croquemonsieur

Going to Bristol from Epping Forest Friday around mid-day I got 50mpg from my lowly MY19 1.0 DSG, quite a lot of traffic but nothing really slowed me much except, 1 mile from home at the start, there was 10min queue up to a roundabout. Coming back today starting 7.00am hardly any traffic all the way on the M4 & M25 moderate traffic, yet I only got 43mpg, my worst yet for that journey (best was 53mpg over a year ago in the same direction, but in summer). The explanation - factors much discussed on this forum in the past - it was much colder this morning 0*C at the start. Also much less traffic means much less suction from vehicles nearby - in front and to sides, so more air resistance. No rain both trips. Maybe I was driving just a little faster consistently, as the roads were quieter too. Coming back used to be more economical than going, due I suspected to prevailing wind, but I've noticed last few visits this has switched round, maybe prevailing winds have changed,,,, all to do with global warming possibly??? There was someone here, shyVRS245, with an early 1.5 manual who used to get over 60mpg on a commute and sometimes got near 65mpg, but not seen any messages from him recently. I don't think there's actually much difference between the 1.0 & a good running 1.5 as regards economy, due to the cylinder shut down facility in the latter. My car, being a year or so later, has an exhaust particle 'filter', so would not anyway do as well + the DSG will be taking it's toll a little bit. I tend to drive at the speed limit & set the ACC to 73mph on Motorways where allowed, which is actually near enough 70mph actual + occasional bursts of speed to get past a line of slower traffic. The section of M4 nearer London has a 50mph limit, while it smartens itself up, so that helps economy too for the moment.

Yes, chip shortages does explain why Skoda have had to cut down on tech items and hadn't thought of that. I wonder if the collison avoidance included with ACC is anything more than what ACC did on the older models where the car will slow down when you get behind another vehicle at a certain (adjustable) distance and even bring your car to a halt if the one in front suddenly brakes to a standstill. However, ACC is rather slow locking on to a vehicle that suddenly cuts in in front of you from another lane - so maybe they've improved that aspect. I'm not sure preditive cruise control is worth the bother anyway, from what people have reported.

It seems they've abandoned several desirable features that were previously offered or being predicted. Some mentioned already like... ## the 1.0 mild hybrid DSG option that has been appearing in other Skoda Models ## Area View 360* vision Either I couldn't see or they just weren't making a song and dance about... ## DCC Adaptive Dampers ## Blind Spot Detection ## Parking package doesn't seem to include automatic parking facility where the car parks itself I still don't like the new grill with chrome surrounf but looks quite good with blackened surround in the Sportline. All in all a disappointing makeover and hardly anything to tempt those like me, with earlier Karoq models.

It was the Kamiq (not Karoq) that was said to have a huge interior, presumably compared with most other competitors in the small SUV sector. they also seem to have forgotten about the Kodiac even though a best buy in previous years. The Enyaq actually got more blobs - a full 5 in the ride quality & ease of driving, one than the more upmarket Lexus RX, but was down a blob to 4 in comparison for reliability. Maybe the Enyaq they tried had the DCC set-up, but typically 'Which' give no clue as to this or generally which version in the model range - pretty useless mag I find on the whole, when wanting to decide on a car purchase - at least Autocar do discuss the different versions & their relative merits with most cars, surprisingly sometimes noting that the cheapest versions are the nicest (best riding due to higher profile tyres, best handling due to better weight balance from lighter engine, noise etc.).

They seem to have forgotten about the Karoq this year, no mention at all, though the Kamiq does get a mention at no 22 (64%) in the small SUV section, but described as comfortable, easy to drive, safe and with a huge interior. The BMW 200 series is similarly missing from the MPV section except for a second hand mention. In consolation, the Enyaq IV is top of the heap in the large SUV section at 78% (luxury SUVs are further separated out with the Lexus RX at no1 there costing around £50,000 - but still only getting the same 78% rating, so well done Enyaq - described as a fine mix of quality & value - a serene driving experience, spacious cabin & impressive range, but performance maybe a little leisurely. Those acceleration times seem pretty fast to me, though not to the ridiculous extreme of some competitors. Hopefully I'll get a test drive in a few month's time.

Yes, pulling the gear selector back to S for overtaking & also for quick getways from standstill is so very easy, you don't have to think about it. It makes my 1.0 DSG quite responsive for overtaking, as the car otherwise does like to be in as high a gear as possible. For me it creates just the right amount of extra involvement that makes driving a bit more enjoyable, without all that tiring footwork you have to do in manual cars. Simply pulling the selector back again, having overtaken, puts it back into normal drive. In 2.5 years I've not felt the need, nor bothered with the flappy paddles, or alternatively pushing the gear selector over to the left to select gears manually.

