agedbriar

My 2019 doesn't.

Quoting from https://www.carpart.com.au/blog/educational/car-wheel-parts-and-their-functions "People sometimes refer to the wheel as the rim and vice versa. Let's differentiate between the two - the rim is only a part of the wheel, while the wheel comprises of the rim, tyre, and other components." Hence: spare wheel (rim + tyre, hopefully inflated ).

The latter, as you mustn't change the outer diameter of the wheel. My 17" and 16" (for winter tyres) rims deliver an even softer ride, due to higher tyre sidewalls.

Once upon a time, a coworker of mine rolled his new flimsy caravan over on a curve he took too fast when happily driving it home from the caravan factory.

Or, 225/55 R17, which are factory fitted on 4x4's with 17" wheels.

Have you taken into account that after a drive, the boot remains separately locked until the driver's door is opened?

I resisted for 18 months. Covid helped.

EFB technology? Because that's what they should be in a S/S car (or the even more expensive AGM). In fact, there are two S/S cars characteristics that shorten the life of common LA batteries. One is the numerous engine starts from only partly charged battery, the other the relatively high voltage quick charging (at up to 15 V), designed to best exploit the opportunities of charging for free.

For me, it's not only that EFB batteries cost twice as much as the regular ones and that installing another one calls for the input of the new battery data by the dealership, but it's also about taking proper care of my gear.

I wonder how it looks to the driver close behind ...

Mind that for the Continent it's Bosch Aerotwin A863S (and A331H for the rear).

Bosch Aerotwin.

The fact that the algorithm won't fully recharge the battery if it has to be done at expense of fuel (it can afford that strategy since the EFB batteries installed in S/S cars can start the engine from a lower state of charge than the regular ones), poses a bigger problem in periods of reduced driving, as a battery left to rest not fully charged at the outset, will sooner drop below 12.4 V and begin sulfating. I've mailed a question to Varta, asking if EFB batteries are equally susceptible to sulfation as the regular LA, but haven't received their reply yet.

I have a voltmeter constantly connected and my findings are that the battery will recharge to full state of charge (12.7 - 12.8 V at rest, depending on temperature) if the journey involves enough downhill driving and decelerations. As long as recharging can be done without extra fuel consumption, there is no reason for the system algorithm to hold it back. But yes, when charging needs to be done while the engine is consuming fuel, it will stop before reaching full SOC in order to keep the extra fuel consumption as low as practical.

To check the battery state of charge, the voltage measurement must be performed with the battery as close to no-load as possible. That means waiting 10 minutes, giving time to various systems to go to sleep again, after unlocking and opening the door arose them.

No, for a higher sidewall you need to switch to smaller rims as the outer diameter of the wheel has to remain as designed (or very close to it). I bought 16" rims for winter and ride is fabulous while still great on the original 17" in summer.

But if you compare 1.5 TSI DSG 2wd to 1.5 TSI DSG 4wd it's 1393 vs. 1505 kg kerb weight, thus 112 kg more. The rest is 2.0 extra horse weight, apparently. Actually, in the case of the 2.0 TSI the extra weight of 4x4 may be even less, since in the case of 1.5 TSI the upgrade from 2x4 to 4x4 also involves the inclusion of the more robust wet-clutch DSG transmission box, which on the 2.0 TSI would likely be required in the 2x4 variant as well, due to the higher 2.0 torque.

True - I missed that difference.

Looks identical to my Bolero.

I ordered the standard Karoq 1,5 TSI 4x4 DSG within the 2-3 weeks period when it was on the Slovenian list in February 2019. Had no worries about possible kangarooing as I noticed the considerably higher emissions compared to 2x4. I was right. Very happy with the car.

Just changed the batteries in both KESSY keyfobs after 18 months of ownership. It started to refuse unlocking at the passenger door. The driver side door and Start button were still working flawlessly.

Here's how it looks. The wooden block is part of the support I'd made for my former Octavia. I figured it would look more solid than panel mounted directly to the aluminium sheet without any protection on the backside. The car is currently connected to the battery charger, hence the reading.

Exactly. The bottom model (displaying 13.8 V) is mounted on a piece of aluminium sheet and resides raised just above the vane edge beneath the central armrest, turned laterally towards the driver's window. It's connected to the cigarette lighter by a short cable and standard 12 V plug.

I have a voltmeter permanently plugged in the cigarette lighter socket, which is permanently live on my 2019 Karoq. Mine draws 8 mA, but I have seen other models drawing much more. It's imperative that you mount the voltmeter so that you can read the no-load voltage through the closed window, as opening the door starts some car's systems and the voltage reading isn't relevant any more. Keeping a sharp eye on battery no-load voltage is important today for two reasons: less driving due to lockdown and the tendency of modern start/stop cars to only charge the battery on gravity (going downhill) or inertia (decelerating/breaking) to save fuel. Thus we more often than in the past return home with the battery still not fully charged. And letting the battery stay below 12.4 V for longer periods induces sulfation, i.e. battery deterioration The round model (bottom) is the one I settled on, while the direct-plug models were grossly inaccurate and drew up to 40 mA.

The direct approach to car battery testing (i.e. under real load) that I prefer: