pinkpanther

I eventually located the sticker for the tyres pressures inside the driver's side rear door

I recently part exchanged my manual 2023 1 5 TSi SE L (in the free blue) for a new 1.5 TSi DSG Sportline Edition (in Race blue). I've now covered 750 miles and have a few observations. The matrix headlights are truly exceptional and are probably the most impressive feature of the new car. The Auto-dip main beam works well and they are a revelation in darkness. To my ears the Columbus system sounds a little better than the Amundsen in the SE L, although I'm unsure of technical differences (speakers etc) beyond the frustration of loosing the physical knobs from the older unit. The screen is marginally bigger on the Columbus, but in practice it is a little more cumbersome in operation. I'm pleased to see I now have a full complement of auto-dimming mirrors (only the interior and drivers mirror are in a 2023 SE L). The DSG box is certainly a better match with the 1.5 TSi engine than the manual. It's a pleasure to finally be free of thoughts of stalling the car in traffic. It revs slightly lower at 70 MPH than the manual, although early indications are it is around 10% less fuel efficient than the manual. I'll reserve final judgement until I have filled it a few times though. The electric tailgate (and foot operation) is handy although not sure why it can only be opened, but not closed, from the drivers door? Concerns regarding leaks and reliability aside (I'm a former Yeti Panoramic roof victim!!) it is great to be back in a car with a large opening glass roof (which is under manufacturers warranty for 3 years!). Predictably the numerous driver 'aids' have proved a source of irritation. On occasion I turn them off, but more often than not tolerate the tugging at the wheel and numerous bings & bongs😬 I thought I would find the autonomous cruise control useful, but in practice find I actually prefer the simplicity of the 'dumb' cruise control in the older car. The Sportline front seats are (for me) less comfortable than the SE L seats and appear less 'premium'. I do miss the alcantara of the SE L seats. I lost Varioflex rear seats though am pleased to now have a proper parcel shelf, rather than a mesh roller blind. Pleased to see all interior lights are now LED, as are the front fog lights, although suspect this makes them less functional than Halogen in actual fog 😁 I miss the central storage box from the SE L. This has been a feature since Yeti days and added a useful storage area, so I can't for the life of me think why Skoda would have binned it? The roof-mounted storage box was lost as a consequence of sunroof controls. I had a front and rear Road Angel Dashcam fitted (hard wired) which has largely killed Dab reception. I understand this happens as a consequence of the Dashcam's permanently enabled Wi-Fi. Strangely the same brand Dashcam did not similarly impact either a previous Suzuki, or current FIAT🤔 The Internet Radio sounds considerably better than Dab (? higher bitrate), but in order to use it I have to manually connect to my phones hot-spot. The only alternative would be to purchase a data connection for the car, which I suspect I won't do. Not sure if there is a method of automating the cars connection to my phones Wi-Fi hot-spot? This car has 3 years of Infotainment online and connect services, whereas these expired after 1 year with the previous car. There is a new feature known as 'Traffication', which expires after 1 year. I can't see how this provides much additional functionality over Waze / Google maps, so more than likely won't renew. I had paid to extend remote access on the SE L (I thought it worthwhile as it provided the option to remotely lock and unlock the car - a previous KESSY equipped car locked my keys in which necessitated breaking a window!), although no refund was forthcoming from Skoda when I cancelled the remaining subscription. Swopping insurance from the old to new car brought a significant (15%) reduction in premium! I enquired why and was told as a consequence of the extra 'safety' features of the newer car🤷. The ice scraper is no longer translucent green and there is no longer a method of securing the rear seat belt buckles to stop them rattling when not in use. The tyre pressure sticker is no longer behind the fuel flap. Wireless AA and Apple Carplay work faultlessly, although my Galaxy S23 gets incredibly hot when running AA and wirelessly charging. I am definitely not a fan on the 19" alloys and low profile tyres. The tyres offer barely any protection to the rim and we've already kerbed a diamond cut alloy😳 After reading another thread on here I may opt to purchase 17" Skoda alloys and switch to all-season tyres at some point. This car comes with Dynamic Chassis Control. I tried all the options and find Comfort suits the car well, although frustratingly it defaults to Normal after each restart. Suspect this isn't an option I would have separately paid for - possibly more relevant to a more sporting vehicle with greater performance potential? 17" wheels, a higher profile tyre and DCC on Comfort would be a pleasant combination though👌 The virtual dash has a few more options than the simpler offering in the SE L, although in practice offers little additional functionality. I initially thought the full-screen Satnav display looked impressive, but in practice I'd rather see this on the central infotainment display and just have a simple direction arrow on the dash in front of me. This DSG Sportline Edition was 5% more costly to buy new than the manual SE L it replaced, which I guess may reflect the Karoq is soon to be replaced? All in all I probably should have bought a DSG equipped Karoq first time around!

