Insearchofaskoda

Like everything if you don't know what it is you will likely not miss it. I have a FL230 without VAQ and I can't say I miss the option (I don't know how it feels to have it). That said I'm not wanting to use my car on track days and the limited spirit that can be applied to UK roads in this incarnation is still plenty impressive. Which is another point... don't restrict your search to the 245 this will give you more choice. The difference in BHP is not enough to notice and as someone else has pointed out, can be resolved with a remap if needed. As for the options that folks are pointing out. They are all "must haves".... problem is together they are mostly "unobtainium". You will end up compromising. You will see a high mileage car with all the whistles but it's mileage will scare you to death; you will see a low mileage car at a great price but is won't have any of the "must haves"; the car won't be the right colour, won't have the right wheels, will have everything except for heated seats OR it will be the holy grail but the price tag will put it out of reach. Test drive - find a car you think you will like, make sure it fulfils as many of your criteria as you can live with - even none if the price tag, mileage and service history is right. They are all good to drive. The one thing I personally can't live without...... DSG.

Sorry guys it was not a slight on the 19s as I do agree that they car looks better on them. I'm just of an age where I prefer the compromise the 18s offer from ride, road noise and a cost perspective.

I have the Geminis on mine. You might want to try the Gemini's before you go looking for 19s as frankly whilst I can live with the 18s.... it's not exactly a luxurious ride on them either so I can't imagine how awful it must be to drive about on the 19s. They're also significantly more expensive to replace than the 18s.

Thanks Pierre - Sounds "simple" enough but is there a guide on how to unclip the roof liner? I hate messing with clips if I don't know how... it usually ends with a broken clip and the problem being worse 😞

Yeah I empathise. I regularly ask my Missus if she can hear "that noise" only to find shes put something that rattles into the passenger door stowage area.

Is it the actual roof or your headliner that is creaking? I have the sunroof and it's not the actual roof but the headliner that I find creaks/rubs during the summer. During winter there's usually less noise from it as the parts contract and thus there is less rubbing/creaking. Oh and if anyone has a fix... I'd also be all ears but I don't find it too bothersome to be honest.

I have a FL 2018 Model which is the 230 BHP one (before they release the 245). I don't know of any issues/many with respect to reliability. The weak point on ANY VAG product seems to be waterpumps (I think it has been ever thus for VAG). Have not seen anyone complain about Cam chains on these. On the diesel you need to keep an eye on cam belt's and waterpumps at certain mileages, a quick search will reveal that issue. If I were picking a car to do high mileage in then I think I'd make a different choice to the 2.0 TSI simply on a consumption basis, though to be fair on long runs I happily get between 40 and 45 MPG though I do need a long run to get that. Pootling around I'm lucky to exceed 32mpg on short outings. Folks here will advise you to get a high spec one with heated seats, Alcantara over cloth seats, limited slip front diff (not sure the 230bhp on the FL ever had this) canton sound, DCC etc... you will look long and hard to find such rare beasts amongst what are quite rare cars to begin with. Be prepared to search patiently and also be prepared to travel to find the car you want. My car is fairly basic, does not have the alcantara or LSD or Canton sound or DCC. I bought it based on low milieage and condition ( oh and price) and I can't say I drive anywhere near hard enough to need a limited slip diff and the cloth seats are actually very nice. The sound out of the standard infotainment is acceptable, not poor but not great. It does have a sunroof which I never open but do use as a source of additional light sometimes. I have the DSG which I find excellent, though I'm of an age where using a clutch is just too much effort and if you are that way inclined... it makes for an effortless drive when on long journeys.

Thanks varoom - much appreciated.

Hi, My infotainment hasn't been updated since new and has some interesting intermittent "traits". Could someone help with access to the latest firmware please?

I have cloth - I've seen people being derogatory about the cloth... I don't understand why. I appreciate the Alcantara may be better but I find the cloth seats to be great.

My last two cars before the DSG based VRS petrol were the BMW330e. Did about 20K miles in both. Have only manage about 5K in this one as the pandemic severly curtailed my travel. In the 5k I've had with the DSG (6 speed) on my VRS I'm equally as pleased/happy to use it. If you want manual control of a gearbox... then get a manual. I for one was converted by the BMWs and my motivation was the reduction in company car tax... the pleasant side effect has been the removal of a life long aversion to automatic geared cars... I would never go back to a manual now and I find the DSG equally pleasant to drive as the BMWs.

Mine is a FL and it retains mode... or at least appears to show it has retained mode. If I leave it in eco, when I restart next journey even though it reflects as in eco the coasting mode does not engage unless swap out of eco and back again.

I hope you don't mind me jumping in with a question. So the subject of servicing is always a confusing one for me only because of the strange situation I find myself in... and many others at the moment given how little mileage we may have done. Next year my car is 4 years old, but I've yet to break 20000 miles. Which of the items should I be selecting? So if I look at that schedule do I simply blindly do everything just because it's 4 years old and ignore the fact it's barely at 20K miles? I mean I have a £725 bill coming up and since I bought it used at 16K miles it's had 2 oil services and the brake fluid change....It's costing me almost more in servicing than it is in fuel 🤣

Ha! That will send us all scurrying to check VINs. Mine is a late 2017/2018 230 and that starts TMBB..... I'm just off to check the lights

I fitted rear ones last week ... though had to be in the late evening when it was cooler (was a scorching week), they were simple enough to install and fit well. I didn't bother with the fronts... they look a little more challenging given the need to have to drill a hole and the side "clips" look like they might be interesting to wrestle on.