OccyVRS

Purely circumstantial re the birds. The car isn't quiet compared to a hybrid or EV, and none of the safety systems would have an impact on birds. The car doesn't have LiDAR, and the radar used in cars is hilariously low-powered compared to anything in aviation, let alone military. There are plenty of birds flying around Portsmouth with no issue, despite there being one or two SAMPSON radars nearby. Regarding everything else, it's just a new car. I test drove a Mk4 and then bought my 2020 Mk3.5. The TSR was disabled within the first week of ownership! I don't use any of the lane keep/assist, except when on the motorway. I've had no emergency braking activations in two years, but that said, I did get a warning last week out of the blue. I use the ACC system all the time.

If there's no answer from OP, I may be able to help. I've got the 2022 issue Octavia Mk3 manual.

AGM is better than EFB (or EFB+ as a lot of VW's use) but you will pay for it. I wouldn't bother sticking it one in a 1.5 - they're generally only needed for beefy engines, or hybrids.

The oil specification matters more than it being genuine or 5W-30. Leaving it 15,000 miles isn't brilliant, but the 1.6 TDI is bombproof and it's not exactly a performance engine. Send a photo of the oil condition here, but given that it's been 11 months, I'd be suprised if anything even slightly unusual has happended. Most people just drive their cars and do an annual service.

My honest advice would be to leave the car as it is, and wait until you have something more capable. Have you done a track day?

A friend of mine puts a litre of oil into his TDI vRS every 1,000 miles, and I've heard of much worse. His has just clicked over 140,000 miles and has been drinking oil since he got it at 40k.

Plus, you won't really see much from a 1.0 anyway. You'll need to be careful too, as both the MQ200 and DQ200 won't like the extra torque.

I removed mine. It's not a tricky job, really, as it is only one piece of trim with two clips. The difficult part is due to the clips being industrial grade and requiring some force to remove. I can put some photos and instructions on the removal, if OP wants. Just @ me if so.

I agree with the others, I suspect you'll have a challenge getting it to anything other than 50/50. In reality, of course, it's completely the fault of the SLK, and I expect you were looking for a space. That being said, you did drive behind a vehicle that already had the reversing lights on and, technically, you could have stopped. In reality it of course wasn't your fault, but I suspect it'll be 50/50 as there were steps you should/could have taken to avoid.

My 2020 car needed a new battery in 2024. Dad's 2024 car needed a new battery in 2025. Get it drop tested - I suspect it may be a bit knackered.

It’s only held on with one screw/bolt. Have fun getting the A-pillar trim off. You’ll want to order some spare clips!

FYI, it depends heavily on the car. If it's an MQ200, you can expect some slippage. If it's an MQ350, you'll be okay.

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/298-skoda-fabia-mk3-2014-2021/

As I said, I stick 99 in because I can, and because it can't hurt. Given the miles that OP is doing, I'm not sure it's worth it! We ran previous cars on the cheapest stuff going, and all of them had no issues in the decades of ownership. They were pretty mixed too - all the way from a 1.4 to a 3.2. Maintenance will have a bigger impact on the longevity of the car than the fuel used.

Surely those water spots will clean off? Looks to be quite cold though.

Yeah, my first instict would be to check the settings are all enabled. I'm not sure about the PFL, but my vRS recognises my key and tells me when I've selected a different user. Our BMW will tell you in the dash which user is selected when you press the memory selection buttons.

What he said. You can also get it from Skoda but that will probably cost you an arm and a leg. Speaking from experience (as both a detailer and someone that's had water ingress issues) this detailer seems like a great guy. There are a few things I'd suggest also doing. Firstly, I'd get a couple of those reuseable dehumidifier bags. I keep three or so dotted around my car and it keeps moisture at bay. You'll want to do this to avoid any mould/damp issues (coolant aside, I presume you'll have used water to top it up). Secondly, I would ask the detailer if he could, pretty please, lift the carpets one morning and then come back the following day. You'll have to pay him a bit more, but it would be very good for everything to air out. At this point, I'd also get some APC or IPA on a cloth and just wipe down what you can. These steps are probably overkill, and feel free to ignore them - but, from my experience, once you get mould or damp in a car, that's pretty much it. You don't want that to happen here!

