pipsyp

Yep if you get lucky it can be here sooner...all depends on train, ports and boats

+1 4 weeks average from start of build to delivery at the dealers. 2ish days to be built and roll out the factory doors, rest logistics - in short train from factory to emden, ship from emden to one of three uk ports (depending where the dealer is based) then getting to dealer by transporter from port.

The boot release literally just opens the catch, same as if you pull the handle on the top of the seatback. The boot lever is just a remote means of doing it. The seat back itself is spring loaded at the hinges...its this that causes the seat to fall forward. Some similar systems (like those on Vauxhall Astra Tourers) employ an electric actuator to force the seat forward...the Octavia system isnt that complex. Theyve probably interfered with the spring loaded mechanism when fitting the sub wiring and no doubt easily corrected.

My father in law has a 61 plate E350 CDI Avantgarde, other than routine servicng hasnt been in the garage. Because its rather a hybrid between Executive SE and AMG Sport trim it does have the sports style seats and Ive always found them comfortable. 265hp and 457lb/ft torque......goes like a bloody train too. Bit of a Q car as it just looks like a run of the mill low spec E200 (is debadged too). Not alot not to like IMHO.....everythings built to a cost but a current E class Merc definitely isnt badly built.

Just drove my Mk3 2.0 TDI Elegance estate properly for the first time in a good while since getting a Mk7 GTD and it surprised me the difference in NVH by comparison. Struck me the Octavia goes bloody well and drives nicely but the Golf is alot more refined....and that is despite the fact the Golf has much lower and stiffer suspension. The engine feels v course and noisy when revved....much less so in the Golf and the 184 motor will be inherrently less refined (typically more power more noise where VAG 4 cyl diesels are concerned)....still get a fair amount of tyre roar but next to no wind noise. Much more a case of how its put together rather than the materials used....but I think the Octavia has far less sound deadening materials. If there is that much difference between the two I can quite imagine how quiet the Passat is. Nearly got a Passat GT instead of the Golf but I could only get a 150 TDI and thought it'd probably be a bit dull to drive compared to the Golf....but a lovely big car to live with day to day. If I could have had a 190 I might have chosen differently. Getting back to the Octy I dont care though.....as lovely as the Golf is, its bloody tiny by comparison and 28 v 23k the Octavia is without argument a whole heap of car by comparision.....given you can pay 23k for a spec'd up VW Polo I can forgive it some of its minor shortcommings and is not that noisy really.

Yeah you have to be very very careful on VAG cars....on most it's first press lock, 2nd press deadlock but it's the reverse on these things. Once deadlocked far short of kicking a window out or if you have manual rear windows and are very slim/bit of a contortionist you are not getting out. In fairness the newer cars do warn you each time the ignition is turned off but it's not very clear.

No it doesn't. You are thinking of the exhaust sound actuator (active sound) you can get as a factory option on the Golf GTD....basically the rear silencer gets removed and a speaker system produces sound to make it sound like a waffly V8 petrol...most of those that have it love it but for me I think taking a 180ish hp 4 cylinder diesel and making it sound like a hot rod is a bit naff......clever but a bit naff. Works better on the 313hp 3.0 Bi-TDI that first received the tech. Same could be said of the soundaktor that's fitted as standard to both cars (a small actuator fitted on the cars bulkhead, ECU controlled and vibrates the windscreen at a certain frequency to make the engine sound more meaty and off-beat) but I kind of like it and kind of massages the existing noise rather than producing something that is a utterly fake. I "think" the Leon FR has the active sound option in some markets but not in the UK.

Yep completely normal. Also over time with continued opening/closing you'll probably find the edges start to lip a little too. Mine was perfectly flush when I first got the car.....18 months and 28ish K miles later it's not. At the end of the day it's fairly thin vinyl that being pulled, stretched and in use being kept under tension all the while.....

Great little car but very expensive once you start adding some options....not that well spec'd as standard.....is rather what hampered sales of the previous generation car.