Carlston, did you mean to refer to 17" wheels in your 2nd sentence & 7Jx17 ET45? kodiacsportsline I suspect you're sort of correct, I believe Hancock AW tyres do wear faster than say Michelin & Goodyear equivalents + higher rolling resistance, losing maybe 1 or 2mpg & other things being equal, I'd seriously think about that. However, other things aren't equal - in a recent review, they came out as otherwise one of the best all round tyres, particulary regarding wet performance & ride quality. So, if they last 2 years instead of 4, replacement costs being say £400-500 every 2 years, when viewed against my car depreciating at maybe £4000pa, the tyre cost isn't all that significant.

Phope, what sort of trouble did you have with your Arteon & tiguan predictive / adaptive cruise controls. My 2.5yr old Karoq 1.0 SE Tec DSG has adaptive cruise control and no problems so far (only done 16,000miles though due to pandemic). However, one does have to be aware of its foibles :-- 1). Once it's locked on to a car in front, it seems to reluctant to let go, so when pulling out to overtake on a motorway, unless I do this early, which I now usually remember to do, I have to have foot ready to use the throttle, in order to override the car wanting to slow down & not let me past. 2). It's slow to lock on to a new car that has cut me up and dodged out in front of me - bad driving for sure, but it does happen occasionally, particularly on the M25. So I have to anticipate, which is no bad thing and I find I can sometimes drive many 10s of motorway miles without needing to touch brake or throttle, even in moderately busy traffic - wouldn't be without it. I believe Volvos cope better with issue 1 though (according to recent comparison review with an Audi Q I saw, but don't remember the details). I can see that it would be even better in a Left Hand Drive car as the foot rest is then be ideally placed for the right foot. Never quite sure what to do with my right foot in the RHD car, as there's not enough space to the side of the throttle to rest it, maybe I should have the pedals altered (moved to left) to create more room there.

Thanks for the information. Posts help firm up my intention to change to 16" wheels, in spring (from 17"), when the car will be getting on for 3yrs old. As noted in another thread a few weeks ago, I'm still looking at Hancock All Weather tyres as a permanent year round fitment, if they're available in the right size.

To my mind, those E Type wheels & tyre proportions look right, much better than modern low profile tyres on 19" wheels. A much later car, my old BMW 323 5 series of the mid 1990s vintage had similar proportioned wheels/tyres to that Jag, from what I recall, but lower profile tyres were beginning to creep in to slightly later faster models of same body shape. Out of interest, Surrey John & kenfowler, what tyres do you have on those 16" wheels, you've probably indicated before but if so, I can't remember. I'm bearing in mind a comment on that video P_J linked to - ride / handling differences between tyre makes / models is rather greater than so with small changes in tyre profile of the same tyre model.

-- I don't know if so with non ACC models, but with my SE Tech 1.0 DSG, the only indication of overall milage done by the car seemed to be when switching off - briefly visible in the MFD/Maxidot. That's until now, when I suddenly discovered that fully pressing down that 3rd control stalk belonging to the cruise control so as to come fully out of cruise, that mileage showed in maxidot. Pressing that lever down when not having been in cruise does the same thing. Taken me 2.4 years to find that out. -- Pressing that lever partially and gently when in cruise however leaves that last cruise setting at that last speed setting, but that's probably old news & been aware of that 18 months. -- I don't pay for Amundsen upgrades, nor any Skoda traffic info links to the car, but coming back at the weekend 10 days ago along the M4 - I'd previously checked and found that the junction with the M25 would be closed - but the sat nav map showed that the a small section just before Swindon was also closed & turned out to be true - thick red lines overlaid on that bit (there was also a verbal announcement in the car, which I had actually come across before) - I hadn't noticed this closure when checking websites before setting off & I always fairly carefully check at weekends as closures are fairly routine on the M4 just now, Sat & Sun. A pleasant surprise in one way, but unpleasant discovery on that particular early morning when it was still very dark. -- Finally another 'boring?' economy report. Going to my M in L on the M25/M11 yesterday, I got an indicated 54mpg (52mpg actual) & 49+mpg actual coming back in the dark on ordinary roads. i note this as it was fairly warm yesterday, say 13*C average and the roads were dry, whereas the previous week it was colder, wetter & I only got around 45mpg. That's a 10+% improvement. I maybe pushed the car a little harder on the earlier journey and was caught in some traffic at the motorway end, bit nothing too drastic, but it adds weight to earlier reports in this forum that cars run more efficiently when warmer & as I've noticed before, in drier weather.

Disappointingly, the mild hybrid 1.0 auto seems to be delayed or shelved, but 16" wheels seem an option on the basic model now. Overall, with the non switch offable stop/start & cruise control speed limiter now included, I'm glad I got one of the last if not the last 1.0 DSGs available in the UK when I did, summer 2019.

Maybe the new grill looks better than on say the Enyaq & even better in all black on the Sportsline, but I must say the current model all black grill as seen on B17 HGW above, looks best of all. Even tempted to blacken the Stainless steel surround on my 1.0 SE Tech DSG grill - might go nicely with my intended black steel wheels!!! I didn't read any of the above links carefully, but didn't notice any mention of the 1.0 DSG mild hybrid for the facelifted madel that was being predicted a while ago, which is a pity. Though I wouldn't also mind more techy things like 360* vision, DCC, blind spot monitoring, etc., I'll still be very content to continue driving my current car & won't be actively seeing what's around for a good few years yet.

I've started to notice in the last few days, as temperatures drop, that the 17" Turanzas on my Karoq 1.0 are making a bit more road roar on tarmac road surfaces that are finished with coarse grit, than previously - like the road I commonly use within 1/2 mile from home. This is when first starting off and when it is less than 4*C outside - I noticed it again this morning - down to 1*C at one point. It's more a mid-to-high frequency roar than a tiring rumble thankfully and it is only a bit noiser, but I have noticed it on 3 occasions recently, but I do note that I am overly fussy about road noise. After driving a while I'm not aware of the extra noise, which can mean one of two things. Either the tyre has warmed up and so quietened down, or I've just got used to the noise - i think the former explanation is more likely. It figures I suppose, summer tyres like the Turanzas aren't at their best below 10*C as I usefully learned from this forum some time ago and presumably get excessively hard. Roll on my next set of AW tyres on 16" wheels - I note the favourable comments made her about the Michelin XC2's, but Hancocks are still my current aspiration.

I know roottoot, why I prefaced my note with FWIW, but still worth mentioning the survey & bearing it in mind - anyway, more or less reflects my experience running a Karoq 2+ years. But you're right, I've certainly never took part in any survey.

I actually prefer those wheels to say flashy alloy ones on more sporty cars - would look even better with hub caps, just like recent London taxis, with maybe an old fashioned white band on the side walls. Yes, very much a minority view here I confess, but generally don't see much point in alloys, they cost a lot & difficult to repair once bent.

FWIW, just noting Karoq does well in the latest JD survey - that get's reported in Autoexpress - coming 5th from top, right up there with Far Eastern cars. The only European car to do better is a Porsche at no2 & no sign of Lexus in the top 10 these days, no 13 the best one of them can do. They sum up the Karoq saying there are no downsides to speak of. The Kodiaq comes 6th, slightly better for ride/handling (maybe DCC is more common on this car) & for reliability, but marked down for economy. Interestingly the Vauxhall Grandland is 7th & the Volvo C40 8th. The SEAT Ateca does well too at 10th place (aren't they made by Skoda?). I recall the Yeti used to do well in older JD power surveys, but so did Lexus cars generally. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/driver-power/95238/best-cars-to-own-driver-power-results https://www.whatcar.com/news/25-most-unreliable-cars/n18546 At the opposite end - the least reliable 25, there's a good smattering of Land/Range Rovers, UK made Nissans, a few Audis, Jags, Vauxhauls, Peugeots & VWs + the Fiesta, Merc A class (actually did well last year) & a Porsch, but not a Skoda in sight. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswagen/tiguan/353326/new-volkswagen-tiguan-ehybrid-2020-review While Skoda are seemingly mainly concentrating on mild hybrids for now with their IC car range, VW seem to be getting into PHEVs in a big way. Maybe Skoda will follow in a year or two, just letting VW sort out the wrinkles. (As an aside, Skoda seem to be important to VAG as I note a week or 2 ago, VAG share prices rose somewhat, after it was announced that Skoda had reopened production lines, having aquired enough chips & parts to complete their cars). Anyway' the Tiguan PHEV interested me, particularly as Autocar commented on its low road noise. It seems to use an Eco 1.4 4cyl producng only 130hp, but of course boosted by the elec motor to get it to 60mph in only 7.5secs. Autoexpress got 44mpg after they drove one for almost 700miles - good for such a fast car in the hands of a mag test driver, not driving frugally & better than they got with the 2.0D + it's more refined. I see it's actually no wider than the Karoq, though probably taller & heavier and probably still feels 'bigger' to drive - the Karoq does to me feel surprisingly & welcomingly 'small' to drive for it's size and after all, there is that good JD rating to factor in, the Tiguan only coming in at no 62. Are VW slowly abandoning the 1.5? - whether the 1.4 has the cylinder shut down as in the 1.5, I don't know. https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/new/tiguan.html#hybrid

Yes Phil-E, I've suddenly got interested in that Hancock Kinergy 4S2, following this week's Autoexpress magazine, where it came top out of 8 all-weather tyres. It wasn't included in this year's 'Tyre Reviews' AW test but did well, coming 2nd in their 2020 AW review, summarized there as a hugely impressive tyre with no real weakness. My particularly emphasis is for noise & ride which you comment on favourably & the tyre did very well for ride in the 2020 review, but noise was average. However this week's Autoexpress notes that the tyre has been developing all the time and it was now the quietest on smooth tarmac - rather better than the Goodyear Vector Gen3 whereas in 2020 'twas the other way round. However noise on rough surfaces, sharp ridges etc., a much more annoying noise aspect for me, wasn't commented on by Autoexpress - let's face it, most tyres are pretty quiet on smooth tarmac, including my current Turanzas. https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2020-Tyre-Reviews-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm Other apects from an average snow rating in 2020, Autoexpress reckon it's developed into a really good tyre for snow. It was always good in the wet, probably the most important safety aspect for me down here in the SE and is the best for aquaplaning. Dry weather performance remains average, but I don't go racing around these days. Rolling resistance is not that good, leading to 3% worse fuel economy than the best Pirelli, but hardly a significant cost penalty. Wear is probably not a strong point either. It's been off my radar up to now, but all-in-all it could now be top choice for my next set of tyres. Strangely the Autoexpress review this week didn't include the new new Michelin X Climate 2.

Is that a petrol 2.0 you tried? There've been one or two good reports here on the 2.0 4wd Karoq with 'independent' rear suspension. I wouldn't mind trying one myself, fitted with adaptive shock absorbers/dampers (called DCC or Dynamic Chassis control by Skoda in UK), sometimes referred to as semi-active ride, but I'm not unhappy with the performance of my 1.0 DSG . Maybe I'll take a test ride next summer (+ also in an Enyaq) if Covid seems under control in UK by then. Regarding ride, you could just change the wheels to 16" (not expensive if content with cheapo steel wheels - I think they anyway look better than alloys, but then not many would agree with me) + if feasible in the Oz heat, fit All Weather Tyres like the Goodyear Vector All Seasons Gen3 which tests say, ride better & quieter. Otherwise choose the best riding, quietest summer tyres you can get over there, possibly still Goodyears. Your wheels look very much like the alloys that came with my SE Technology Karoq - are your's 17" too? Actually, they are to my mind one of the better looking Karoq alloys offered. I'd say the ride of mine is more than OK, even with the much criticised, Bridgestone Turanzas, but I still want to improve things further, as I'm fussy about ride comfort. I can't yet report on improvements 16" wheels & AW tyres make to my car, until early summer 2022, but no doubt will post something then, after fitting them. I assume you thought the 4wd suspension gave a better ride - did it have DCC and what was the wheel size in the 2.0 you tried? I do sometimes look at after market offerings by damper manufacturers & if I keep the car ages, could fit active dampers when the originals wear out. Tall cars depend on strong anti-roll bars to limit roll in corners, which means the L & R wheels front and back aren't really that much independant of each other, maybe OK if the front or rear car wheels hits potholes at exactly the same time, but if only one wheel does so, you get roll rock - anti roll bars tend to be undamped springs, so leads to quite excessive squirming of the car if pot hole or bump is large. Up market cars have started getting adaptive anti-roll bars & that's maybe a partial or complete solution, not 100% sure how they work, but a later refit is probably not practical for me. DCC does adjust to provide more damping in corners & I wonder if DCC fitted cars can then have slightly weaker anti-roll bars in consequence, benefiting ride overall.

