JayLibove

Thanks TDlum. Not sure I understand what you meant that these cars have the radar module "fitted for safety, but not front assist features". Do you mean that the "you're about to collide" is driven (only) by radar, and the "you're parking and about to bump into a pedestrian/ the wall in front of you, etc" is driven (only) by cameras? (My car has front assist, rear assist/ camera, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, blind spot assist, everything except "This is how you park"). cheers,

I was surprised too! I sent a note to the dealer. We'll see how they respond/ I might take it in to demonstrate it to them as probably being NOT what it should be ... thanks.

Just got my new 2019 model year (came out of the factory April or May 2020, they tell me) Octavia combi Scout. Although the owner's manual says that the remaining Adblue range should appear on the driving data page, I don't see it. It'd be a bit hard to swallow that this car, this year, would not have a display for it, only the "fill up in the near future" warning. Anyone have, on a 2019 Octavia diesel, the actual remaining distance/amount of Adblue? Or can we only wait for the warning? (The warning comes way, way in advance, I know, so it's not really a problem, just I prefer to be able to see the information - get an idea of consumption, and I'm never happy about inaccurate manuals...). cheers,

In the end, somewhat miraculously (it's still a bit of a mystery why this ONE Scout existed in inventory in Spain) we were able to get the car here. (In Germany none of the available recent model used cars actually had the features that I wanted, as it happens). So, about the hill descent assist. I don't like it. It's got a rather inconsistent foot - that is, the way it brakes to maintain speed is noticeably jerky compared to how I do it myself. Very disappointing, and, I think, much less smooth than (What I had assumed would be exactly the same, since they're both recent model Volkswagen group cars) on a Seat Tarraco (think: VW Tiguan Allspace with less "fashionable" to me more acceptable aesthetics and a much more reasonable price tag) that I'd had rented a few months ago. *sigh* The road noise that we'd noticed in the rented Octavia combi (not-Scout) turned out to be the model of tires on the vehicle. Even though our new Scout came with 18" rims (we'd have preferred 17" for the softer ride and reduced road noise) in fact the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance tires are just fine. (Unfortunately, they're summer-only, and we will sometimes drive in places where winter tires would be appropriate and/or required by local road rules) so the EfficientGrip Performance tires are to be replaced as soon as the order comes in with a set of Michelin CrossClimate+ tires...

So, I bought a 2019 Octavia combi "Scout", and it too has triggered the "collision imminent" warning three or four times now. I'm fairly sure that the thing is afraid of its own shadow (well, actually, that shadows on the road are what cause these false alerts). Someone commented that sometimes emergency braking might be applied - I'm pretty sure it won't do that above 30km/hr, and on the car that I bought, a bit different from the one I'd been renting, the sound that accompanies the red warning symbol on the dashboard is not as piercing, so it doesn't set my teeth on edge... Still, it clearly shouldn't do this. I'll ask the dealer.

*grin* very clever. (And this is coming from a guy - me - who hacked a $35 generic notebook power supply to include a weird resistor so that it would emulate Lenovo's $150 job; and who took apart and repaired a very expensive bicycle headlamp which had become a brick because a $1 backup battery inside it had run down ...) But back to the topic - does this mean that Skoda _really_ designed the sunroof such that it prevents having something so simple as a sunglasses holder up there?? Wow... (I love the car, and I greatly respect the brand, the history of the model, reliability, value, etc; I just wonder sometimes that Skoda's "Simply Clever" isn't quite so much ...)

We've just received our new Octavia combi Scout (one of the last of the Mk III manufactured). It has the electric panoramic sunroof, and did not come with the sunglasses holder in the roof just between the sunroof controls and the sunroof itself. The salesman at the dealer said he wasn't sure whether models with the electric panoramic sunroof could have the sunglasses holder, though looking at it I don't see why not. It looks like there is a plastic cover there with three covered screws that could probably easily be removed and the sunglasses cubby installed. Can anyone recommend an aftermarket sunglasses cubby that fits there nicely in this model? thanks,

thanks all. I've sent an email to the delivering dealer asking if he can find out.

Please forgive my ignorance; what is the V5?

Hi @PetrolDave, thanks, Erm, hm, well, ok, how could I find out, via some other data or vía? (Where's that head-scratching emoji when I need it?!) cheers,

Sounds like a good theory, @J.R. I wonder, how can I determine, from the VIN number, the original country for which this vehicle was manufactured? cheers,

