The Plumber

Recently walked to the summit of Mount Vesuvius and found two rather battered original Panda 4x4 parked outside the gift shops at the top. From the top car park its a fairly steep and not very wide dirt track with the occasional log step. So quite impressive they were up there. TP

Don't think the NYCC would be happy with us running round on their highways with studded Hakkapelitta tyres fitted to the car TP

As I understood it, your bog standard summer tyre that comes as standard fit to most cars these days, can be referred to by industry as all season/weather, as they are designed for all year use (but not necessarily effective). Have noticed that some manufacturers are now understanding we don't all drive on motorways and there are drivers like myself who reguarly drive on narrow and sometimes more challenging rural roads, so are fitting more all season (with 3PSF), or full winters as standard, such as the Panda 4x4 and Peugeot 3008, which offer more grip. Have recently fitted full winters to our BM and while its still a little warm, the car has far more traction than it did on the factory Bridgestone W rated summer tyres; can now get out of the works car park without rear wheel spin (its a grass field) and not have the back end step out in the wet on rail crossings (joys of rwd ). This is an issue I took up with Skoda many years ago, regard not offering tyres that work more effectively with their 4x4 systems, this fell on deaf ears. Even our AWD Volvo has factory fitted Conti Sport 5 tyres, with will be as much use as a chocolate fireguard come freezing winter weather . TP

Suppose that's why I left the brand, well apart from the current seat designs lack of support/comfort, along with the offset pedal box on the RHD MQB platforms, which both make for an uncomfortable drive (for me), their cars are more then ever clones of the VW line-up, in an effort to cut costs and attract more, if you like, mainstream and fleet owners. My take on it TP

You seem to getting similar economy to our petrol 2ltr AWD auto Volvo, although I wouldn't necessarily consider 3k run-in and there are many factors which can effect fuel usage. For example I can get an extra 7mpg sitting on a motorway at 70 over my up and down dale rural open road drive to work covering a distance of 38 miles. TP

Ran the original Cross Climates in the 225/50 R17 on our first V40 Cross Country D2 for around 17k miles before I traded the car in for our current T5 AWD version. Overall very pleased with them, particularly in warmer summer temps, were they were far more like a summer tyre over the original Goodyear 4 Season I'd experienced a few years back on my son's car. Although I noticed towards the end of ownership the levels of grip started to decline with just about 4mm of tread remaining on the front. Noticed Michelin have launched an updated version, so I wounder if this is and area they have improved on. Yet to decide whether to prematurely replace the summer tyres with all season on the T5, as I did on the D2; I don't drive so much in the winter months these days and I can pretty much choose to stay at home if the weather is poor. Although its good to see a much improved range of tyres to choose from. When the Yeti was launched back in 2009 there were no all season options in 225/50 R17 until Goodyear made the original 4 Season tyre. TP

Been away for some while and now without a Skoda, or any other VAG produced mode of transport, however after seeing adds for the Yeti replacement I feel disappointed that its just another dull unimaginative box. Skoda seem to have long lost their flare for individual design, such as the diesel only Fabia vRS, Roomster and the original (proper) Yeti. Regards to all, The Plumber

Insurance is a strange thing, our Seat Toledo 1.6TDI is more expensive to insure than our Volvo V40 1.6TDI despite the latter being more expensive new RRP, service etc. Anyway enjoy the new motor, looks good in the race blue. TP

When you do sell your current wheels, the following is a good choice if you intend to offer a shipping option; https://www.paisleyfreight.com/?source=google&segment=alloys&gclid=CPHz0KiV1NECFUcQ0wodTb0BAQ TP

For low miles the TSI makes more sense and as others have commented the turbo petrol engine pulls well. Only replaced our TSI Spaceback due to a much longer commute to work, plus the heavier fuel consumption with the amount of up and down dale work it had to do on this journey. Would also recommend considering the Seat Toledo, albeit only available in notchback, as they tend to be better equipped than the equivalent Skoda and sometimes cheaper to buy used. TP

If your engine has the code CFNA then the parts book states the plugs are Bosch F7HER02. For the CWVA engine however, the parts book only offers the VW part number of 04C 905 616A, albeit it does say again they are Bosch plugs. In the UK the plugs on the petrol engines are normally changed between 20,000 and 40,000 miles depending on model. TP

