Survivor

Well we can't expect any favours from EU manufacturers now which is why I'll be going to a British based maker next as long as I can specify no silly, distracting and unnecessary electronics!

2020 Skoda Octavia First Edition Hatchback DSG 2 litre 150bhp diesel. I've done over 8k miles in this car which is a delight to drive. It's roomy, comfortable and really powerful and a high speed cruiser. The 0 - 60 time is quicker than the manufacturer's stated figures i.e sub 8 seconds. I have no complaints about the driving side of the car. What irritates me is having to turn off the lane control every time I start the engine. This lane control is really alarming in action and in my opinion quite dangerous.. It took me a while to figure out how to turn nosy "Laura" off permanently also. The next thing bad thing is the loud intermittent click or thud coming from the centre of the vehicle which is related to the electronic system. I also get false alarms. The rear parking alert says it is not working but disappears after the vehicle is restarted after a few hours. Another false alarm is indicating that the car should be taken to a garage immediately a there is a major fault. Again this disappears after a restart. The car has been back to the dealer (Marshall's of Newbury) twice now and they have failed to fix the problems. They have given up with it and state that Skoda are working on fixes. I hope this is the case and that they will come up with a solution. I asked that the whole system be turned off but apparently this is not possible. I don't like the Display Unit in the centre of the dashboard. It is configured for left hand drivers. Skoda has made no concession for British right hand drivers. The icons and even the go/off button is a stretch for me although I am average height (5'11") . It is fiddly and often requires multiple touches to obtain the desired programme which is a dangerous distraction. I use Apple Car Play as opposed to Skoda's system which i found difficult and distracting to use. I can only assume that this system applies to all VAG vehicles so I won't be getting another VAG car in future. The electronics are a disaster and have spoiled what is an otherwise excellent car. I have owned several Skoda cars in the past including Yetis and a Karoq. I have also driven Fabias and I was always satisfied with their driving performance. The Octavia has excellent driving dynamics but is let down by these irritating electronic faults. What will I do when there is a genuine alarm?