SteveTheElder

I reckon it’ll for cooling it when the AirCon is on. You can select the level of chilling in the glovebox - ideal for that bottle of fizz for the picnic on the beach 😊

Totally agree. Always best to use fresh premium brand batteries. @Davidr1986 your dealer may have had them lying around for a while or be bulk buying in-branded ones.

We seem to have had mixed responses from Škoda UK. In contrast to some, my experience was fine, albeit with a frustrating 5 months whilst they got my car sorted during which time I had a perfectly good loan Octy 4 estate. Since I got mine back, last September, it’s been great, a few minor niggles that’s all. I’ve had a few OTA updates just lately and it has greatly improved the CarPlay reconnect niggle. Another update awaits so will see what that does for me next time out.

CarPlay needs both a WiFi and Bluetooth connection to fully function; ensure both are enabled in the car and initiate the connection from the car not the phone.

And that’s why I put it all in a spreadsheet 🙄

Good to know, thanks.

I bought a used, low mileage, SEL first edition in March last year. Had several s/w issues so Škoda UK had it back at the dealer for 5 months while they did loads of diagnostics and developed a trial fix - which was applied in September. Main issue was the kph/mph couldn’t be selected; speed only in mph and satnav only in Kms! Other issue was the ACC ‘seeing’ cars in the lane to the left and slowing, as though I were driving in mainland Europe. Both fixed. Since then, a few niggles including the SOS system fault but a further s/w update fixed that. I’ve cover best part of 10k miles since then four minor niggles remain, they are… - rear courtesy lights come on and off at random intervals, like a ghost is fiddling with the switch 😉 - iPhone doesn’t always auto reconnect to CarPlay ( but with recent OTA updates it’s getting better) - passenger heated seat doesn’t stay on if the driver seat is on, ok otherwise - occasionally the fuel & temperature gauges flicker (about 1 in 50 drives). I’m very pleased with my car now. Comfortable, quiet, roomy. On a recent road trip (2 up and boot full) cover 1150 miles at 58.8mpg with some long motorway stretches accounting for the majority of the mileage. So, before you buy, get a good long test drive and check the s/w does what it should with regard to these SEL FE bugs. Škoda know they exist/existed so should be fixed/fixable on the car you’re looking at.

My iPhone XR heats up significantly with CarPlay and wireless charging, it’s usually streaming audio too; and yes, it is slow to charge, faster if wired. No lag issues with wireless CarPlay though.

Got the answer to my own question. In short, it does work. However, a little tedious. Any appointment has to be in your main Google Calendar (not any additional ones you may create), and the calendar app in the car is a little slow to load. When it does, a nice list of entries shows up as you’d expect and any with an address has a green arrow symbol alongside it. Tapping that symbol loads the address in to the SatNav system and away you go. How’s that tedious? Well in itself it isn’t, BUT the car MUST be stationary else the link from Calendar to Nav app wont work. That means that even a passenger can’t do for you. Fair enough as the driver shouldn’t be poking around in calendars and Nav system whilst driving though.

Welcome to the forums. I had the same question as you, and eventually worked out that deflectors ARE needed for the standard full LEDs when driving in continental Europe. Bought the Eurolights ones and they work very well, diagram 177 if I remember correctly. The headlights shape is very curved so it seems odd when positioning them, kneel down directly in front of each headlight to get the alignment correct. A few hundred Km of night driving, visibility was good and no one flashed their lights at me so presumably they’re in an OK position.

Obviously in forums such as this there will be a disproportionate number of people with issues, either looking for answers or having a moan - myself included. Mine, since September ‘21, is almost fault free, a few niggles remain which I don’t need to peruse till it goes in for service. The dealer is aware and on alert from Skoda should there be a relevant update released. I bought it in March ‘21 but soon noted a few key errors and reported/escalated to Skoda Uk. They asked me to leave it at teh dealers for investigation/fix and provided a loan car (1.0eTec SE FE Estate) - which I ran for five months until the fix in September. That car was 100% fault free. Why am I blathering on about this? Well, whilst there are real issues with some cars, there are many out there that have none. As for the infotainment system, yes, I’d like buttons but as @inspectorman mentioned, so many functions would leave a wall of buttons. The voice control is surprisingly good at what it does - for example, I never use a button to control the radio or media other than the knob on the steering wheel for volume & pause/start. And with CarPlay and Siri all those functions are easy too.

My car is also running 1668, and have issues with the CarPlay auto-reconnect not doing so, sometimes. Can’t comment on Matrix Lights ‘cos I don’t have them fitted. For the climate Sync memory, it seems that Škoda forgot to change it from LHD to RHD. If I put it to Sync and adjust the temp on the drivers side it loose Sync - but if change temp on the passenger side it’s fine, even on the next journey after parking up (though the word Sync doesn’t display). Tedious I know - but I never normally use the Sync function so doesn’t bother me.

Based on past (long time past) history, I have not liked Bridgestone tyres so have avoided them since. I prefer Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance - plenty of grip, comfortable ride and quiet. My Mk4 Octavia came with Michelin Primacy which I wont be putting on again. They feel hard and noisy. Next time round I’m going to look at all-season tyres though.

