haven’t done is recline it very far when testing in case it gets stuck at an extreme angle. Would be just my luck if it stayed broken 🤞 What makes something go faulty in the afternoon and fixed by morning? This is without the car even moved or locked/unlocked. I’ve tried it with the car left unlocked and approached with no key. I don’t even get into the car. Same results, cold days hot days dry, wet. Always ok in the morning but not in later afternoon. Then next day, all ok until late afternoon.

Ah well. A couple more months on. Not over fussed about it but just to say, still the same: Works up until about 330 pm. I need to narrow it down a bit more if I can be bothered but it does look like it’s linked to a time window. So strange. As a wildcard I tried altering the vehicle time, resetting whole vehicle etc. Didn’t expect any results and got none. Earlier in year I’d thought it might be heat related ie failing when day warms up. But no, for example car in full sun today still working at 1400. But not at 1600. A real brain teaser I’m reasoning that there can’t be much circuitry compared with driver side as seat movement is instantaneous whereas drivers side there’s always a small delay after operating the switches 🤔 My brain has given up. I suppose I need to go in there with a multimeter and see where the voltage stops.

I don’t know much about engine mapping nor dsg mapping but I have read posts that are concerned with dsg’s changing up too early for some, and which discuss mapping to tackle that. Where appropriate though, ie only when not compromising safety nor car well-being, I thought it might be nice if you could do the opposite and use mapping to get to higher gears earlier, in the interests of fuel economy. Maybe something that could be called up in Individual driving mode so that the defaults are still accessible. As said I know nothing so this could be all pie in the sky. When on manual gears, and like many I suppose, I’ve always tried to employ what’s it called?..driver feedback, and deliberately targeted the gear changing to get better mpg results, by for an outlandish example, doing 30 mph in top gear as opposed to 3rd (Honda Accord 2.2 diesel) with the engine at idling speed. It used to come in handy for example in heavy, slow, but smooth motorway traffic. As said, only where safe. If driving alertly, then you’re always ready to drop a gear fast if needed anyway. As it is, the 190 dsg I have now, although generally ok at 40 mph plus, is a pain at lower speeds, humming away annoyingly and unnecessarily busily on those motorway crawls and with any manual up shift attempt ignored by the dsg. So in those conditions instead of getting say 70 mpg or more even, on those stretches as with the manual Honda, it’s down to what I consider to be an unnecessary 30 mpg, stuck in 3rd when I know it would be a lot better mimicking the Honda. I still do get quite good mpg though and it really does save a lot of money, through hopefully generally efficient non frantic driving: modest motorway speeds, reading the road/anticipating, coasting, eg down hills and up to roundabouts, using E mode, staying out of sports mode, engine braking when safe, stop start mode, limiting convenience consumers, ducking behind the steering wheel, taping my ears back, and the wife’s. I’m convinced though that this extra thing would make it even better 🤞👍🤔

Well, Still the same. In the morning it works. Try later in day, nothing. Following morning, fine. And that’s having the car unlocked, not driven. Just walk to the car open door, try seat and that’s it. Have factory reset every single thing. Thought it might even be to do with voltage level fluctuations but that’s just a guess. It would be nice to fix it but who cares, it’s only a car

Thanks again. I’m hoping that with the passenger side having no memory function then it could be as basic as power/fuse/dual switch/motor, with maybe a couple of limit switches. Or I might be completely wrong. I did notice that on the driver side there’s a small delay before the seat functions happen whereas the passenger side is instantaneous, making me think it might all be a bit simpler. If I get some time and the determination, I might try and get to the motor and check that the 12v is reaching it. So strange. If it’s a heat problem then in a couple of weeks it won’t even work first thing in the morning. Just going out there again 🤞🙂🤔