croquemonsieur

Actually, I'm unsure if Autobild and Tyrereviews were testing the same tyre, in view of the wildy differing wet handling results. Autobild refers to their testing a Quatrac tyre that had just superceeded the Quatrac 5, whereas Tyrereviews tested a Quatrac Pro. I'm not familiar with the Vredstein Range these days though, but did once fit a set of their summer tyres once to my BMW 523 16+ years ago as they were a good price and recall being quite impressed, including noting the ride was a bit quieter than before. Tyrereviews claim they apply the following weightings in their overall ratings - 30% wet handling, 25% dry ditto, 25% snow ditto, 10% noise and comfort & 10% rolling resistance. In the video, they say the testing was done blind - no, not the driver blind folded, but he never new what tyre he was testing at any one time, as the wheels were covered so the driver couldn' t see the tyres as he entered & exited the car. I acknowledge e-roots preference, but for me, ride & noise are worth more than that 10% weighting, because as well as driving pleasure, I believe amongst other things, this aspect is important for reducing driver fatigue and thus driver error - so, significant for car safety overall.

Yes e-root, difficult to argue with that, but I'll have a go. If 'good handling' is the overiding safety factor - taking that in isolation would guide you towards using a good summer tyre, but then you'd need to change over to winter in late Autumn. Probably wise where you are, but not many would bother in the South East and probably then safer overall to use all-weathers. Anyway a few arguable points :- Looking just at all-weathers, safety depends on the situation. Comparing the Michelin & Goodyear for instance, the Michelin is better in the dry, particularly regarding braking, but the Goodyear generally better in the wet, so which is safer? Difficult to say overall and the Goodyear has the better, quieter ride. Is sporty ultra-sharp handling the only form of good handling? and when I refer to a little softness in the steering, I don't mean going as far as soggy or unsafe handling. I do reckon many of the tyres in the reviews here can be regarded as very safe. When it comes to needing to brake quickly on a bumpy or broken road surface, particularly on a bend, I speculate a more compliant tyre or rubber may keep it in more consistent contact with the road surface and this would equal better braking in this situation or less sliding/bumping sideways, but never seen any tests on this. Certainly the BMW I previously referred to, felt rather alarming on a rippled road section - the steering wheel was almost dancing around in my hands - couldn't believe that they would release a car like that for sale, probably more to do with suspension settings than tyres alone and less sporty versions of this car likely don't suffer. I reckon that a more comfy ride with low road roar and bump thump is less wearing for many, if not all people - certainly me - and so keeps one more alert & content (& so safer?), if doing anything more than short journeys.

It's worth looking at the 25min video in the 1st Tyrereviews link. For one thing, all the testing seems to have been done at Goodyear facilities, so maybe Goodyear tyres should do well, having been developed there. The video does suggest at the end that if living say in SE England, where snow is rare these days, the Bridgestone Weather Control tyre could be the best option, not as good as the Goodyear in snow, but by far the best riding tyre (but Goodyear still good) and as quiet as the Goodyear + also similarly good rolling resistance. On the other hand, it should be pointed out that the Autobuild review indicates that whereas the Goodyear Gen3 wears very well, the Bridgestone is one of the poorest. Back to what is said on the Tyrereviews video, for me the rough surface noise levels are a more important consideration than the smooth road noise levels, as the former are typically 9-10dB greater. My Karoq, on what seem to be regarded as rather average 17" Turenzas is very quiet on smooth tarmac, with just a gentle but not unpleasant woosh at 70mph, but noticeably noisier on course gravel and over rough ridges - and though not particularly bad here compared with other cars I've been in, any reduction is to be welcome. The Tyrereviews sound level measurements were taken inside the car, whereas the Autobild noise comparisons were measured outside, which actually is of little value, so scrub that comment at the end of my opening message. I think these tyre reviews could go one better still and also look at handling on rough roads - 5 years ago I tried a BMW sports version of an Active Tourer on low profile tyres and the steering on rough roads was dreadful - although presumably fine on a high speed test track. I suspect good ride and handling in the rough go hand in hand. Tyrereviews did note that a new version of the X Climate is due next year - so maybe that's worth waiting for. My inclination at the moment though, following these reviews & when I get to reshoe the Karoq, is to forget about good summer tyres & go for the Goodyear Gen3, as these will be noticeably comfier and quieter than any summer tyre - even the notable Goodyear Efficient Grip, as used for the contol comparison. I'll likely change to 16" wheels too, to further enhance these qualities. But that just reflects my priorities, comfort being rather more important than ultimate handling - which I never really test and I don't mind losing a little bit of steering sharpness.

Oops that first link should have been https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2020-Tyre-Reviews-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons seem to be one of the popular choices in this category. There is now a review of the recently announced latest version - Gen3 in a comparative review of 9 all weather tyres from Tyre Reviews. It's their 1st choice having the overall most rounded performance https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/364-skoda-karoq/?do=add The Michelin X Climate, also often highly regarded here, is still best of the bunch in the dry, but is noted as one of the noisiest and least comfortable, the latter aspect echoing my experience and that of a friend. It is of course an XL tyre. The review also included a reference summer tyre that they say is well regarded for comfort, but interestingly it was joint worst here with the X Climate and also tended to be noisy. Did well in the wet though and best for rolling resistance (but Goodyear Gen3 a close 2nd here). There was a new category I haven't seen before - as well as noise they looked at rough noise, but I would have liked to see further explanation of this. I recall reading stuff on the Goodyear Site earlier this year, that the Gen3 has been designed to maintain it's winter performance over a longer period of the tyre life. I believe this is the achilees heel of winter and all weather tyres, as the winter preformance tends to deteriorate once the tread groove depth wears lower than 5mm, but I don't know the details of what Goodyear have done. Wear testing was excluded from this review, but they intend to look into it. https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2020-Auto-Bild-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm The Goodyear Gen3 came top here too but the X climate did marginally better for noise.

Your reports have always been very impressive in all sorts of ways and based on those, I'd have forked out another £1500 for the extra umph in the 1.5, particularly as there's hardly any insurance hit, but I'm still very happy with the 1.0 performance, particularly when DSG gear lever is pushed into Sport. I do recall that some early reviewers were enthusiastic about the 1.5, but not all, similar to variation in comments here. I suppose that illustrates that at least a few 1.5s aren't as good as they could be. No doubt most are as impressive as yours, but there again, a recent review I read (can't remember where) did note some noise from the engine, including at high revs. You were lucky to get the particular Michelin tyres on your car (Pilots I think) - a recent review found them to be one of the best riding tyres on the market if the competing Goodyears were just a little quieter. I expect there's the occasional duff 1.0 too. One or two early reviews did also note that this engine made a typical 3cyl roar when pushed hard - I suppose mine does when trying to overtake very quickly + a mild 3 cyl thrum around 1500-2000rpm up hills in a high gear, but cruising along and in most driving, including normal acceleration, it's very quiet.

Car Magazine review noted that the 1.0 was the quietest of all the engines in the Karoq range. I've never tried nor ridden in a 1.5 so can't compare, but reviews do seem to reveal there is some noise variability with this engine. I did try a 2.0 diesel 2 years ago and that was pretty quiet, much more so than a 1.6d Ford C Max and similar sized diesel in a BMW Active tourer I'd tried 3 years previously. So noise is one reason for choosing the 1.0 and for me an important one. Reason 2 is potential reliability - the problems some people have had with the complex 1.5 are well documented here - but admittedly not everyone has been affected, I doubt even a majority. Reason 3, the 1.0 is maybe £1500 cheaper than the 1.5. On the other hand, when looking into things a year ago, I found little difference in insurance costs. Agreed I wouldn't recommend the 1.0 as being any more economical than the 1.5, both can be surprisingly good. Reason 4 if you want an automatic, a must for me, the 1.0 might be a better long term bet than the 1.5, pity it isn't available just just now. I wasn't aware of this VG forum at the time of buying my 1.0 DSG, but having joined a few months after and read many of the threads, I reckon I made a good choice. I did read several early reviews at the time, of course, and picked up comments that the 1.0 DSG was surprisingly fast and that some (but not all) reviewers were disappointed with the 1.5 performance (though no doubt rather faster). The 1.5 0-60 times are impressive nevertheless - a full second faster than the BMW Active Tourer - and I'd like to try one some time, now that VAG are seemingly getting over the teething problems.

