LSport

I agree with Zedboy. Blinds have been helpful to provide shade during spells of heat. Remaining time, I have mine open for the fresh air. My kids like the sunroof for looking at the stars when driving at night.

My Dec 2021 IV went into my local dealership 2 weeks ago after suffering entertainment/warning issues many of you have reported following delivery from a dealership I purchased the car from up north. The latest software was installed but the car had to be booked in again (this time for 2 days) due to a failed module related to the entertainment system. The only issue I had since that update was installed 2 weeks ago was a 'please wait' notification when the sat nav first loaded that didn't go away for 24 hours even after turning the car on and off a few times. Fortunately I didn't need the sat nav on the journeys I made that day. The module was replaced today and I'm waiting for the car to be returned. The dealership also advised they reinstalled the latest entertainment software because Skoda had added a recent patch to resolve issues customers had reported the including my 'please wait' sat nav issue. When the car is returned, I'll see what software version has been installed.

The system in my IV works completely different to my e-Golf. It is much more sophisticated, although not consistent. In my e-Golf in 'B' mode (highest regen setting), I know the more I take my foot off the accelerator, the stronger the regen and quicker we slow (used around town only. I use no regen on the motorway, free wheeling which improves range). In my IV and in 'auto' mode, as you pointed out, it uses systems listed above to evaluate the situation and therefore determines how much regen to apply. Although clever, in every situation you are not aware beforehand of how much regen the car will apply and I find I have to apply the brakes myself much more and in some cases, harder than I would usually. The sat nav doesn't need to be programmed for the car to use. I don't programme the sat nav for driving around town for example and I have come up to a number of roundabouts with no vehicle in front and the car recognises the roundabout from the sat nav I assume and applies a higher portion of regen. However there are roundabouts on my route which the car doesn't recognise and applies hardly any regen. I tend to find the system works better if there is a vehicle in front where the radar also helps to determine the amount of regen in order to keep a safe distance. Although, again it sometimes is a bit dumb and may not apply regen hard enough meaning I have to put the anchors on to stop the car going bumper onto bumper. Inconsistent as I mentioned, which is why I tend to set the regen on 'high' giving me more control as I lift my foot off the accelerator. Don't get me wrong, it is a very clever system. Regenerative braking is like marmite. You either like it or you don't and coming from ICE vehicles, those who go down the gears in a manual gearbox will probably adapt to this feature easier. Others in an auto may take more time to get use to it. My wife drives an auto and loved the one foot control using regen on max in our e-Golf. However I don't think she would like the inconsistency the IV gives when in 'auto' mode. In 'high' or 'low' setting, I think people will adapt easier as there would be more consistency in how much regen is applied with the driver controlling this. I hope this helps. Another thing to note, is unlike a lot of the other features in the vehicle, once the car is turned off settings applied tend to go back to it's default mode. However the regen setting remains as set by the driver as part of the drivers profile which is nice.

Keen to know what regenerative setting you are using in your IV? On the motorway, 'auto' seems to work perfectly fine for me but around town on electric only, I prefer the 'high' setting. Probably because I'm use to the high or 'B' mode regenerative braking on our e-Golf.

The point about weight is a good one. I don't have or intend on having a full tank of fuel since most of the time I am running on batteries only. For longer distances, batteries are full before leaving and I get better range running on a smaller amount of fuel (less weight) in the car, making a quick pits stop towards the end of my journey for petrol when needed. Adapting to the vehicle being driven, whether that is ICE, EV, PHEV, etc... is key to getting the most from the vehicle.

What did you go for in the end? Any issues or recommendations?

