SouthernComfort

I think that's fair enough, horses for courses. As I said to @shempy though, I rarely experience lane assist kicking in on those sort of roads (I wonder if it is actually adjustable 'cos mine just isn't as invasive as some describe?). Anyhow, the conditions you're talking about are a lot different to lane changing on a freeway or dual road, where to me at least, indicating not only makes sense but requires minimal effort.

That's interesting, I find LA seldom activates on very poorly marked roads. I live well out of town and have plenty in my area too.

I don't wish to poke a hornets nest here, but I can identify with your view. Some time back I got into a 'debate' with a few strong advocates in here for turning Lane Assist off. Similar to you, I concluded the local practice of how lane change indicators are used (or not) might determine the level of one's angst with LA. I too argued that always indicating lane changes will render this a non-issue. I also agree that any 'pull' on the wheel that I've experienced in my Mk4 has been quite mild, certainly not a wrench. I don't know if it's adjustable, it's just how my car was delivered. Having driven in the UK a few times, it became very obvious to me that lane changing without indicators is a very common practice, including on motorways. In this country, failure to indicate lane changes under any circumstances is illegal, so perhaps we're just more conditioned to indicating such maneuvers. A counter argument was put to me by one poster that "indicating is a form of communication and for any communication to be meaningful it requires a sender and a recipient (as if I somehow didn't understand that basic premise!) therefore when no other drivers are present on the road to see my signal there's no point in giving it". Our local laws override whatever credence that premise may have, so our instinct to indicate when changing lanes simply takes over whether anyone else is around or not. Hence LA isn't a real problem. If UK law doesn't require indicating in all lane changing instances, then I can see how LA could become annoying.

I don't have the raised floor. Can it be adjusted to the lower position to increase your load height, or is it fixed on the IV? If so, I can see the problem. I'm pretty impressed with just how much the (non-IV) Mk4 can carry, but for sheer load capacity nothing compares to the old Volvo 240 wagon I had years ago. The boxy body and vertical tailgate was certainly practical if not pretty!

Not sure I'd call the MK4 wagon a coupe.... Mk4 still has the largest load capacity in it's class. Comparing Mk3 & Mk4: Mk3 - Rear seat folded 1718 litres Rear seat up 588 litres Mk4 - Rear seat folded 1700 litres Rear seat up 640 litres With all seats up, Mk4 wins.

Mine came from the factory with Goodyear Eagle F1's on 18". Happy with the ride, quiet enough on most surfaces and pretty much silent on new smooth asphalt. Instinctively I'd be drawn to Pirelli or Continental from past experience, but I'd also be happy sticking with the Eagles on this car. I honestly wouldn't want bigger than 18" rims, lower profiles on larger rims will always be harsher and noisier to live with.

My experience is quite different, albeit with the 2023 model. Heats up (and cools down) very quickly to my set temps, stays on auto year round. As your coolant temp is being achieved without any problem maybe the earlier clima system could be updated??

Mine have stayed dry, so far. Yours should be fixed under warranty really, also if a headlight is holding water/condensation inside the lens it would be a RWC fail. Not certain if same applies to fog lights, but it might. Anyhow, it might bolster your case if there's an argument!

A record of your purchase will exist, all purchase and servicing/warranty repair records are held electronically. Even if the dealer is no longer a Skoda franchise and therefore not interested in buying/trading your car, you still have a warranty that must be honoured and any Skoda dealer will be able to access your details.

No, that definitely isn't normal. I have the same engine and no such noise. I agree with @Ootohere, you'd have to be deaf to miss hearing it. I'd contact the dealer service manager direct and make an appointment to see them. If they try fobbing you off, go to Skoda AU, you have a legitimate concern here.

Yes, you could try we buy any car, or cash for cars, they're in all the state capitals. They are quick but desperate options, but options nevertheless. If the car wasn't a lemon to begin with, it's clearly become one after so much, shall we say, 'interference'. Given your relatively remote region, personally I'd stay away from Euro vehicles in favour of brands that are likely to have better localised servicing, support, parts availability etc. You'll know which they are. Why not try offering the car back the dealer you bought it from?

This may not be of any help, but I have a generic set of bars and the first thing I noticed is that the roof rails on Octavia Mk4 are closer together at the rear of the roof than at the front, by quite a few mm. I can get both to fit the different widths since there is enough adjustment in the slots, I don't know how the scope of that adjustment compares with the Thule brand though, same may apply to the mounts.

We don't have that engine option here, but it sounds a lot for a 1.0L. From what I've been able to find on this engine, Skoda is claiming 54.3mpg (5.2 L/100km). Manufacturers claimed figures are sometimes difficult to replicate in real life, nevertheless that's a fair gap. I suspect you'll get a more accurate picture from other 1.0 e-tec owners.