I’ve got a Mk4 1.5TSI 150 EVO manual Estate, to be honest I am very impressed with the fuel economy. Over the last 9500 miles I’ve averaged 54.2mpg (brim to brim calculations in Excel). Best I have had is in excess of 71mpg for a trundle along the M3/M27 from near Eastleigh to Hayling Island and back - OK, speed limits on the M27 were set to 60 & 50mph for lengthy stretches but even so I was very impressed. At more normal motorway speeds it’s returning in the region of 55mpg upwards. Subjectively I’d say the engine is pretty good. It’s not as flexible at low revs as my old 14-plate 1.4TSI (125PS) Superb Mk2 which is a shame - but I am comparing a fairly new 1.5 engine (~12k miles) with a well run-in 1.4 (75k miles). For comparison, prior to the Superb I had a 12-plate Mk2 Octavia Estate 1.6TDI manual. Over the 65+K miles I had that I averaged 59.3mpg. Driving style and journey type differences will clearly make a big difference but given that I had a similar age 1.6TDI to yours, you can draw some parallels I guess.

So, when I posed my question yesterday I was reminded of the wise advice written on fireworks when I was a kid “Light blue touch paper and retire immediately “ 😉 Reading through the comments since it’s interesting it’s mainly about the legality of minimising tax liability and how it can be done within the rules. However, my point was about the moral debate. Anyway, as a few have said, we’re now miles off the topic of speeds, fuel consumption, Russian oil imports and supporting Ukraine (however indirectly all that may be). Thanks all for an interesting, lively and, in parts, unexpected debate which has probably now run its course. For my part, I’ll take a few mph off my usual cruising speed, saving a few drops of fuel, slightly reducing imports of oil, save a few £ over each tankful to add more directly to my support the Ukrainian appeal.

So, have I got this right? You charge your EV for free, then fleece the UK tax payer for the tax relief. 😡 Let the moral debate begin…

A very good point. Now, if only we had a viable and affordable public transport system 🙄 - but that’s best left for another thread! As someone mentioned in another thread, a small EV for local/urban use and a half descent ICE for the longer trips. I could live with that - £££ permitting.

I thought the whole idea of Matrix LED headlights was that, once on full beam, the dynamically changed the beam pattern based on what it ‘sees’ ahead of it. It’s an option I don’t have but would like! So, three possibilities… I got the wrong idea The OP Matrix LEDs are not setup correctly - hence the question The OP doesn’t have Matrix LEDs - but based on comments above, they are fitted.

Reading the news app this morning and there’s an article in the Independent which says Sir Richard Branson has suggested cutting motorway speed limits to 60mph to save fuel - hence reducing demand for oil and in turn reduces need for Russian imports. What do we think? It would certainly reduce fuel consumption. By coincidence, yesterday I had a 60 mile trip, 50 of which was motorway, mostly at a smart motorway set limit of 60mph, some 50mph. At the end, the car (1.5 TSI 150, Octy 4) showed an average consumption of 71.3mpg. Considerably better than the mid-high 50s I’d get at 70ish mph. Probably better for the environment too.

Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. And by that I mean try it enough to become familiar with else its not a fair comparison.

Switched from Superb Mk2 hatch/twindoor to Octavia Mk4 Estate last year - not Sportline to VRS however. It was a 1.4TSI 125 'S' spec to 1.5TSI 150 'SE L 1st Edition', both manual. I gained a huge bunch of 'tech' on changeover, which was bit of a steep learning curve at first but I love it. Probably not fair/appropriate to comment on performance and suspension 'cos the cars are quite different to the Sportline/VRS but in terms of space, I do miss the cabin space and overall size of the Superb - having said that, I don't need the space other than on the odd occasion I carry a rear seat passenger behind me (at best part of 2m tall the seat is a long way back). Fuel economy is at least 10% better in the Octavia, but I found the 1.4 engine in the Superb to be more drivable; it has more low-rev torque than the 1.5. Boot space is fantastic in the Octavia estate, slightly bigger, more useable, and I prefer the shape to that of the Superb, seems a bit deeper (tall) and not so long front to back. Do I regret it? Nope - but if I could have got a Superb with the same spec/tech and efficiency I'd probably have gone for it. Like I say, my Superb to Octavia journey wasn't quite the same as you're considering, but hopefully some useful info.

Thanks @MCG1975 for sharing your mpg figures and costs. When I bought my 1.5 TSI I had debate with myself, as usual, about petrol vs diesel. Which is better value etc. etc. based on my anticipated mileage, fuel costs, driving patterns (journey lengths, traffic, etc.). In the end decided on the 1.5 TSI. Overall, mine is at 54.2mpg over the last 10k miles, brim to brim calculations, which gives me a cost of 13.6p/mile. Using your consumption figures as a comparison, my anticipated annual mileage, and the current WhatCar Target Prices (1.5TSI 150, 2.0TDI 150) I reckon it'd take about 5 1/2 years fuel cost difference to make up the purchase price difference. Not a clear winner either way for me, and close enough for me to 'justify' the debate with myself each time I change the car! It is of course all academic as new ICE cars will soon be a thing of the past 🙄

... or with the Lane Assist systems. Mine on the Mk4 was overly sensitive when I first got it, but after a few updates it's been fine, well it has for the last 6 months.

Nice one! Certainly an impressive mpg; pleased you mentioned it's a diesel, is it a manual 'box? Bit like you, I usually try to be a my record, and am disappointed if I don't more than 56mpg from my 1.5 TSI (manual) on a long run. Best so far at normal motorway speeds is 58.8 over a 160 mile trip.

tbh I haven't tried to get my head around the favourite radio stations as I usually use voice control to change stations. Line of least resistance (for me anyway). With you iPhone, have you set up CarPlay? If so, then it can't sync phone numbers as well as it will be a different (second) Bluetooth connection). Incoming calls can be answered easily enough (through CarPlay); and to make a call, use Siri. Not sure if that answers your questions or not, but hopefully some help.