London Les

A very small thing, but it is slightly annoying that you need a screwdriver or similar to take the rear headrests off - I reverse mine when the childseats are in, and its fiddly to have to get a screwdriver for this job, when the previous ones used to simply pull out.

Couple of pics of my petrol VRS enjoying the Easter sun in the North Yorkshire Moors and its alleged SUV-like ride height!

My VRS has done everything I've wanted of it. Taking the current family holiday as an example - it will transport a family of four and all of its gubbins for a week away in comfort and safety - the driver assist features are good, the economy is real world (I looked at a V6 petrol Audi S4 and S6 and boy they drink), the car is very stable in all weather that I driven it in, and quietly eats miles at any speed you like. Then, once all of this stuff is delivered it goes like stink, makes an interesting noise and corners brilliantly. I've heard lots of complaints about the sound generator which I can imagine sounds a bit odd overlaid over a diesel but for the petrol its a great idea - you have a very refined turbo petrol when you want one, and a hairy Suburu when you feel in the mood. I think its fine, even knowing its completely false! To be perfect it need 4wd and to be a bit quieter on the road noise front, but for the money you won't get better, with the possible exception of the Seat equivalent.

I got some black McGard ones for my winter alloys and they look pretty good to me. I don't use the VAG nut covers. Also having now got a torque wrench I realise I was over tightening them by hand.

Don't discount the sound generator until you can give it the beans in second and third - it sounds fantastic and complements the TSI nicely.

The colour code is F6F6.

Mine has been caught out a couple of times on contra-flows on motorways where the old markings are still visible - have to concentrate through the transitions...

I was really impressed with the finish achieved on my diamond cut Gemini alloys which had several deepish kerb marks - after that I have much more faith in smart repairs. I would have thought with it being white it should be a fairly straightforward fill and spray job.

A couple of other minor comments - the level of 'assistance' is variable in the setup menu, also the 'maxidot' display between the dials can be set to show the status of the system - if you are concerned about marginal conditions then that is useful. Note on single carriageway roads it can simply stop you straying over the centreline if it can't detect the edge of the road. I'm generally fairly keen on technology and like this a lot for long journeys knowing it will counteract drifting out of lane on most occasions. My wife is anti fiddly stuff like cruise control etc. but adopted this without much resistance...

As you say there is a huge number of grey cars around the place, and the Octavia risks merging into the background a bit anyway. I really like my Metal Grey one, and it looks superb when clean, but for 75% of the time with a bit of road grime, I think it is a bit anonymous. Living in south London that is perhaps a benefit. The blue definitely has a bit more wow factor.

A few quick thoughts: - I think the MkIII xenon are a bit less effective than the MkII which only used xenon to cover the dip, and 55W halogen for mains - the volume of light in total seemed more, and especially upgraded with Osram Nightbreakers were really good. - On my Mk II the initial set up was far too low and needed resetting by the dealer - there is a MOT range to avoid dazzle on dip and they seem to be set at a very conservative 'pass' and can be adjusted up without failing. - You need to set AFS or the auto-levelling to a calibration mode to change the settings - messing with the nuts on the light fitting (like I did) messes with it, because the sensors in the fitting will try to compensate for the fitting tilting until they reach the end of their travel. My lesson was let the dealer do it - mine did it for free as part of the service. - remember AFS only works on Auto, and if its raining or the car is going slowly the light adopt a short range pattern.

That's a fair few miles/kms - I had a leaking shock absorber on my MkII at 30,000 miles and the response was 'yup, they do that' and it was checked under warranty with no issues.

Think I'd rather graze the alloys occasionally, and get them sorted out by a man every now and again.

Much better than mine in a grotty filling station on an overcast day in South London!

The trip reset button in the middle of the dials is a hoot - time set, service and battery condition, and changes depending on whether the ignition is on or not. Not obviously it does this - just keep the button pressed to avoid resetting trip accidentally.

Yup - that's how it fully opens - the two glass panels are roughly the same size and one overlaps the other when fully open. There are lots of intermediate (and a tilt) settings too - great design.

Sorry - don't know what happened to my pics in post 1519 above - here they are anyway - having a sip of Shell Nitro+

Very much recommend these LEDs for the rear courtesy lights with the pano roof. Brighter and nice quality of light. Did mine and really pleased with them - better for the kids reading when its dark outside. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400760004683

Had mine since September and still love the look of if. Here it is, having a drink...

You're right - it is a tardis. I've done three week camping holidays in France with two young kids, a massive family tent WITH A CARPET, four chairs and a table, bedding, inflatable beds, a four ring gas stove (and fuel) and two bikes and still not had anything extra in the passenger compartment! The problem is my family assumes everything can be taken, and therefore pack it! Also last week, I was in a total panic because our oven blew up and I was expecting three mums in the house on Mothering Sunday - the prospect of no oven and lunch was not a good one. So I ordered an oven on the internet - and after various delays it was delivered to a distribution depot in St Albans on Saturday. So it was VRS to the rescue time and a 100 mile return trip to get it first thing on Saturday. A - I really enjoyed doing that and B - how many cars can you have an enjoyable drive in, sun roof open, Sport mode on, with a full size oven in the boot!!!

Certainly don't write off repairing them. I've just had my Geminis done by A1 Alloys and I'm impressed by the results. The back two had been kerbed quite a few times - mainly superficial but a couple with damage well into the metal - and now I can't see any difference from the fronts even with the wheels off under lights in the shed. Brilliant!

My view is the newer generation DPFs are fine. I had a MkII facelift diesel Octavia Scout in suburban London, including daily short school runs, with rare trips into the country and it was fine for four years - I didn't even get the re-gen light. I also had a pre-facelift i.e. PD not common rail diesel Scout for a week and went I got it from the dealers the regen light was on, but a blast on a dual carriageway cleared it for the week. PD - which is not so hot on smoke control and DPF was a short term, and less than ideal fix.

Cool - I remember that feeling well - the wait will be worth it!

Amazing spot that - pleased I'm not the only person who likes peering underneath cars!

The only other thing I picked up on one website is that the 230 will have a lap timer - previously seen on the other special edition. Well spotted on the headlamps, wheels, etc. Shame there's not something a bit more exciting.