MiniNinjaRob

Why did YOU respond like that for no reason whatsoever ? I just want to know why you want to know.

Why would you want to know that and how would be of any use?

Personally in the north of England I’d go for an all weather tyre like a Michelin Cross Climate, I have them on my other car a RWD auto Volvo and they are amazing.

Left may be wearing faster due to roundabouts.

Ordered a new Octavia recently but we need to change our 2nd car and have around £2k to spend. MPG not important, neither is size, but reliability and parts availability is. Obviously a lot of engines will be shared, which are the best ones in the older cars? Won’t be doing a lot of miles.

There’s this thing called Google….

I’m looking into maybe replacing the grille surround on my SEL when I get it to the black version as it looks soooo much better. Not sure if it could be wrapped or not which might be a better option for me as it’s a lease car from my workplace and I could remove the wrap before I handed it back. Not sure how easy it would be to change the surround myself.

How did you black out the badges?

Yes but by the time you change your car the technology will have moved on a lot and you may want to change your charger to suit. I’d leave it for the moment. I’m just using a handy outside socket.

Looking at the pics on the website they don’t look as good as the aero Thule ones and I wasn’t going to go for them. They look fairly square. They will just be rebadged from another company. TIP - if you want a bike holder to attach to a rack look for Volvo branded Thule ones on eBay - they are LOADS cheaper but exactly the same as Thule just the name changed.

How do you find it is getting the bikes up there? I was slightly concerned that the bike mount has to be further towards the centre of the car with the wing bar edge rails. I’m only 5’7” with short arms.

That looks decent! I don’t know why they charge so much extra for black, it’s just a different colour anodising that’s all. I’m getting a petrol blue car which will have silver rails so I’m leaning towards silver which will be a better contrast to the darker paint and match the rails too. Black is definitely best on the VRS and lighter paint colours.

Thanks - which bike mount have you got on there? I much prefer the fork mount ones, the frame holding ones I just don’t trust (bad experience in the past and my interpretation of engineering physics!). Thanks very much that’s good to know. I’m very sensitive to noise in a car so what I think I will do when I get my car (December maybe?) I’ll fit the roof system straight away so I’ll never know what it’s like without it!! The only decision I’ll have to make is silver or black bars….. (argh I hate making decisions!!).

Do you have any attachments on them like bike mounts? I normally order my roof racks and bike racks from roof box.co.uk - best price and excellent service.

Yea but there is more than one foot pack for all three of those options. There isn’t just 3 foot packs in total which will fit all cars.

The stop start in my Toyota that I just handed back was completely unnoticeable, after the first couple of days when it was a novelty I completely forgot it did it, not a single issue in 4 years.

Why on Earth do you need to hear the engine running?

Do you have any pics of what they look like on your car? I was thinking of getting exactly the same bars when I get my car, with 2 bike holders, but was concerned it puts the bike holders more to the centre of the car which may make them harder to reach. But I want them to look good and not be noisy at speed - any feedback on wind noise?

Have a look at this for compatability http://www.stilusosutazas.hu/custom/stilusosutazas/image/data/product/csomagtartok/Thule_Guide_2017.pdf I would probably guess that if Thule give another part number to fit the new car then the 753 won’t work. I certainly wouldn’t risk it for a few quid, might have insurance implications. Especially if you’re carrying expensive stuff on the top like bikes or boats. Any load flinging itself off at speed could be fatal though which doesn’t warrant the risk. There does seem to be an issue with stock levels at the moment with Thule stuff - brexit/coronavirus related as usual I would have thought. Normally I would say pick up the spares you need on eBay but it seems the prices are high at the moment on there probably because of limited new stock.

My SEL is coming with half leather half alcantara like fabric, I could have specced full leather for £240 but I prefer the standard. I'm in the UK

Just been speaking to a good friend of mine who is a senior fleet manager for Audi. He said that the larger fleet companies generally do get their cars first, so my order may arrive in December as stated, maybe earlier. Apparently cash buyers can come last in the queue but that’s not a 100% rule and they don’t get pushed back if a big fleet order comes in but they just won’t be prioritised. It’s a complex issue which a few bits of news on the internet dont really get to understanding it really.

Surely when these chips that are missing turn up a lot of cars will be released and be available pretty quick? I’m assuming they won’t have 10 chips delivered each week, they’ll get a few thousand in one go so as soon as they are fitted a load of cars will be available in one go?

When I get any new car I always spend a couple of hours sat in the car with the handbook going through everything. Even when I had a basic Astra a few years ago I found a few features which I never would have discovered on my own. I would imagine there’s a LOT to go through with an Octavia PHEV so might save myself for a whole day with my wife to go through everything!

Same on my temporary car Ford Fiesta. Pretty normal.

Well I’m not bothered anyway, I’m prepared to wait and no point in getting annoyed about it. Bigger things to worry about in this crazy world right now!!