whippersnapper

your cleaning method is wha I use, snow cannon attachment for pressure washer. You are trying to minimise the chance of rubbing dirt across the paint and thus scratching it and then leaving water on it to make water stains afterwards. a good synthetic sealant used every few months helps with water beading. I love the large rapidly towel beach towel sized microfibre cloths for drying. For my wife's older car I've bought the stuff to do the decontamination which is a more complex multi step method as you describe.

I got my Octavia RS in February. I had never used ceramic coatings before or PPF. My research led me to realise that only PPF is actual protection but it is so expensive I can see what it really only makes sense in a Porsche etc.. Ceramic coatings mostly make the paint look better for longer with less wash maintenance needed to keep it shiny but doesn’t really provide any real protection. If you are giving to choose this you don’t want it done by the dealer but by a reputable supplier after delivery. I decided to make it a point to just wash the car well and frequently myself and buy into a system of good product including a synthetic sealant. So far so good and the paint looks better than when I picked the car up.

Yes no MPI, also evo4 is back to a metal sump instead of plastic. Major changes are switch from IHI to Garrett turbo, much here fuel pressure, refined variable valve timing and revised in head exhaust manifold for faster warmup and better efficiency

Well the Passat is essentially a Superb it was designed by Skoda. The new A6 is pretty awful inside

Don’t think you ca change source from the steering wheel. You can add shortcuts for the radio so it’s just a click if on a home screen or a pull down and click if you put it there

Don’t think you can do that. You have skip track and volume on the left but everything else is controlled from the main infotainment screen. I use Apple CarPlay and either Siri to play something or touch the screen.

Remember in the full detail view you get the distance and economy in the centre and the scroll wheel steps you through since start, since refuelling and long term

Yes I’ve done the same

Should be massive positive contrast, especially the facelift engine. The facelifted infotainment is great and doesn’t seem to have any common issues I’m aware of.

Interesting we have the RS and a 2012 Polo GTI that kids get to use too.

If you drive a sporty wagon like me you are already in a distinct minority. Most people buy SUVs and don't care about dynamics. I have access to to older classic cars and love driving manual and caused an uproar when I lived in the US by factory ordering a manual BMW330i M Sport and then an Infiniti G37S. I think the DSG in my 4.5 Octavia RS Combi is very snappy and nice to use and the reality is despite what others have argued almost no-one wants to drive a manual. I'm 56 and still have two motorcycles, I'm an ex racer. If I get too old to ride one day I'll get something like a Boxster GTS 4.0 to replace it and yes it will be a manual because it will be a toy.

You must realise you are an edge case. Almost no-one is buying manual gearboxes anymore even in sports cars so that is not going to reduce sales. I do agree the fuel tank size is relatively small but it’s just an observation not a practical problem even my RS can do 600km or do on a tank more than enough.

That’s correct, the config menu was a 4 feature that doesn’t exist in 4.5

Assuming you mean you have a 4.5 then the left and right display options are selected by pressing the right scroll wheel (one click right, second click left).

Nothing definitive. I’ve only had my 4.5 RS a few months. I’d guess the coasting in ACC is probably subject to a fancy algorithm though so it may not do it in all circumstances a bit like auto stop / start. I mostly just use ECO on a longer motorway drive which I normally try and avoid. Otherwise I’m using other modes.

Was just about to reply that this is a feature of the ECO mode to allow the car to coast to conserve fuel.

You can get the wake up light show from a bit away but you have to be pretty close for the car to unlock

Well I have an iPhone and it works for me. Pretty sure you can turn it off or at least down in the settings

No it’s a message for iPhone too. I presume it only occurs when you stop the car with a phone in the tray

Quite like the Born for an EV but obviously a totally different driving proposition and will have horrendous depreciation.

Yes sorry replied to wrong post

To be fair you did say “What do you think?” In your first post. If you don’t care why ask?

I think if you have an RS now you’ll be disappointed going down. As was mentioned it isn’t just the engine (which is more powerful in 4.5 guise with snappier DSG tuning) but the lower spec cars don’t even have independent rear suspension. If the money is the issue so be it but if it you have an RS now because you appreciate what the car is and enjoy driving it I doubt you’ll be happy with the cooking model

It would t be possible or that practical to do the extras after the fact. Unlike the other comment I find the Canton system quite impressive but it did take a bit of running before it performs at its best

Surely no matter the question, Michelin pilot Sport 5 is probably the answer.