Given how the question was framed, I copied my general reply from another post. It was about air filters or oils, IIRC, so it wasn’t very specific. Of course different fuels have different formulas, and winter mixes are different to summer. Of course manufacturers will recommend you run expensive fuels, just like they only recommend genuine coolant, oil, parts and OE approved tyres and wiper blades. Like I said, unless the car is a performance car, or is heavily tuned (probably less than ten cars on this entire forum fit into this category), the difference in fuels is going to make absolutely no difference. I know someone that puts 95 into a GT4 RS, and it hasn’t gone wrong yet. I don’t know enough about the earlier Fabia vRS to comment, but I really can’t see them requiring a higher octane fuel when an M5CS doesn’t. Do dealers fill them with 99 before sale? I doubt it. Besides, OP was asking specifically about the 1.5 petrol engine in his Octavia. You couldn’t get much further from a performance engine if you tried - running 99 or 97 versus 95 will make absolutely no difference. It just won’t.

It's purely coincidental. This is taken from another post a week or two ago - The difference between '95' and '99' fuels (and others) are a few things. Firstly, the more premium fuels have a higher octane. This makes no difference unless you are driving a 488 Pista, or a heavily tuned car. It is true that your car may run a little better (higher mpg, etc), but this is only true because a given amount of fuel has more 'go' in it - it's a moot point, as the more effective fuel, is more expensive. This difference is also quoted to be around 2%. Not worth it. The second difference is the (bio)ethanol content - E5 vs E10. E10 is the cheaper stuff, and contains, you guessed it, 10% of bioethanol. This stuff isn't the kindest to seals, hoses, etc, but unless you're driving a Mk1 GTI, you should be absolutely fine. The nicer fuels tend to have up to 5% of bioethanol in them (sometimes none), which makes them older car friendly. Finally, the premium fuels also contain additives and cleaning agents that help keep things running smoothly. This is the only real advantage of using premium fuels and, even then, can likely be achieved by using a bit of 99 once every few fill-ups. I run my car on 99 because I can. It doesn't make much sense to, if I'm honest, and I definitely wouldn't be putting tanks of the stuff through a 1.5 - total waste of money. Given that you do the miles, I'd personally put in some nicer stuff once every three fill ups. Sorted.

Idling an engine is pretty useless. Sure, it warms up some of the oil, but the uncirculated stuff is still sitting cold at the bottom. The gearbox, differential and everything else is also still stone cold. I normally turn the key, let the fuel pump prime, then turn the key. I'll then get some music up and sort myself out. In winter I let the revs drop, in the summer I tend to give it fifteen seconds or so and then slowly make my way out of the garage in reverse. By the time I've come out, shut the door and put the fob away, it's usually dropped below the cold start idle. In the winter I will let the engine revs drop before moving, or turning on the heating. That said, I also don't really use the throttle or go above 15mph until I get to the end of the road anyway. I don't really believe in letting the car warm up while stationary - things need to be moving and under some load IMHO. Modern engines don't need warming up in the traditional sense. As long as they're driven gently until they're warm, they'll be fine. Oil temperature is another story however - I won't put my foot down until I'm above 90 degrees. A GPF will regen during overruns. That means if you put your foot down on a slip road and are in third gear at 70mph, the car will hold that gear (and thus the revs and exhaust temp) for a few seconds, before shifting up. The car won't regen anywhere near the key being turned.

The bargain V8.

The vRS was never available with the TSI engine and AWD system. If you wanted this, you would need to go with the Golf R Estate, Cupra 300 ST or, if size wasn't an issue, an S4 or Superb 280. The TDI was available as an AWD car as there were no other clashes with other VAG brands. Frankly, I'm suprised they allowed the Cupra to be AWD.

That fitment!!!

Ehhh… I would stick to OE. I haven’t heard great things about the Greenstuff pads (but then again, have no personal experience with it). That being said, it seems like a reasonable price, and I doubt they’ll be getting very hard use.

I’ve always sworn by Thule. Paint matched roof boxes >>>>