Striking Sky this evening...........

And yet more Crepuscular Rays 🌞

Tremendously vibrant 🌈 earlier

Great to hear this is possible.

Crepuscular Rays on the way home this evening (phone photo as had forgotten the camera) 😬

We spotted what appears to be a Greylag & Canada Goose Hybrid 🤔 Who knew such a thing was possible!

Many thanks - definitely food for thought👍

Suspect they will me much less prone to kerbing too👍 Out of interest do you mind me asking if you went through a Skoda dealer to obtain the Ratikon alloys? I recently switched from a 2023 SE L to a Sportline Edition and to be honest early indications are there is little different in ride comfort between 18" & 19", although the 225/40/19 Bridgestone Turanza T005 tyres offer very little protection to the wheel rim 😬

To be honest the car defaults back to 'Normal' at every ignition on and off so I'd imagine the car is in 'Normal' the majority of the time. I felt none of the selectable modes in our 2023 1.5 TSi manual made much difference to it's propensity for stalling and the only really noticeable difference I found was the heavier steering in 'Sport'. There is a much more noticeable difference between the modes in the replacement (DSG) car, mainly as a consequence of DSG shift points / coasting etc. Hope you get a positive outcome from your dealings with the service desk.

Whilst I have come across lots of reports of this issue with manual cars yours is the first report regarding a DSG. Not something that I have come across in the first few hundred miles with our new DSG Karoq.

I switched the OEM Bridgestones to Michelin Crossclimate (same size) on my old SE L. Marginally quieter, but little difference in ride quality. Unfortunately never driven a Karoq with 17" wheels so not able to comment. My old Yeti rode much better on it's 16" steel rims and Winter tyres, although that had a more sophisticated rear suspension setup than the Karoq.

No appreciable difference in MPG and I thought car was a little more positive to drive.

Hi Chelon This sounds very similar to the issue we had with our 2023 1.5 TSi manual Karoq. Very easy to stall and not at all easy to drive in traffic. It left us with no power in the middle of complex junctions on more than one occasion. Re-starting after stalling appeared to take an eternity and wasn't always consistent (although of course this may have been as a consequence of being stuck with a stalled car in a tricky situation). I have owned a number of manual Volkswagen Audi group vehicles and never experienced this difficulty before. Based upon my experience with a manual 1.5 TSi I'd certainly consider this to be a safety issue. I did find the car a little less prone to stalling after switching the throttle mapping with Carista. More here: https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/521243-15-tsi-power-cutting-out/

Reckon we spotted a double rainbow this evening 🌈? No rain though.

Me too 👍

I retired my recently traded-in 2023 manual 1.5 TSi SE L Karoq on Fuelly and see of the 37949 miles we covered in 27 months it averaged a brim-to-brim 43.8 MPG (at a cost of £5,675.39😯). Will be interesting to see if the 1.5 TSi DSG car which replaces it will be more or less economical? Early days yet but DSG appears a better match for the car and avoids the driveability (more here: https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/521243-15-tsi-power-cutting-out/) concerns which seemed to afflict so many and was admittedly a part of the reason for trading it in. The on-board computer was generally optimistic to the degree of a few MPG. I plan a further post on the new car (1.5 TSi DSG Sportline Edition) once I'm more familiar with it.

My 2023 SE L (with winter pack+) had the 'no filament' heated windscreen, which worked well over the two winters we owned the car. We recently switched to a new Sportline Edition and see the heated screen fitted to this new car has the visible filament type. On this basis either technology could be fitted to a Karoq 🤷

Tonight's Strawberry Moon & sunset.......... https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/strawberry-moon-2025-lowest

We spotted a colourful Moon on the way home from feeding the birds this evening...

Looking forward to trying out the matrix led headlamps and the ambient interior lighting👍

Despite all my reservations regarding DSG, leaking panoramic sunroofs, a lack of independent rear suspension, lack of Varioflex and, largely prompted by commenting on this thread, I have just Part ex'd my 2023 manual SE L for a new 1.5 DSG Sportline Edition in Race Blue. I will miss the useful centrally mounted and lidded storage bin which for some reason has dissappeared on the later cars. The new car has Columbus, but I must say the physical 'knobs' on the Amundsen unit in my 2023 car make it much easier to use. Collecting the new one in a few days and in the meantime looking at GAP, which appears to be much more costly than just a few years back.

Although it may not be entirely accurate - the digital certificate for my car tells me I have 18" Alloys and 17" 'tires'!

Although a Sportline would bring with it the option to soften the damping with DCC 🤔