That Kamiq might be quite a good green option for now - small & so relatively economical with lowish emissions. Until a few days ago, I was becoming quite enthusiastic towards EVs, as part of the carbon neutral evolution movement, but then I came across articles that put a big ? on the sustainability of Lithium Ion Batteries as they are at present. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/analysis-just-how-green-are-electric-vehicles I found this really surprising, but it seems EVs take rather more energy to build than ICE cars. That embedded energy may take only a few years to break even, if the propulsion electricity used is from sustainable sources, but maybe no overall advantage if carbon produced. Admittedly the article is a little old and things may be improving, but I've not read anything so far that indicates this. https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-limits-of-clean-energy This link describes how the Lithium mining/extraction process uses large quantities of water and is creating severe local environmental problems in South America - if EVs do take off, the Lithium requirements will be many times more than we currently extract, with commensurate growth in such problems. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/17/significant-lithium-find-spurs-hopes-of-cornwall-regeneration On the other hand looks like Cornwall may be abler to supply all of UKs Lithium needs in a few years time. I think this is good news!!! Maybe hybrids are a more attractive option at the moment - not too many batteries on board, but they do offer worthwhile fuel savings on short journeys. Has anyone done the maths?

CJJE, I'll be interested to see how you find the Karoq after the Golf SV - apologies for going off topic. When looking to replace my old failing Saab 9-5 auto, 5+ years ago, the SV was my favourite out of the 5 cars I test drove. However I'd left things too late and needed a new car immediately and couldn't wait for the SV delivery, so bought my 2nd choice - an ex demonstrator Yeti 1.2 DSG sitting in the Skoda Dealers. The SV definitely had a better ride (particularly on broken road surfaces) with less road noise, both important to me. On the other hand the Yeti seemed rather better than the Ford CMax mk2 and the BMW 200 Active tourer (latter sports version with low profile tyres though). The Citroen C4 Picasso had a softer ride, but still was jittery over broken road surfaces - didn't like the strange semi-autobox or chinzy interior nor soggy seats. The Yeti had the highest seat position which suited me - the others were all MPVs after all. I wanted to test the SV against the Karoq when I went for my Karoq 1.0 DSG SE technology a year ago, but didn't get round to it. For me, the Karoq ride/road noise, if not perfect, is a substantial improvement over the Yeti, but do wonder if the SV might still be even better in this regard. Interestingly, the SV still comes out top MPV dog in many reviews after 5 years, even though you don't see many on the roads. Not had any trouble with the DSG in either of my Skodas, though both smallest engines/lowest power versions. Until I tried the DSG I'd stayed clear of small car autos - all the ones I drove years ago were noisy and sluggish, so kept to second hand big car autos in those days. I prefer the handyness of smaller cars, both the Yeti & Karoq fit that bill for me and the DSG seemed a revelation when I tried the SV & Yeti in my previous buying round. However, I gather from other threads here that conventional autos in small cars may have caught up - some people seem to even prefer the best ones.

I thought from previous posts in a different thread, it was established that the Yeti 16" wheels had a different offset - can't remember what - & that it was risky using them on the Karoq. Maybe I misunderstood. I do have a set of rather nice 'Rial' matt black 16" wheels from my previous Yeti - fitted with Cross Climates that have a fair amount of wear left They're in a cellar that I can't get to for a week or so - I was going to try to sell them, or if not, scrap them. It would be great if I could use them on the Karoq. Actually just found the invoice from late 2016. They're 6.5 x 16 ET33 - maybe the 6 x 16s were also an option for the Yeti. For me, looks like it's back to plan A + I'll buy some steel 6 x 16s in a year's time - pity.

Root - this is what Which say about this latest survey, if any help. Being a member of Which, I was asked to join in this survey, but didn't get around to it - I'll try next time. Sounds as if not many people here did either. I wonder how many people JD include. I don't think Which reviews are without value, but I maintain a healthy sceptixism of the conclusions. I've noticed a few mistakes in summaries - for instance, last year's reviews rated the Yeti (as a used car) ride as **** and the Karoq as ***, but also commented that the Kodaq had a rather better ride - hadn't bothered to review & update reviews of older cars presumably :- How does Which? know? We know how different cars age and which brands make the most reliable cars. But we’re not dusty-robed soothsayers: every stat in this article comes from you and your experiences, via our annual car reliability survey. Between December 2019 and February 2020, our latest survey attracted 47,013 people, most of them Which? members, who told us about the 55,833 cars they own and drive. This means all our reliability data comes from actual owner experiences, not whimsical extrapolations. The same survey also reveals the nation’s most-loved cars, typical annual mileages, what type of car you’re thinking of buying next and more. But it’s powerful enough to also bring to light the cars that have a single fault that’s so prolific, and so common among its users, that we think it’s likely a fault with the car’s manufacturing and therefore needs to be recalled. If a car has a known weakness, why should you have to pay? You’ll find seven cars on p20 that fit this bill, including the incredibly popular Nissan Qashqai – it’s the second year running that we’re calling on this car to be recalled (see Which? Car Guide 2019/20, p4).

