FrankNicklin

With manual gearboxes, Yes. If facing downhill, put the car in reverse. If facing uphill put the car in first, just a habit I got in to as a manual car driver. With either manual or auto I would turn the front wheels in to the curb when parked on a hill.

Ok will take a closer look, but the box moves and I can’t see a strap or a plastic retainer.

Checked the wheel diameter which is OK, but not the PCD to be honest. So just checked online and I think the Civic is 5x114, damn.

Just taken delivery of a 67 plate 1.4 TSI Estate Auto and loving it. I do a fair few miles but do not have the spare wheel kit supplied although I do have the inflator and gunk. I have an unused 16" space saver that I removed from my Honda Civic before I traded in and think it will fit OK. My only issue is how to remove the polystyrene box that files the wheel well space. I've tried to lift it out, but it appears to be fitted under the rear trim of the estate boot. I don't want to break it if I can help it, so any thoughts. I will have to get hold of the kit tray for the spare to move all the bits and pieces from the box to the new spare wheel.

No you keep your foot on the brake until park is selected and the handbrake applied. You should never take your foot off the brake until the car is safe, this is bad practice.

Also When I taught my daughter to drive, I advised that when pulling up at a junction, never have the front wheels turned and pointing at the junction, always leave them straight ahead until ready to turn, Why?, because if you are hit from behind you don't get pushed in to the path of oncoming traffic.

Shouldn't be an issue as long as the footbrake is applied and the car stationary. Either Park and Handbrake or Handbrake and Park.

I know a few automatic gearbox drivers that do not use the handbrake. Probably OK on the flat, but any incline I would apply the handbrake. Also I have always turned the wheels towards the kerb when parking on a hill, whether a manual or auto gearbox. Just a habit.

Took delivery of my 67 plate Skoda SE L Estate 1.4TSI Auto yesterday and loving it so far. Only issue I've found at the moment is that I cannot connect the Skoda connect to the hotspot on my iPhone 12. I can see my home Wifi and connect to that. I switched my iPhone to Maximise Compatibility which did actually then show in the SSID and was able to connect. But have switching off the ignition and back on, the Amundeson will not reconnect to my iPhone 12, or even see it in the SSID list. Skoda also do not list the 11 or 12 in their compatibility list, so assumed that they just haven't caught up even though the iPhone 11 is 12 months old. If all else fails I might try a portable 4G router and see how that goes, but ideally would like to use my phone. Any thoughts anyone.

All being well I shall be picking up my 67 plate 1.4 SE L Estate next week. I've got this feature on my current Honda Civic and never had an issue where the windows have opened without my knowledge. Its a great feature in hot weather and look forward to using it in the summer.

What is your feeling about the 1.5. I presume it has the ACT control for the cylinders. Some say there is a vibration when the cylinders shut down. Whats you opinion.

Sorry your question is confusing. You are looking at a 1.5 TSI Petrol, own a diesel, but decided to leave petrol behind. My feeling is that you will regret dumping diesel for petrol when towing. Just my thoughts.

Thanks for the prompt reply. I have considered that, but I've seen a number of cars with 3 owners on 66/17 plates which is a bit disconcerting.

I recently test drove a 17 plate 1.4 SE L Octavia estate and loved it. The engine was great, the gearbox was great but on this particular car the mileage was a bit higher than I wanted so have decided to look around the market. One thing that strikes me is that there are a lot of 66/17/67 plate cars out there with multiple owners. I have just found a 17 plate with22K on the clock but 3 registered owners, I've seen many more with 2 owners. So bottom line, what is wrong with these cars, is it the economy is well below stated figures, is it a gearbox issue or an engine issue. All reviews say the Octavia is a great car, but I'm beginning to doubt this given the cars available on the 2nd hand market. I currently have a 62 plate 1.6 Diesel Civic manual. Its a great car extremely economical but needs to go as things start to wear. I've making the jump to auto box as I have never owned one, but driven many and fancy the change. Can anyone shed any light on this ownership issue which is leaving me a bit jittery.