SteveTheElder

100% agree. It's all down to how the vehicle is used (and charged as appropriate). For me, a PHEV would result in higher exhaust emissions than the TSI.

How green (or 'un-green') is manufacturing a PHEV vs. pure ICE? How green is manufacturing a battery + electricity vs. manufacturing fuel tank + petrol over xxx miles? etc. etc. Call me a cynic but I don't believe anyone has yet done a proper comparative measure, all I have found come from sources with a vested interest one way or another. And by Green, I mean in terms of overall environmental impact; an EV (or PHEV in EV mode) will undoubtedly be better for air quality, especially in busy/congested towns and cities but that is only part of the story.

And so the plot thickens… Please can I have an engine, four gears, and a handbrake. Life used to be so simple 😉

Welcome to the forums… As the owner of a SEL First Edition I think I had more than my fair share of the problems; others with more tech than I have in mine experienced even more! Bit of a sad story early on, but in my case virtually all the issues were fixed last September, just a few niggles left but nothing any worse than most cars out there. Recent s/ware updates are fixing the slightly newer cars and the impression I get is that the latest builds are pretty good (which after two years should be the case - well, should be the case on day 1 really!). OK, mine isn’t a VRS but I’m very impressed. Performance and economy in a very comfortable and good looking package.

Don’t think you’re ‘getting it wrong’ its just that the car behaves differently based on circumstances. It’s about nine months since I drove the 1.0 e-TEC DSG, but from memory I could ‘force’ it to engine brake by quickly taking foot off the accelerator. Doing it slowly would lead to the ‘Coasting’ indication on the virtual cockpit. Sometimes this would leave the engine ticking over, others at zero revs. I think this was all to do with the auto stop/start algorithms based on the battery charge state and load. All a tad mysterious, and (at first) a weird feeling coasting at zero revs and in neutral at 70mph!

Only a short journey this morning with no opportunity for ACC but the built in maps/GPS tracked my drive accurately - in Hampshire!

Agreed, but always worth a skim read of the ‘living space’ (cockpit & luggage compartment) pages though. Then dig into the details of other stuff (e.g. infotainment system) as needed. The brochure also makes reference to USB-C ports in the cockpit and 12v socket in the boot.

In 6th at 70mph the engine is at 2350rpm, so a tad over 30mph per 1000rpm

Yes, I’ve noticed in my manual TSI that there is very little engine braking compared to cars of old. Another interesting thing I noticed is about gear selection. We are often told to use the highest gear we can - but i reckon its not always the most fuel efficient. We have a long straight road near where I live, with a reasonable hill. Coming down, foot off the throttle in 5th gear and the instant fuel economy is showing around 150 - 180 mpg. Do the same in fourth and it shows “- - - “, so full fuel cut off. I guess its the anti-stall kicking in when in 5th…

Not an iV, but for reference/comparison, on my recent road trip in the mk4 1.5tsi I was filling up when convenient (and before the red warning light came on) and was doing 530 - 580 miles between fill ups. Overall, the road trip returned 59.2mpg, which was way better than my expectations. Two people and a boot full of luggage (& bottles of wine 😁). Weather ranged from wet & blustery mid-teens C to a balmy/sunny high twenties C. Roads included everything from autoroutes to county lanes to high mountain passes.

Can’t say I’ve seen it. Is that a hybrid iV thing or is it available on all?

Don't get me going or I'll be adding something to the 'What annoyed you today?' thread. Couldn't agree more! Like all those company plug-in hybrids that give big tax benefits but never see a lower socket 😡

Took my Octy4 on a road trip - here it is atop the Simplon Pass in the Swiss Alps 😄