Re-reading the Which 2019 car guide - web review of Karoq, reliability is actually quite good **** but things may change as the cars get older. Bucking the general trend, diesels were a bit more reliable than petrol versions, presumably reflecting the early 1.5 TSI problems some people experienced. I don't recall many people here reporting diesel problems, nor 1.0 TSI reliability problems for that matter. However, the smaller Skodas seem even more reliable, some achieved *****. It appears that the poor reliability of the 3 Teslas reviewed isn't much connected with the EV side of things, but bodywork & other electronics, except maybe for a few faults with the charging system. The BMW I3 got ***** for reliability in 2019, but doubts (unspecified) appear in this latest reliability web report. Maybe the jury's out on EV reliability - 'Which' are blurring the EV issue in the way they present this latest report, lumping in non EV problems - it would be interesting to see these issues filtered out, giving a better indication of whether EVs as a principal are reliable - in theory should be VG as there's much less to go wrong in the simplified drivetrain. The next big Which car guide won't appear untill Feb 2021.

Yes, Which said as much. Luxury cars as a rule aren't reliable - except Lexus and Porsche was the most reliable European & VAG range.

FWIW, 'Which' have just published their latest assessments on the web. ## The top 8 were all far Eastern, with the top 5 being Japanese, headed by Lexus - pity the Lexus looksso ordinary, to my eyes at least. ## Then it's Porsche, Mini, Peugeot, Ford and Skoda in 13th. Maybe Karoq pulled down latter with early 1500TSI/manual woes + wipers issue etc. ## Then BMW, Citroen, Mercedes, Nissan & Jaguar. Vauxhall & Fiat better than VW @ 21, then Volvo (XC90 troublesome) Renault, Audi, Alfa & Smart. ## Subaru @ 27 rather spoiled the Japanese picture & next down SEAT didn't do VAG any favours (but neither did Audi). ## TESLA (mainly bodywork issues & Land-Rover (digital gremlins & mainly diesels) last of all, both get the wooden spoon Hybrids were found to be most reliable, mainly because many by Lexus/Toyota, who've been making them a long time. Petrols next. Diesels are less reliable & rechargeable hybrids (maybe not dominated by Lexus/Toyota) & EVs worst (that maybe skewed by TESLA bodywork issues), but BMW & Renault EVs don't do well.

I've used a half lemon a few times, works for a short while, but wipers soon revert to the graunching noise. The recent 1st annual service report said the wipers were OK!

Interesting, but I do strongly disagree with the comment that the Karoq suspension is noisier than the Yeti. My 17" wheeled 2019 spec Karoq (done 6500miles), if not perfect, is significantly quieter for road roar & bump thump than my previous Yeti (and rides better) - even after I'd changed the Yeti to 16" wheels - that's with the controversial Turanza tyres on the Karoq + it being so quiet in other respects would make road noise stand out more. Neither do I find side-wind stability a particular issue - after having formerly owned automatic BMW E39 523 & also Saab 9-5 over many years. Those cars had more road noise too. I find the seats firm but comfy, so does the misses, must suit our backs. The Saab used to give me a little back ache on longer journeys. I assume the car is a manual, certainly impressive economy and a bit better than I get with the DSG, which however is still good. On the other hand, I really like the way the 3cyl engine/DSG combo drives and even though no road burner, it has all the accelaration I need for overtaking + goes well up hills, both when 'gear lever' is dropped into Sport Mode - but a few others have suggested the DSG version might be nicer to drive than the manual. It purrs along at 70-90mph. Previous Yeti 1200/DSG combo also worked well if just a little noisier - the Karoq does need to use the Sport Gear lever mode more due to it's tendency to stay in as high a gear as it can get away with, but going into Sport is so easy and actually makes driving more involving Agreed about the awful noisy front wipers, as many have noted - got the Bosch replacements (2 lots) when going cheap some time ago on Amazon, but still not tried out.