Using the sat nav helps the car spread the battery usage throughout the journey. I read reports that the battery in the Octavia can go completely flat around 80 miles, but I managed to to do 110 miles with 1 miles of electric range remaining. Managing to achieve over 80 mpg of mostly motorway driving. I agree, a longer battery version with the backup of petrol would be appealing to a lot of people, however I have read the cost to manufacturing and selling would be higher than the equivalent EV. Questioning whether there would be the demand for this type of vehicle or would customers go straight to the cheaper equivalent EV version. The list price for a Plug-in hybrid today with it's smaller batter is close to EV prices. The BMW i3 extended version is a good example where BMW tested the water with new technology and seemed to get more demand than they were expecting. But at the time, there was very few other alternatives. Now EV models of a similar class/size have been released, manufacturing of the i3 extended version have stopped. We think a lot of what is being offered has to do with customer demand. Misconception in my opinion. I think our options previously has been deliberately very limited, to benefit those fat cats. We have seen experiments with other fuel types, many of which proved they can work and had they been given more time and investment, could of gone mainstream similar to EV's. Whilst some people bought LPG vehicles or conversion kits, we were told why go with an unknown and unproven fuel type when you can get really good MPG and low tax for having a diesel. So people went at bought diesels. Then it was, diesels are bad, but petrol is cheaper and cost less to maintain. A big push (by those fat cats) back to petrol. Now, electric vehicles are our future and good of our planet. Unfortunately it appears to me, our decisions are not really ours. We are given false advertisement, a lack of real information and in some areas scare tactics are used. Media has a big part to play in this. Where are we now? Left with EV's that are far too expensive for a high portion of the population, fuel prices (gasoline, electric, gas, etc...) going through the roof and anyone remember those pledges from our world leaders about cutting pollution levels at a recent summit earlier this year? Many of which have been reported are not going to hit even close to the targets they set themselves.

Reading the link kindly shared, I appreciate specs can vary country-to-country but I don't understand how some countries are offered longer warranty cover. This report suggests 5 years is offered as standard which can be upgraded to 7 years. I never understand how in the UK, 3 years is still an acceptable standard? Sorry to hear about those who are still waiting for their orders. It is unacceptable and yet, manufacturers continue to bump up the prices twice a year at minimum, due to 'costs'. And yet, whilst Skoda production in quarter 1 in 2022 is down 1.9% and deliveries are down 25.4% compared to last year, sales revenue is up by 1.0%. It is speculation but I wonder if that has something to do with hearing more and more that new orders were being built ahead of the extremely patient customers.

I've had my Octavia VRS Estate IV less than 2 weeks. Built Dec 2021, showroom managers vehicle for 8,000 miles of it's life before I purchased. Was the only one I could find with the options I wanted, avoiding the long wait of a factory order. I have already experienced the SOS popping noise and failure notification on my first outing. Dealer didn't do the software update, although apparently never experienced this issue before (**cough**, **cough**). Got it booked in with my local dealer instead for the end of the month who helped change the privacy in the entertainment system to reduce the notification, which has worked. Car also missing the umbrella which the dealer I purchased from is supposed to be sending me. Also experienced starting the car but the entertainment system completely blank screen apart from the climate control buttons appearing at the bottom. Turned off the car and the entertainment system came on. It was like it never registered the first push of the start button. Notifications of 'Exit warning system and rear traffic alerts currently unavailable' and a 'park distance control' error. Both cleared when next started the vehicle. I'll be asking the dealer to check them over also. Electric only for the local school runs. Lasts me 3 days before battery is flat and having to charge. Found the motor isn't very strong compared to the wife's e-golf. I appreciate it is a heavy car with an engine, fuel, batteries, etc... which I'm sure is a contribution. Around town, it's not been a problem. Took it on a 220 mile round trip at the weekend. Started with a full battery, 130 miles of petrol on the GOM, air con on in normal hybrid mode. 98 miles was on the motorway. Arrived at our destination (110 miles) with 1 mile of electricity and 90 miles of petrol remaining. Charged using a 3 pin plug from solar panels was easy. Around 6 hours I think it took. On the return, I topped up with fuel partially filling the tank. Readout was 290 miles of petrol, 37 miles of electricity. Return route was 60 miles motorway, 30 miles dual carriageways and the rest A roads (110 total). Again normal hybrid mode, air con was off this time round instead going with an open sunroof. Returned with 9 miles of electricity remaining and 230 miles of petrol. Sat nav used on both routes. Overall (early days), it's fairly comfy. Had 2 Karoq's before so I am familiar with the seating. Glitchy entertainment system is frustrating and having the home button on the passengers side is just daft. Braking is sometimes guess work. Regenerative works around town but not well on motorways. When you actually need the brakes, they grab sharply I have found. I love the looks of the VRS estate (in Black), ride was smooth, cruised perfectly on the motorway, economical and spacious for a family of 4 and a dog. Boot although smaller than ICE versions, easily takes our 3 large suitcases (two side-by-side and one on top) with room for many more bags and kids stuff. This is early days but I'm pretty happy so far.