Personally like it in Corrida Red or Candy White....and it saves a few hundred notes!

Monte is basically an up-spec'd SE as was the Mk2 version.I reckon a vRS will come later in the Mk3's life cycle much like the Mk2....will basically be a Polo GTI in drag...maybe some compromises to justify it's lower pricing.

Do either of you have the auto dip rear view mirror? That's the high end package and perhaps that allows the infotainment setting change. The basic version employs a light sensor where the climatronic solar sensor would be (maybe it uses the solar sensor?).....perhaps not quite as advanced as a consequence?

Yep KESSY GO is just keyless start :-(

C Class particularly in Sport or AMG Sport spec are bloody lovely. A 200 petrol or 220/250 diesel automatic would do me just fine. I bet the C350e will prove to be quite some motorcar too....no rave reviews but real world this side of a real AMG bet it's brilliant. XE in top sports trim is very nice but jesus add a few obligatory options and you have a 40-odd grand 2.0 diesel small saloon....

Bloody brilliant tyre... was initially sceptical but need not have been. Fitted OEM to some Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars now so I understand so speaks volumes :-)

Lack of clarity from SUK on spec what a surprise...... Light assistant indeed normally carries the auto mirror too as a cost option but in the UK I am sure you have to take high beam assist or lane assist too. With the SE you get standard 2 zone climate so you get the basic mirror but with the mirror holder that takes the climate systems obligatory humidity sensor. The holder can take a rain/light sensor too but was never fitted before. All they have done is added the light/rain sensor and retained the same mirror and marketed as 'light assistant'.....which it is but would lead most to assume the auto dip mirror would be part of it too. Annoying but bet no other late MY15.5 SE is any different. In any case nice to get the auto lights/wipers at technically no cost.

I fitted Hancook Ventus V12 Evo 2's on the front of my 2.0 TDI Elegance on the advice of my best mate who is a top notch car mechanic and also fits tyres. Said for the money you wont find a better tyre and hes not wrong. About 30 quid/tyre cheaper than the frankly crap wearing dunlops it had on it before....better grip, much less road noise and so far excellent wear. If the car had come with them Id now be v happy indeed.

Hmmmm I think the A Class probably looks a little better both outside and in than it is in reality but still to compare what sounds to be an A180 CDI Sport with a vRS TDI isnt entirely fair. The 180 is only a 1.5 109hp motor and I dont think the A Class is that light despite its size so it wont be fast. Merc 4 cylinder diesels arent the last word on refinement but the bigger 2.1 litre unit does put out good headline power and bags of torque.....an A220 CDI probably would give a vRS TDI a bit of a run in a straight line.

I have a 2.0 TDI Elegance estate.....its fine though its running on the standard suspension and 17's. Its built to a cost so in that you have to accept that things like NVH levels are not going to be luxury car grade but they are acceptable and if anything enough of an improvement on the Mk2. I also have a Mk7 Golf GTD and can say that whilst the ride is that bit firmer (with its considerably lower stiffer suspension setup) its damping is better, there is still a fair bit of road noise from the tyres at speed but noise supression generally is alot better...far less engine and wind noise. I guess thats in part why an equivalent Golf costs a few grand more.

MIB2 units do apparently play FLAC files..sure thats been covered on here somewhere. Probably to in part make up for the lack of CD player on the lesser versions.