I agree that the best part of 40k pounds isn't a cheap car, certainly not by my perception. As an aside, it's always fascinated me how much more expensive Skoda's are in the UK (specifically Octavia) campared withour local pricing. But I digress.... Unfortunately, I can't rationalise why one make/model would attract more stone chips than any other similarly styled vehicle driven under the same conditions. Whilst I'm just stating my experience, your experiences with stone chipping on different vehicles is what it is, and is not something to be argued, I just can't figure why it would happen.

I'm rather mystified by some of the comments here. FWIW, I have no issues with paint chipping or the build quality of this car in general, in fact I think these things are as well screwed together as most others I've had. The standard of fit and finish is at least equal to that of my previous Golf, which was excellent. To date I've covered only 7,000km in the Octavia, including some long country runs in the company of many large trucks. To answer the OP's question I went over my bonnet area with a fine tooth comb this morning and found absolutely no sign of paint chips - maybe I've just been lucky, who knows? As time and distance goes on it's inevitable the odd chip or three will occur, as on every car I've ever owned. It helps that we don't have the curse of salted roads in this part of the world, which together with dwelling a little away from the coast means the likelihood of rust appearing anywhere on the car is virtually non-existent.

I've always assumed it to be normal as mine has done this from new. The LED flashes when the key is in close proximity to the car, it will stop flashing as you move further away.

Not sure about the action @TheWandererhas tried but the kick action sure doesn't work for me, whereas the old school fob method is perfect every time

I'd say it has everything to do with it when the VP doesn't work!

My Virtual Pedal is 'active', but the thing has worked successfully maybe twice in the entire 16 months I've had the car (from new). I gave up with it due to looking like a fool kicking away under the car to no avail. It's annoyingly temperamental in my experience, a bit like the Voice Control.

Sadly the DSG and I never got on in the past, however I don't recall any particular antics when reversing. As for the towbar, we have the same options as you describe i.e. either the ridiculously expensive OEM fitted by the dealer, or an aftermarket job which declined as I'm concerned about a less than perfect integration with the electronics. I only wanted one to mount a bike carrier and the Euro style bar isn't suitable for that anyway, so I'll live without it. If your car is a '22 build (if late '22, it will be MY23) it's the same vintage as mine, as is your software. Mine was current at the time I bought the car and I have no issues with it, although I will talk to the dealer about an update at next service. Personally I wouldn't attempt a DIY update, that sort of thing sits just outside my comfort zone I'm afraid.

It has me bemused too. So many things happening to this Skoda from theft to malfunctions and near miss lightening strikes, new details keep coming to light. I also fail to understand how Skoda could quote $10k for repairs whilst the insurer's preferred repairer charges $22k and seemingly gets away with it? Many would know (but I can also tell you first hand), that major insurers have repairers under eye-watering price controls whereas dealers are the pricing mavericks, something doesn't quite compute.

The AliExpress listing states suitable for Left Hand Drive only.

When I'm fully loaded I honestly sense no difference in performance to when it's just me in the car. The car is comfortable doing whatever I ask of it. However, fully loaded for me is usually 2 adults plus dog and load area full of holiday gear. My out of town driving terrain is as variable as yours, as you've described it. My 8sp performs much happier than the 7sp DSG did in hilly areas, and I live in an extremely hilly region, as I said previously I find it a more 'settled' gearbox. If you want the ultimate answer I guess you'd have to do another test drive, but with 5 adults on board. To acknowledge a couple of points that @Gerrycan made: The lower ground clearance is something to consider depending on the grade of country roads you travel on, and I too wonder if the Octavia is the best size for 5 pax, dog and all the gear you will be carrying. I regard it as a small/medium car, but not big. There are still larger wagons available if like me you don't want to go down the SUV route.

Interesting, seems several things regarding the option packs have either changed in the last 12 months, or it may be just that the specs are different in NZ models. In AU in '23, you could option the Style with tech and lux packs, or a combination of both which gave you the 'burger with the lot'. Pan roof was an option on its own, as it still is.

They're very good points. I stand corrected on the rims, I mistakenly thought 19's were standard on vRS. Probably a plus that they're not. With all the other options you've mentioned (HUD, heated F&R seats, adaptive chassis/suspension, pan sunroof), all those are among the A$9300 worth of options on my Style. If those options need to be added to the standard vRS, then the price gap is widened even further. The AU drive-away price comparisons I mentioned above were based on the Style being fully optioned, against the standard vRS which is why I said that my Style had features not on the vRS. @HenryNZ, it could be worth doing the comparison in your territory on the basis of both models being fully optioned and having a close look at what you get in the option packs, they're pretty extensive.