Bit late picking up on this post, however we've had our V40XC more more than 18 months now and it's proved to be an excellent motor and in most areas a step up from previous Yeti's. Ours is powered by the now withdrawn EU5 Ford/PSA 1.6TD D2 which feel more like a 2 ltr in terms of performance and as a bonus its zero road tax. Would recommend anybody considering one should lookout for nearly new ex Volvo UK management cars, as many have the 'big ticket' options specified. TP

Personally of the two face-lifts I preferred the look of the city version; still not taken by the Outdoors 'Lego Brick' front bumper. TP

I'll just keep mine to modern English; :makeup: :party: :beer: :drunk: :giggle: All the best to all, TP

Try here; https://www.downloadworkshopmanuals.com/index.php/skoda TP

Likewise I'm getting fed-up with manufactures, particularly the VAG group thinking we all need European river barges for cars. They need to come and measure some of our driveways, garages and country lanes :D (Not tried it but I don't think a current Octavia or Superb would get down the drive between our house and the boundary fence). Re 16" wheels then that could be interesting with the ever increasing corporate approach to customer service; mind you do have precedence ;) TP

No I'd take cover somewhere and let the AA man go for it :D Changed a few wheels over the years but generally I've been able to find a safe place to undertake the process, such as farm tracks and roadside parking etc. Re current tyres the no, the V40 is on factory 225/50 R17's like most Yeti's, albeit I got rid of the factory motorway tyres and fitted CrossClimates and the Toledo is currently on 17" rims with rubber band 215/40 R17 Nokian winter tyres :o Strangely I find the 17" wheel option works the best in terms of balance between ride and handling on the Rapid/Toledo family :S TP

Had a puncture very recently on the Toledo which the TPM quickly picked up and I was able to get home before it went flat. However I had the comfort of knowing the car had a STANDARD spare wheel B) Likewise I've just been car shopping with my nephew; he bought a 5 year old Punto Evo as his first car, as they are cheep to buy/insure :S Noticed however it came with glue rather than a spare in the boot well, so the first job on getting home was ordering a spare wheel and tools for it from a scrappy on e-bay. He's now got the spare while he's yet to collect the car :giggle: TP

I would question why anyone would want to have this modification based on our experience of the old 110 TDI in our last Yeti which ran very well. These engines were designed from the sump up to run as they are. Logic would say forcing them to run in a different way is likely to induce problems with reliability further down the road. If they actually come up with a way to gag the 1.6 TDI, then they needn't bother making a kit for our Toledo, as like the Yeti the motor runs very well. TP

Are the tailgate bump stops adjusted correctly. Might also try putting Gummi Pfledge around all the door/boot seals, including the velvet/felt one at the top of the doors, plus the above mentioned bump stops. Further you could try putting electrical tape around the lock plates for the rear seats and the doors to act as a barrier between metal to metal contact. TP

Model year switch is normally round Week 22 and the updated engines coincided with the Rapid facelift (more under the skin than visible, apart from the side indicator move). TP

With the previous Spaceback I put nightbreakers in the dipped beam and adjusted the lights up a turn and a half myself. No one flashed me so obviously the DIY approach didn't blind anyone. Haven't changed the bulbs on the Toledo but they did get a turn up. Still not great, particularly on dipped but the access to the dipped bulbs on the TDI model is difficult to say the least. Although thankfully the Toledo doesn't use H15 bulbs, having H7's for high beam and separate DRL bulbs. TP

With the colder wet weather and mud covered rural roads round here, I've noticed the rear discs on the Toledo were going rusty, as was the case on a number previous Skoda's. However I had a hunch from observations while I had the Spaceback and jet washed the rear calipers; handbrake off :o Result was quite a noticeable amount of dirt and grit being washed out and now the brake pads seem to be cleaning up the discs nicely. The rear brakes appear to be prone to collecting road dirt, which is stopping the pads making proper contact with the discs. Posting in case anyone else is having a similar issue. TP

Our Toledo ITECH mid wheel change from factory 16" wheels in dark grey to 17" Camelots fitted with winter tyres; a carry over from the previous Spaceback. As above the silver wheels look better IMHO. TP

Took our previous classic TDI 110 4x4 out to the Czech Republic in a one day journey of near 980 miles with a soft box on the roof, before going down into Austria a few days later; great car for long runs, although the Fabia brakes on the 110 found long mountain descents a challenge. Took both a spare wheel and an air compressor plus tyre glue to be on the safe side with travelling through the night deep into Europe. TP