SaintViking

Hi Excuse me for asking but how old are your cars? - I have a new Superb estate SEL on order for delivery around September - does anybody know if this has been ironed out or is this something I should be wary of - both my wife and I have existing neck injuries so the last thing we need is the equivalent of a whiplash incident!!!

I found that I was adjusting my seat simply to get my feet in the right place for the pedals which did lead to awkward general positioning - my solution was to put in a false floor made up of foam and ply -this raised the floor such that it was far more comfortable and I could adjust the seat to the right place for me

Hi - After 20 months of ownership I too have sold my Karoq Sportline. I will miss the cockpit area with all the dials and buttons-much better than just a screen!. I won’t miss the awful manual setup. Two main reasons for selling up 1/ Lack of trust -you have to trust your car to do what you ask of it - I didn’t trust my car. 2/ My mistake in thinking I could downsize from an estate - I couldn’t. My next car? - a new Superb estate with a DSG box!

Carlston, you are a mine of information !! Thank you for your time it took to respond to my message. There is a lot of info to digest, and you have given a number of options which I have the time to look into. Thanks again.

Hi, Firstly I know there are already topics on this and I will understand if the Administrator does tag this onto another existing topic, but from what I have read so far I can't find the thoughts on the issues I want to raise !! This is my first message on the Superb forum. History In September 24, I bought a new 1.5TSi manual Karoq Sportline, and immediately changed the 19" alloys to 17" Ratikon alloys with Continental Allseason 2 - 215/55/R17 -98V XL. This was due to need for comfort as both my wife and myself have neck injuries from previous RTA's. The ride on the 19's was horrible. Wrong Car Choice!! I thought I could downsize from a Passat Estate, but can't so have ordered a new Superb Estate SEL 1.5 to be delivered in September 26 The Karoq is going in the next few weeks. Queries 1/ Can I put the Ratikons with the AS2's onto the Superb ?? - The spec for the Ratikons is 7J x17 ET45 I see from various sources that for the Superb at 17" the ET should be 38-42 The 18" Dofida Alloys that come with the car are 8J x 18 ET44 Does the odd mm difference actually make a difference!! - would I need spacers etc?? I have been told that the brake size may prohibit any downsizing anyway - is that true?? I have been on websites that compare wheel sizes etc, and there doesn't appear to be a circumference issue Would this change make the warranty null and void ?? 2/ Do the Dofidas have rim protection?? 3/ Comfort - Whilst my test drive was in an SEL with 18's the ride wasn't bad at all but the trip was on good roads and I couldn't go on the back roads. I am concerned about the ride on the poor potholed roads around Southampton. Are the 18's good enough anyway - what are people's experience ? Have people changed to Allseason type tyres on the 18's or downsized ? I realise 98V XL may stiffen up the ride anyway!! 4/ Driveability - have people that have downsized from 18 to 17 noticed any difference in handling ?? Sorry for the length of this and all the questions, but if the Ratikon's are no good then I want to sell them to fund either new alloys or all weather tyres on the 18's (the Continental AS2 on 18" is 235/45/R18 98Y - which may stiffen the ride !!) Many Thanks

Totally agree I still have my old Passat which was part of Dieselgate - I got £1700 back on that, but it took years. The engine is brilliant even at 110 k on the clock it will I have no doubt outlast many new VAG engines. I think we would need to get a group together to properly establish the faults and then get technical proof of those faults, through independent testing. Then approach a legal team to take it on. Dieselgate IIRC had a funder. I believe the UK consumer laws are not as strict as other countries. The Ford Pinto issue would have cost around $1 to resolve per car!! Unbelievable! I’m not as technical as others on this forum, so don’t know quite whether the 1.5 tsi issue is down to software, basic design, or a combination. Until you can nail that down 100% I can see why Škoda et al are hiding behind comments like “characteristic of the engine” etc I stand corrected if anyone does know the exact cause of the issue

Absolutely!! My wife doesn’t want me to audition but let George Clooney play me ! I don’t if that is a compliment or a slur - I’ve looked at myself in the mirror now I know which one it is

I’m in for that!! Always fancied myself in a role like the character in one foot in the grave moaning about the state of cars, garages etc Happy to be auditioned along with car

Hi My problems on my 74 plate Manual Sportline 1.5tsi have been documented on this forum. I just wanted to pick up on the comments made about rpm. One of my issues has been that the revs sometimes dip to around 500rpm and then if you put your foot on the accelerator the engine just dies. The car has been to the garage twice and yes I’ve had the usual std comments back I love the interior and the style of the car but I’m not a million miles away from changing to a Toyota touring sport (ecvt) I guess as with everybody you have to be able to trust your car BTW I use premium petrol and have put in a false floor to counteract the high pedal box -doing those has helped a bit