Impressive economy Widescreen, bearing in view of the newness, the traffic conditions and it's an auto. For info, start of August we resumed our monthly London - Bristol 150mile trips in our 1.0 TSI SE Technology DSG with GPF, following 5 months lockdown. I decided (after recent comments here) not to use the Adaptive Cruise Control this time, to allow me to speed up on downhills and gradually slow down uphill on the M25 & M4. Trip there indicated 53mpg, a record for me - previously best this direction was around 48mpg, but the return, driving in the normal direction of prevailing winds, where I've got around 53mpg recently, I was hoping for better than 55mpg, but actually slightly disappointed to get a mere indicated 50mpg. Don't know why, maybe the wind had changed direction for a few days. The return trip traffic was quieter than the busier going there, so maybe less of the being dragged along by other vehicles draughts. The going & return averages at 51.5mpg which earlier calcs have found to be 4% optimistic, so really 49.5mpg brim to brim. Car as always fairly loaded, but not absolutely packed out, travelling generally at 70mph but as described before, there is the long 50mph M4 section between Reading and the M25 that always benefits economy. Car one year old, just (oil) serviced and has done 6,000miles. As usual engine barely audible throughout the journey.

Ken - I agree with that Yeti/Karoq comparison - I had changed my Yeti wheels from 17" to 16" when fitting Michelin Cross-Climates - in spite of the stiff XL sidewalls of these tyres, there was some ride & road noise improvement. The 1st Karoq I tried was a diesel 4x4 with 19" wheels and thought the ride & road noise comparable to my 16" wheeled Yeti, but I was anxious for a significant improvement in this regard. It took a while to find a garage that could give me a test drive of a Karoq with 17" wheels - but for me was worth the wait - some people prefer a firm ride, but the rather softer quieter ride of the lower spec Karoqs suit me much more, though would like better ride still over broken road surfaces. In due course I'll fit 16" wheels again, this time with quiet Goodyears, once the Turanzas are worn and see how far that gets me.

I don't normally buy newspapers, but Saturday's Telegraph came my way. Summarising a question & answer in the motoring section (Honest John Expert Advice) someone asked the following :- "My Audi A1 has the notorius DSG dry-sump gearbox. In view of the many problems owners are experiencing, are there any advanced warning signs we should know about." "ANSWER. Don't ever sit in Drive with the engine running or you simply grind the clutch plates together. Also many independants and better VW group dealers advocate changing the mineral oil in the gearbox every 4 years. This 'sealed for lie' DQ200 box actually isn't. There's a drain plug and a breather, the cap of which can be removed to reveal an opening through which fresh transmission fluid can be added with a syringe." Totally new to me and any comments?. I usually leave my Karoq 1.0 Tech DSG in gear at say traffic lights with the auto stop/start switched off. Maybe I should always keep the auto start/stop operating. OR does the autohold put it in Neutral - I'll look at the display next time. I don't actually like the auto hold & prefer just keeping my foot on the brake and letting the car momentarily creep forward as the lights change, before touching the sensitive throttle pedal. Can't comment on the oil change. I previously had a Yeti 1.2 SE DSG for 4.5years with no auto stop/start and so the car car was frequently in gear when stopped and never any trouble with the gearbox or anything else much. I thought that although the DSG box gave trouble early on, it's woes were sorted out quite a few years ago. Ford had trouble with their newer DSG box more recently - my sister and partner like Focuses and their 1.6 of a few years ago had juddering problems that were only fairly recently sorted. Their recent 1.0 has been OK though, but not as economical as my Karoq or Yeti, nor in fact quite as good as their older 1.6. This reinforces something said here a while ago that the VAG 3cyl is a sunstantially different animal to the sporty Ford 1 litre. Also, is it possible that creeping forward in traffic, clutch plates slipping away, causes excessive wear I wonder - my car usually soon changes up to 2nd even at very low creeping speeds, so whether there is much slipping, I can't say. There was a brief article in Autocar earlier this year about the VAG DSG box, saying that it has oversized clutch plates with a view to giving a gearbox life of 300,000KM. I assume both my Skodas were /are the DQ200 box. I love my DSG, in spite of the slightly iffy start from standstill issue - not helped by the sensitive throttle.