Worth noting that most plug-in hybrids are not able to take fast charging. I was against hybrids also, until recently when its become clear due to the sheer volume of EV's sold, the UK infrastructure is not able to support them. Owners are reporting frequent queues as well as complaining that a high portion of public chargers are constantly failing or out of action. Now prices to charge are going up at an alarming rate. Ionity is now around 67p per kwh. Compare that with the price of petrol? If the infrastructure was similar to Norway for example, both our vehicles at home would be EV's, no question. For longer journeys, we would of rented a large petrol Kodiaq which I've done the last 2 years, but it is worth noting its another additional expense and a hassle picking it up and dropping it back at specific times, etc.... It is not as easy as just renting a vehicle. Our 2nd vehicle is a full EV E-Golf. Limited range and used for the morning school run and wife to go to work and after school clubs. Our main vehicle is now a Octavia IV estate. I collect the kids each day from school so can run in electric mode only. I have the benefit of charging at home which I do with both vehicles. On long runs (once or twice a month), I don't intend to use public chargers, charging only at our destinations only. The ICE engine purrs along the motorway and I enjoy not having any range anxiety or worry about having to charge along the route. Something I have done when taking the E-Golf further afield. If you have experienced this, I'm sure you can sympathise that this is not a nice feeling. For some, plug-in hybrids work. There is no right or wrong answer, just choices made based on each situation. I've read lots of reports that continually say over time batteries will get cheaper. Since EV's took off, how many of those models have had a price drop? Thinking back over the years where we have seen a constant supply of ICE vehicles. A Ford Fiesta as an example, with each new model over it's long history, not one ever had a price reduction. Costing more than the previous. Yes additional technology was added, but is that not the same as an EV? Chinese models flooding the marker may change this but in my opinion (and I hope I am wrong), EV's may continue to remain high compared to similar ICE models.

I found this was an interesting view on the idea of 'Green':

I've been sucked into both Skoda and Kia 2-3 months lead times, waiting over 10 months for the Kodiaq (before I cancelled) and 7 months (plus an additional 3 months following a model refresh) for the e-Niro/Niro EV. Expect long wait times regardless which manufacturer you go with or what the dealer says. I've seen on forums of people putting multiples of orders with the guarantee they can get their deposit back if they cancel, taking the first vehicle that arrives. This only works if you don't have a preference.

Typical judgmental response by people who I feel are all missing the point. He ordered the vehicle over 8-12 months ago and not a dickybird. Yes, pandemic, war, blah, blah, blah. So that buyer went and found a lovely vehicle elsewhere from a different manufacturer. Why judge what they did? I get some people have got lucky and received what looks to be a fabulous vehicle. However within that time of waiting, some peoples circumstances change and therefore a large 7 seater may not necessarily be required anymore. I ordered a Kodiaq Sportline June last year (cash purchase) as it would have been useful for day trips or holidays to take one vehicle with the extended family. Day to day, 7 seats wasn't needed. I got sick of waiting and poor communication, so cancelled and got my second EV. I can always hire a Kodiaq from the local Skoda dealership which is what I did in the passed. Just because this person bought another vehicle which wasn't a Skoda, don't disrespect other peoples choices. Otherwise it is a sad world we live in!

Be cautious if you cancel. I cancelled my Kodiaq Sportline in December after waiting 6 months with no build date knowing it could be a very long wait. I purchased via my NHS Scheme who advised I could have my deposit returned if I sent written confirmation (via e-mail). I did as requested and this was sent to the dealership over 200 miles away. Less than an hour later, the dealership by some miracle had just been given a build date of week 1 2022. I suspect this was done to avoid giving back my deposit. I'm aware Skoda was closed in week 1 as part of the extended closure, but the dealer is not budging. Our 2nd car is an electric Golf and saving us a silly amount of money. I've therefore gone with a new Electric Kia which appears to have a shorter lead time and much better communication from the dealer. I wish those waiting very good luck and hope you have a better experience than I had.

What are you planning to do Spivo? Will you take delivery and look to sell privately?