warthog66

I had this problem a year ago with my Octavia Mk II. The wipers went from not working at all to going full speed even with the keys out of the ignition. Solution was to replace the wiper motor.

The toy dogs are laden with weights, so they are actually 6 and 32 kg apiece - not just fluffy stuff inside. In a 50 km/h crash they would have an impact force of 180 and 957 kg, so proper restraint for the pets - properly crash-tested partition and/or a crate (properly attached to the car) are a must.

No kids here, but three dogs (2 spaniel-mixes 12 kg each and a bulldog 32 kg) and we have an Octy vRS Estate that we use for family travel and a Seat Ibiza ST that I use for driving to work. Both have the OEM partition grille / dog guard - most aftermarket ones are flimsy and cannot be trusted to keep the dogs in the boot in an accident (the OEM ones have been crash tested). As you have a kid on the way, I'd definitely go for the Octy. It has more space both in the rear seat area and the boot. An Ibiza/Fabia class car will get cramped in all but short travel.

Not a Fabia here, but my corporate twin (Ibiza ST) with 1.2TSI/DSG currently gets 45-51 mpg in mixed driving (1/3 city, rest highway/motorway, 23 miles each way daily). Right now the temp being near 0 C I get about 50-51 mpg, with -30 C I got the 45 mpg here in Finland.

Don't know what the contents of the Vehicle Registration Certificate includes in the UK, but here in Finland it has the allowed tire sizes listed, including the speed rating required for summer tires. The law here in Finland says that if you choose to use lower speed rating (summer) tires than those specified in the certificate, you have to have a sticker in the dash reminding of that. For winter tires, you don't have to have a sticker, since almost all proper winter tires here are Q (160 km/h) or at most T (190 km/h) rated anyway. edit: typo

Turanzas are definitely summer-only tires, so don't expect them to perform well in snow or icy roads. I have them (stored, waiting for spring) for my Ibiza ST. For real winter conditions, you will need real winter tires. Having lived all my life in Finland, with a real snowy winter every year (some more snowy, some less), I'm partial to recommending to anyone that you invest in good quality studless winter tires, or better still and particularly if you experience a lot of ice and snow, studded tires (if legal in your area). I use studded tires in both of my cars (Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 in my 2008 Octy II RS and Hakkapeliitta 7 in my new Seat Ibiza ST), and would never trade them for studless ones - YMMV. If your main interest is reliable winter performance in all conditions, get winter tires made for Nordic/Scandinavian conditions, such as the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R, Bridgestone Blizzak Nordic or Continental ContiVikingContact 5. They may not be the best performers in cold-wet conditions (although not bad either) and usually have just a Q speed rating (160 km/h), but perform excellently in snowy and icy conditions. If you wish to have a higher speed rating, and experience mainly cold-wet conditions, then maybe the winter tires made for the Central European market may be better suited for you. Some of those would be Nokian W+ or WR G2, Bridgestone Blizzak LM or ContiWinterContact tires other than CVC5.

As others have said, the difference in rim size will only affect the tire's profile - not the radius or car height. I have 17" rims (on oem rims) on my Octy II RS here in Finland, with studded Nokian tires, and have not had major floating problems so far, even compared to my previous car (Focus w/ 14" rims). Just moved to the countryside, so time will tell. The thing that makes the most difference is the tire width. In wintertime, the narrower the better. That reduces the floating problem, as the surface pressure is greater - reverse of what eg. wider tracks will do on a tank as it stays better on top of snow and mud. For those that live in areas that have a lot of snowfall, my recommendation is: - If studded tires are legal, get them - particularly if your roads are icy. - If not, get the best non-studded winter tires. Tires made for Scandinavian conditions have fared much better in tests here in actual winter tests than those made for Central European markets (which tend to fare better in cold-wet driving conditions than the Scandinavian market versions). - In addition to the winter tires, not instead of them, consider getting chains if the conditions tend to get really bad.

Let's face it. In many cases, a remap will void engine and transmission warranties. This is a way for the manufacturer to protect themselves. Differences in engine power may, however, also be a marketing issue. The mechanical parts may be identical and any differences in power and torque are done by a manufacturer's own software only "remap". I'm not saying that it is the case here, but it is a possibility, since it has been done by VAG before.

In Finnish Elegance spec models it is included.

Saw one yesterday here in Helsinki, Finland at Metro-Auto.

I had the heated windscreen in my '03 Ford Focus as an option, and got two windscreens cracked due to flying stones / tire studs / misc. crap during the 5 years that I had it. I figured that the heated screen must be softer than a regular laminated screen - maybe the heater gradually softens it up. Anyway, I'd order one any day because in cold wet weather it is just amazing how fast you get a clear screen compared to just standard defogging.

I bought my first car with xenons in 2003, a Ford Focus and will never ever go back to just halogens. They really are that good - particularly here in Finland during autumn and winter. Now I have a 2008 (Finnish spec) Octy II vRS, which came standard with the dipped beam xenons that are even better than in the Focus (as do our Elegance, Scout and L&K). There are only two things I miss from my old Focus - the Xenon high beams as the Octy halogen high beams are really quite useless (I've even considered wiring them off and installing Hella Luminator Compact Xenon spotlights) and heated windscreen option (thaws the ice very well in winter for easy removal). The only downside that I can think of is the glare that makes it easy for other drivers to recognize an Octy II (pre-facelift). It is not dangerous but is noticeable and I think it is due to the lights being set up with a "cup" in front of them.

I would guess that the 3.6 in the pic has the sports suspension option (15mm lowered).

You are definitely missing some items if all you have is the mesh guard and the knob-headed screws. You should also have the leg pieces that the knobs screw into - which in turn are secured to the rear seat locking lugs with Allen/hex bolts. You should have gotten them as well.

The wheels are from a Swedish company Specialfälgar AB (they have a Finnish subsidiary Specialfälgar Finland Oy as well, but I think that their site in Swedish might be easier to understand than Finnish). I bought my set from Rengas-Soppi here in Helsinki. You can see their assortment of wheels here (pages in Swedish). Nitro and BM Racing wheels are their house brands. The Nitro Rosso wheel is featured here and you can also turn the wheel (Rotera fälg). Prices are in Swedish Crowns. If you are interested in these or other wheels that they have, I'm sure that they can be obtained through dealers outside Scandinavia as well.