Couldnt agree more with that. I have a 2.0 TDI Elegance estate and have to say other than not being the 1st word in excitement to drive (its quick for a big barge but not particularly fun) it represents an awful lot of large family car for the money and really is about all the car one needs. Its enormous and compared to a Mk7 Golf hatch (I also have a GTD company car - I ran the Octavia for just over a year but its now my wifes car) its a night and day difference in practicality. The Golf feels very small with limited rear legroom and takes little effort to fill the boot. I am not sure I have had to load the Octavia to the point I havent been able to pull the cover shut! Had the 1.4 been cheaper to PCP than the 2.0 TDI, Id have probably gone for it. I havent driven one but a very good unit by all accounts. Mine has also bar a dodgy boot bulb been faultless over nearly 28k miles amassed over 18 months (and most of those in the past 9). The Golf suffers from road noise but wind and mechanical noise supression are notably better on the Golf...the Golf is perhaps a little better bolted together and uses some better materials here and there but not light years difference. Renaults and anything from the PSA group just do nothing for me....just not into french cars. Peugeots have improved of late (308 is quite handsome and think the 208 GTI is kinda cool) but to me they are on the most part poorly built and engineered trading on lots of standard spec, overstyled looks and give-away finance packages to sell across the board. Mother in law has a newish C Max....v good car but seems rather utilitarian rather than of good quality....dare I say it a bit tinny?.....but then not a big fan of Fords either......

No disrespect but you can have not so good experiences with cars no matter the marque. My Dad and Father In Law have had numerous Audis in recent years and all bar one have had their share of problems from electrical gremlins, engine problems to heavy oil use. I think you have to be a little honest with yourself......once you come to know VAG group (and youve owned a few) week 22 and 44 (in other words model year and half model year) changes become de rigeur.....unless I was buying an ex demo or new stock vehicle I now would not factory order something unless it had scope to be a post wk22 or 44 car given the choice.....but often the changes are few and far between. Yes its nice to get the new infotainment but in truth its not revolutionary and if anything a late MIB1 unit will probably prove more robust than an early MIB2 in terms of functionality anyway. The ride and road noise points should have become fairly obvious on a reasonable test drive....i took a car without sports suspension this time.....also was previously in a Mk2 vRS which if anything was noisier than the Mk3 so I found it fine.....but from an engine and wind noise perspective the Mk3 is notably noisier than the Mk7 Golf GTD I have recently added to the fold. The pressure issue is rather a shame but Id wager the dealer would have resolved. I give you the standard audio is nothing to write home about. TPMS can false alarm and not necessarily an indication of a fault with the system (its passive rather than active after all), I cant comment on the Amundsen issue really but can say the MIB1 infotainment without its minor quirks and would be surprised if it were a one off...or perhaps did you open and use the car with the 2nd key (as it does have car key memory for settings)? Just a point of view but I think its one of two things......you perhaps didnt research the car enough...didnt really like it having run it for a while and have looked for excuses to move it on, or youre just not overly tolerant of early life issues cars can experience and are perhaps being a little hard on your vRS and Skoda in general. Its a free world and who is to say otherwise but from what you have described they are not usually things you would sell a car for unless you just didnt really like the car. If you think your car might be a bit of a lemon you should see the far worse experience some other briskies have had, but then people do have bad experiences with VW, Audi....none of the german marques are without their issues nowadays. Also.....12 weeks is v good wait time....not so long back you'd have been waiting 6-8 months for one....Id wager then you'd have been v disappointed indeed :-) Best of luck with the Audi though, hope it suits you better and you dont find any fault with it early on...fingers crossed!

+1....mine booked about 4k below what it owed. I reckon unless used surplus start to run dry and prices firm up pretty sharpish (which blatantly isnt going to happen) these cars will owe a K or two still for most come the end of the agreement. The only ones it wont affect too much are those who put in a monster deposit.....defeats the point of taking a PCP in my mind and will have just gone up in smoke in any case. VAT free scheme seemed to work much better for residuals as you were typically buying the car at a more realistic list price than the overly ambitious RRP you tend to pay on the 0% deal. I think it will likely be my last Skoda, shame as they are a v good car and were always in my mind (until now) the thinking mans VW. With these kinds of poor residuals alas no more!

KESSY should only work with the key in reasonable proximity to the car...i.e just a foot or two....enough really for you to be able to open the car with the key on you. Can you disable KESSY in the infotainment if you dont want the comfort lock/unlock?

Octavia is heavily Mk7 Golf based, Rapid/Toledo Mk4 (note not Mk5) Polo based. Therein lies the rub. Octavia is the better car particularly at the used prices they now command.