pinkpanther

Spotted this little chap this evening.....

Another visit to Clumber Park............

A few from Clumber Park earlier...........

A few from this evening's walk. Apparently the yellow beaked Swan is either a Bewick (from the Russian arctic tundra) or a Whooper (from Iceland) - wintering in the UK.

Lovely to see the Bluebells are emerging........

Weather certainly changing this evening - clouds are whizzing by! Lovely sunset too............

Surely not a viable lead time

Lovely sunset this evening............

Of course it all comes down to personal preference, but I've driven a number of DSG / S-tronic and simply never got on with the driving dynamics, although I seem to be in an ever decreasing minority, as even the guy who sold me the Karoq strongly advised going for DSG! Whilst it's certainly a step up from CVT, I'm ultimately happier in a torque converter auto. My 2 older cars have ZF 6 & 7 speed torque converter autos which work incredibly well, despite being 20 and 17 years old (strongly suspect there won't be many DSG gearboxes which prove to be similarly robust, although admittedly the car will no doubt be scrap long before😁). If Skoda move to solely DSG for ICE vehicles I guess I'll need to consider who still uses conventional automatic transmissions. In the meantime the Karoq is a pretty decent car and, as I bought the extended warranty, will be with me for at least five years!!

Couple more from Attenborough.........

The data from the website would suggest a maximum of 60 mph in second gear and gearing of 29.1 mph/1k revs in 6th, although I'm definitely seeing 2k revs at a genuine 70 mpg (in sixth)

Certainly doesn't bode well for the future

Thanks for providing this 👍 I'm around two and a half thousand miles in on our 1.5 TSi (manual) Karoq and I remain a little underwhelmed by the engine. Whilst it's certainly quiet enough at a motorway cruise (seems to be geared at 35 mph / 1k revs in 6th) it is a little gutless at motorway speeds and requires a down change more often than I expected on faster A roads. I initially dismissed the 2.0 TSi as it was DSG only, put on reflection suspect this may have been a more engaging option. First and second gear also seem rather short - now the car has a few miles on the clock I took it towards the red line in second and see it's only reaching around 45 mph. My last experience of a reasonable capacity Skoda petrol was either a 1.8 TSi (160 bhp) Octavia II estate or a 1.8T 20v Octavia I estate, both of which were considerably more tractable than the current Evo II 1.5 TSi. The major advantage of the newer engine seems to be considerably improved fuel economy though - which I guess is progress of sorts🤔

Glorious weather at Attenborough nature reserve earlier - they are revamping the area near the Sand Martin hide 🦉

Colourful end to the day yesterday.....

Looking at Honest John's Real MPG site it appears the 1.5 TSi engine offers very similar efficiency to the 1.0 TSi

The on-board computer (and speedo) seems much more accurate than previous Skoda's I've owned. Speedo also matches Satnav speed within 1-2 mph, whereas previous cars had typically over-read speed by 3-4 mph. My brim-to-brim calculation indicates an average of 44.1 mpg, which the car largely concurs with 👍

Certainly economical - todays trip up the A1👍

I test drove it in DSG form, but have never got on with the gearbox, so ordered the manual. Seem to recall the manual is marginally quicker though? It goes well enough for what it is, and certainly appears decently economical.

I'm with you on the paint choice Actually quite partial to the flat (+ free) blue and opted to spend the cost on extras which benefit us on a daily basis. Mine is a Karoq, although think both vehicles suit the dynamic blue.

Just passed 2k miles now and now reasonably adapted to the online tech. Finally settled on a configuration for the virtual cockpit (smaller display in my car) and am in general enjoying the car, although several recent forays in to muddy car parks have left me wondering if I'll ultimately regret foregoing all-wheel drive 🤔

I'd kept 2 hanging hooks from a previous Yeti, so no shortage of them in the Karoq Noticed I have a halogen boot light, but no removable torch sadly - must upgrade the feeble boot light to LED.

I intentionally ordered the space saver spare for my manual 1.5 TSi SE L, as I was keen to maximise boot space, but still benefit from a useable spare. Will hopefully never need it, but reassuring to know it's there The desire to have a spare came from suffering a sidewall puncture in the middle of nowhere in a Yeti many years ago.

Ordered a dynamic blue 1.5 TSi SE L November 2022, which subsequently arrived March 2023. I'd added a few options

Gotta love a great crested Grebe!