This promises to be an interesting thread, and while I can't easily give fuel costs per mile (without digging the spends from a different application, and sifting one car from another) I can give fuel consumption figures for my last three cars - each based on brim - brim calculations... 59.33 mpg - Octavia Mk2 Estate 1.6TDi Manual over 67500 miles 48.94 mpg - Superb Mk2 Hatch 1.4 TSi Manual over 56200 miles 54.82 mpg - Octavia Mk4 Estate 1.5 TSi ACT Manual over 12500 miles The Octavia Mk4 had 2500 miles on the [virtual] clock when I got it so currently a tad over 15,000 - and the fuel economy is getting better. At [a stab at] current fuel price of £1.87/Ltr (£8.50/gallon), the Mk4 works out at 15.51 p/mile. I'm doing about 15k miles a year, a lot of which is made up of long journeys. Would be interesting to see the petrol costs for a hybrid over a 400 mile trip from Hampshire to Lanarkshire, for example.

I’m thinking they may have changed it with the Dolomite HL designation. Mine predated that, and the 1500cc versions.

I think that’s the toggle switch for the interior lights. On, Off or On when door opens. I’m away from the car at the mo so can’t check…

Interesting, my 1850 had twin SU carbs which I could never keep in balance - probably says more about my mechanical skills than the carbs 🙄

Alas not. The Sprint had a 2.0ltr version of the engine with what I believe was the first 16 valve head in ‘normal’ cars; won some design award too.

Best or favourite car - a tricky one! Favourite has to be my old 'N'-reg Triumph Dolomite (1850cc version). I no' but a lad of 18 when I got it and it felt like a rocket ship (which it wasn't really) and with the addition of overdrive on 3rd and 4th made that change down to overtake a flick of a switch - so much easier and quicker. Shame it was a bit naff in the corners though. I've had better cars since but that one gave me the biggest smile.

If the tracking is OK, then tyre wear should be ok. So, does it matter is the steering wheel is not quite centred? Technically, no. But if it feels wrong and bothers you, then yes it does matter. Personally I’d take back to the depot that did the tracking and ask them to straighten the steering wheel up (have had to do it a couple times over the years…)

I’m considering all season tyres next time, found this thread interesting. Thanks. @petebryn After changing to the Goodyear Vectors did you notice any increase in fuel consumption?

Much to my surprise, I actually like the colour - but not the hatchback shape. Much (as in VERY much) prefer the look of the estate version.

Firstly, double check which Entertainment & Communication system there is in the SE First Edition you're looking at. If (as I reckon is likely from my experience) it has an 8.25" touchscreen & Swing radio, then it'll be a different set of S/W in that infotainment unit and v1896 is irrelevant. For context, my SE L First Edition was plagued with a several of the s/w glitches you've no doubt read about. Early April '21, Škoda UK asked for it to be at the dealers for testing, diagnosis and await a fix - that took five months and I got it back in September. During that time, they loaned me a 1.0 TSI e-TEC SE First Edition in which I covered 8500 miles - all of which were without issue of any kind. That car did not have ACC, but did have the standard cruise control & speed limiter. The loan SE FE had the 8.25"/Swing system, not the 10"/Columbus/SatNav in the SEW L and my SE L FE. To add to the confusion, the early SE had a 10"/Bolero system, so why only 8.5" in the SE FE I don't know. Hope that helps... - - - - - - EDIT: In case you're interested, attached is the December 2020 brochure. SKODA OCTAVIA Brochure 21DEC20.pdf

Yeah, and all those vloggers, bloggers and ‘independent’ YouTube reviews need a level of transparency rarely seen, as should any ‘formal’ reviewer. They should (non-exhaustive list)… be specific about the date of car being reviewed the exact versions of the vehicle components they refer to (e.g. we do NOT need infotainment s/w 189x in the Octy 4 to work properly; my 1668 is fine) is it a widespread fault? Model specific? … any past experiences they’ve experienced which can lead to a bias (for example, I had a bad experience with a Ford dealer in the 1980s. Haven’t bought a Ford since. Is that fair? Probably not). etc etc Bit like any review of anything - they need to be taken with a precautionary pinch (bucket) of salt! ——— EDIT : going off topic there, sorry. What a Mk4, buy one. They’re great. Just be careful to check out the common faults, just like anything really.