Following on from my message of 7 October about the unreliability of official tyre noise ratings, for how quiet the tyre is inside the car - this is illustrated in this week's Auto express Winter Tyre Test. The tyre with the lowest rating (69db), Michelin Alpin, turned out to be the noisiest inside the cabin & the 2 tyres with the highest noise ratings (72dB) were amongst the quieter ones measured inside. They commented in the text that the Michelin was noisy inside yet counter-intuitively actually had poor rolling resistance too. On the other hand the quietest inside was Maxxix Premitra snow yet did have a reasonable outside noise rating of 70dB. Just goes to further make the point that one should be wary of official noise ratings, if you want a quiet tyre. There is a ? over the test though, most tyres show a pic of the latest Golf, but the Maxxis pic is of an older model, so not the same car. If that was the car used, it may actually show how good the Maxxis is in this respect, as the recent 'Tyre Reviews' look at AW tyres particularly commented on the inherently low road noise of the latest Golf. For information, the noise tests were done on a smooth tarmac road suface at 62mph (100kph). Most tyre reviews I've seen recently seem to use Golfs. Tyre noise outside is of some importance however - the other day I was walking along the footpath at the side of a busy main road (coarse road surface) in a 30mph limit town with houses close to the pavement. The noise emanating from passing cars (probably mostly doing 40mph) was more than annoying, quiet wearing actually, glad I didn't live there, would send me round the bend

Tank half empty in my MY19 1.0 DSG Karoq, at last actually managed to find some 99 RON petrol (recommended in a recent thread) at a big Tesco In Harlow yesterday, so filled up. I'm sure the engine is even a little smoother already. (Too early to say of course to be honest & also if it is improving fuel consumption). Actually, economy going to Harlow by motorway on E10 95 RON, even with a long fast steepish M25 climb up to the Epping Tunnel, was significantly better by 5mpg (45mpg on 30min run) than on a probably overall flatter shorter return by A Road (also 30mins) on the mixed fuel, but there was some stop / start pottering around the town & after. E5 99 RON v E10 95 RON - wonder which will eventually prove to give better mpg, bearing in mind conflicting reports here about the latter - I hadn't noticed any mpg reduction with E10 95 RON over the older variety recently, but can't say for sure - car runs perfectly OK on E10.

I didn't know my MY19 1.0 SE Tech had heated external mirrors. As noted above, found the setting on the mirror rotary knob on the armrest this morning ,thanks to this thread, but had already wiped off the condense - try to remember to use it tomorrow, just to check it works.

I got some petrol. Doesn't sound exciting, but still not that easy around East London/Essex borders. Only a few pumps in one out of the 2 places I tried had any petrol, though both had lots of diesel. Still I can now do 500+miles of driving (i.e. long distance more econmical style) before I need worry again. If you'd asked a few weeks ago I could have described the weighting down of the rear parcel shelf I've been doing to reduce road noise - it's working well. Anyway I posted on this recently - no photos as it looks a mess at present, being just at the end of the the experimental stage & awaiting a more cosmetic fix. Won't work on Varioflex cars unless a removeable rigid shelf can be fitted somehow.

RootToot, in due course I'll try turning off TC on a fast getaway. Regarding your PS, that's what I had been doing sometimes, but too fiddly - almost as bad as driving a manual car and handbrake + out of gear at traffic lights! Getting used to autohold is spoiling me. Whilst writing, also can confirm that if braking gently & not pressing too hard on the pedal when stopped, doesn't trigger Autohold.

Embarassingly avoiding the last 2 messages on performance cars, I've had a couple of weeks using Autohold on my 1.0 DSG, after 2 previous years as an ignorant Autolhold sceptic. I'm now leaving it on most of the time - agree with Kenny R it's great with the DSG and does make starting from standstill easier on the right foot and it's generally a bit less effort to achieve a smooth take off. I've tried some moderately fast getaways turning right from a side road into a busy main road and no wheel spin or tramping so far, but too early to say for sure. I've still to try really putting my foot down while in Sport from standstill. If not for the rather-oversensitive-to-small-movement-at-top-of-throttle-pedal, it would be as good as my torquey old Saab 9-5 2 litre auto & is already nicer here than my previous Yeti 1.2 DSG (and as it happens my older BMW E39 523i auto too - always seemed a bit sluggish in spite of the good 0-60 times, unless I really used the throttle). What I didn't like on first getting the Karoq & before I was used to it, was using Autohold with Stop/start. Initially pressing go, the engine would start with a slight jolt + taking off in Autohold I tended to do too suddenly. That put me off using both facilities for far too long, but that was before I learned the trick of twitching the steering wheel - anticipating moving off a few seconds later. Still only use Stop/start occasionally, when a longish wait expected, replacement EFB batteries aren't cheap. Going back to a point made by RootToot, stopped in traffic today, I did notice from the red reflections in a white Transit behind me, that the rear brakes lights are illuminated when Autohold operates - need to think more about that, but reluctant to give up Autohold now.