Hi J.R., The history of this vehicle is a bit of a mystery to me. By chance, we had rented an Octavia combi (not-Scout) and really liked it, so we went looking for the Scout model .. and were told by several Skoda dealers here in Spain that none were available. Looking used, there were just a few (mostly quite old). Then, one lightly used Scout - but without the drive profile select that we wanted - appeared at a Skoda dealer lots near Barcelona; we tested it and found it lacking only in features .. so we Hail Mary'd by asking the new-cars section of that dealer if they couldn't, please, really, look for one of these cars for us .. and - the salesman himself was very surprised - he found ONE, showing new, in inventory, at a dealer several hundred Km away. He contacted the dealer and we learned that the car had been specially acquired by that dealer for a customer who (like us) had requested a specfic car. We were unable to get any details on the provenance of the vehicle. In the end, that other dealer's deal fell through, and the car was transerred to the dealer near us from whom we now have purchased it. So, as far as we know, it was a Spain market car, and it's first registry with any driving office was here in Spain. But, that's just as far as we know. As of when I last looked (a couple of weeks ago) the 2021 Octavia Scout wagon was not yet for sale in Spain. (One Skoda dealer had called me to say that the model was beginning to become available, but only as the front-wheel-drive version so far). But our car was manufactured in April 2020, and we got it on a last-year's-model stock clearance deal, so it can't be a 2021. Unless Skoda simply did not sell the 2019 design 2020 model year Octavia combi Scout 4x4 7-speed DSG 2.0TDI 184HP motor in Spain, I just don't understand why it causes a large insurance company such difficulties in exactly identifying the car. So, this leaves me with the academic question of "What the F---?!" and the real question of "Despite the insurance company's willingness to sell me a policy on a _similar_ vehicle (they've quoted my insurance on Octavia Scout RS 4x4 2.0TDI DSG - although I think they may be calling it Octavia Scout RS 2.0TDI DS4), am I at risk that, should I ever need to make a substantial claim on the insurance policy, they'd give me difficulty for having bought a policy "on the wrong car model"!? many thanks.

Hi from Spain. Has anyone else with an Octavia Scout had difficulty with insurance companies not understanding what model this is, and quoting insurance policies on something Skoda or something Octavia combi, but NOT exactly the Skoda Octavia combi Scout? Here in Spain I've just purchased a 2020 model year (came off the assembly line in April 2020, so I guess it's the introduced-in-2019 variant) Octavia combi Scout (4x4, 2.0TDI motor, 7-speed DSG automatic transmission, 135kW/184HP) and I'm looking for insurance for ths car. One of the most responsive and better priced companies ("Verti", a part of FREMAP) doesn't have a Skoda Octavia combi Scout model in their system. They have something they call a Skoda Scout (last manufactured 2017), and they have various Octavia combis; limiting it to 4x4 versions, the closest they come is an Octavia combi RS 4x4 ("DS4" they call it). But my Octavia Scout 2.0TDI DSG-7 is NOT an "RS" (sport) model... Do I just have the stupid luck to find the best price quote from a company that actually doesn't know this model? .. or is this a somewhat common occurrence with the somewhat less common "Scout" version of the Octavia combi? thanks for your thoughts, Jay

I've been driving a 2019 Octavia combi for a few weeks (rental; I'm looking for an Octavia Scout to buy) and several times this warning has come up. As far as I can tell, this car does not have front assist. When I'm parking I get no warnings about being about to touch the nose against anything. (It has back-up sensors and a back-up camera). The times when this warning has arisen, there has NEVER been anything that should remotely have alerted a near collision. As with vegit8's experience, "perfectly straight road with no other vehicles / objects in view". Unlike with vegit8's experience, each time I've encountered it I've been in a different place. (I don't recall whether I've traversed the same road again after; now that I have an idea what it might be, next time it happens if I'm in a place where I can reasonably go back and drive that stretch of road again, I'll try it to see if I can figure out what's setting it off). Any new information about these phantom warnings since the last post a year or so ago? thanks, Jay

Fabulous information, thank you everyone! Now, since neither the new Scout is available here in Spain (nor, mostly, yet, anywhere in Europe), nor does it seem that many Scouts were ever sold in Spain, let's see how lucky I get with Skoda dealers and user car lots on my next trip to Germany!

Hi Octavia wagon owners, and particularly Scout owners, I'm currently driving a rented Octavia combi(wagon) - I think a 2019 model. Mostly, I like it. I'm thinking of ordering an Octavia combi Scout (when it becomes available later this year) to get the all-wheel drive and higher ground clearance, as we do drive on dirt roads to get to interesting hiking places at times. I'm completely unable to find an Octavia Scout of any generation or year to test drive (here in northeast Spain). Can someone please comment on the handling and road noise of the Octavia Scout wagon vs the Octavia (normal, not-Scout) wagon? many thanks,

Many thanks silver1011, No, the new Octavia Scout isn't yet available for order here in Spain (nor in most other countries; I think in Czechia itself it is). I also checked with Germany as I travel there somewhat regularly, and they said the same thing that the Spanish Skoda concessionaires said - "late this year". I'll re-post in the MkIII forum too. I'm not clear from your reply - you've driven both the normal Octavia wagon and the Scout version, and you found the drive little different? again, thanks! -Jay

I'm current driving a rented Octavia combi(wagon) - I think a 2019 model. Mostly, I like it. I'm thinking of ordering an Octavia combi Scout to get the all-wheel drive and higher ground clearance, as we do drive on dirt roads to get to interesting hiking places at times. I'm completely unable to find an Octavia Scout to test drive (here in northeast Spain). Can someone please comment on the handling and road noise of the Octavia Scout wagon vs the Octavia (normal, not-Scout) wagon? many thanks,