Hi Actually change that I have just been to the car -this is actually what is in there at the moment

Hi I have a 74 plate Sportline and found this allows me to slide the cover over (assuming yours is the same layout as mine) I don’t know if they do 128gb though

Totally agree with super717, you should try all options. For me , because of neck problems, the ride quality needed to be dealt with immediately. Also the state of the roads in our area is not good, so I decided to go straight to the nuclear option of changing the wheels. I have read on this forum that people have had success in changing away from the Bridgestones and playing with the tyre pressures. My dilemma was that I might "waste" money changing the tyres etc but not achieve the results we wanted. My wife has a Golf SV with 55 profile tyres and I have an Passat with 45 tyres. The ride in the Golf is much "kinder" (I know that's not scientific !!) That kind of guided me.

Although I wanted the Sportline, (and found a good deal) I had heard many stories about the hard ride, and with my wife and I having dodgy necks, I decided to change the wheels right at the start. So when I bought the car from the Skoda main dealer, I did a deal on the 17 inch Ratikons - they supplied only a set of four for me. I then took the alloys (and some wheel bags) to my tyre shop who then put the tyres on the alloys and swapped the 19's for the 17's on the car. The bags with the 19's are now sitting in the corner of my garage, and are not likely to move for a good while. As people say an added benefit is better rim protection, which I have to quietly admit has come in very useful

I can confirm that I spoke to my insurers about going from 19 inch to 17 inch with the appropriate change in tyre profile, and they just noted it in their files. I followed the Skoda brochure on wheel/tyre profile combinations, and even bought Skoda Ratikon alloys (actually mainly because I like the simple design). The choice of tyre was down to the fact that the majority of my annual mileage is done on autumn/winter/spring,, so all season tyres made sense. After that it was a question of which tyre I visited the tyrereviews.com website to get some idea what was around, and the comfort levels etc of each tyre. So far no regrets

My 1.5 Sportline did 60 miles from new before I changed from 19 inch to 17 inch with 215/55 R17 Continental All Season 2. The result is a better ride over potholes etc. The trade off is that the steering isn't quite as precise, but I am happy to live with that. Personally I also think the car looks better with more tyre on show Life is all about compromises

My wife's SV is a petrol 1.4 tsi manual, and if I'm honest feels more "planted" on the road than my Karoq. I temper that with the fact that I have changed the wheel/tyre combination on the Karoq for a more supple ride over the local roads. A trade off I'm happy to live with. With regards to road noise, the SV is fitted with Falken 310 tyres, which are 67db on 205/55/16, and to be fair its a quiet ride. I know tyres are only part of the equation. The downside is that the rolling resistance is high on the 310's so mpg is good but not the best. Overall I do like driving the SV, probably too much. The Continental All Season 2's on the Karoq are 72db, but perhaps down to better cabin design, I find on a good road, its a quiet car too. So a draw in that respect. I have to say that part of the reason I chose the Karoq, was nothing to do with design/ride/etc, but the fact that the climate control and other features were still knobs and buttons. In fact the same climate switchgear as in my 62 plate Passat estate. I don't like the change to on screen control, and much prefer the "old fashioned" way. It was a serious consideration not just a fad. I am useless on laptop touchpads and always use a wireless mouse, but can't do that whilst driving!! I guess that makes me a dinosaur, but you know what I don't care!!!!!

As I'm a vertically challenged gent at 5' 6", when cruise control is on, I find I can put my right leg at approx 90 deg and rest my foot on my false floor, between the seat and the pedals. Like croquemonsieur I do a lot of motorway mileage, and this seems to work for me. My wife's Golf SV does have a foot rest to the right, which is useful. Perhaps Skoda designers could have a water cooler chat with VW

Don't start me on the "Busgate" traffic control going through Portswood !!

I was in Portswood Road, trying to turn right by Machine Mart to get onto Thomas Lewis Way, when the engine just cut out (rev counter just dived to 500 rpm, I put my foot down and the engine died - not for the first time), and then the lights changed It left me stranded with cars driving around me beeping horns etc Happy days !!

Hi No - it was the crossroads by Machine Mart in Portswood during rush hour. My wife was with me, and she promptly told me what she thought of the car and my driving !

Hi, Just joined up after viewing your site for ages before buying a new 74 plate Karoq Sportline petrol manual. Yes - I've experienced the low speed stalling!!, and been stranded trying to turn right at a busy crossroads - scary Currently running on Shell V-power - seems to run smoother and not so many cut outs Changed 19" wheels for 17" Ratikons shod with Continental All Season 2's - much better ride over the terrible roads in Southampton Oh and found the pedals too high so created a false floor - I'm a lot happier now. Cheers for now