Huskoda

Not really sure what Brexit has to do with it as a number of European countries already mandate either always on dipped or at least for certain portions of the year. However, I really would like to see that in law here. There are so many people who drive with no lights on in all sorts of conditions just because they can see where they are going, even though pretty much the only lights on the outside of the car that are purely for the driver are the main beams.

Yup, I never use my auto lights and just leave them in dipped all the time (they turn off with the ignition) because the rears are not lit with the DRLs. Stupid safety flaw.

Silicone grease would be better than vaseline as it does not corrode rubber.

That is correct. UK vehicle lighting regulations prohibit exchanging external filament bulbs for any other type (which is why HIDs are illegal). Interior bulbs are unregulated and may be changed as you wish.

I am of the opinion that a car should not pass type approval without the ability to change all the major bulbs (head/tail/brake lights and front and rear indicators) at the roadside with only very basic tools (screwdriver and a spanner, provided with the car). Requiring disassembly of the front of the car just to change a bulb is ridiculous and inexcusable.

However, having said what I said, the system in my Subaru (that also uses a multiplate clutch but at the front of the propshaft) disables the drive to the rear wheels if it detects a smaller spare (which I don't use as I replaced it with a 5th alloy) or puncture on the rear by monitoring the rotational difference with a warning light that it is FWD only. But, unlike Haldex vehicles, the resting power distribution is 60F/40R so it is always engaged during normal operation.

As Llanigraham says, you won't have damaged the Haldex unit by using a spare. It is a completely open differential that relies on using the brakes to transfer power across the axle. There is nothing to wind up, or wear out. The multiplate clutch coupling between the propshaft and rear diff isn't affected by how power is distributed beyond it. The 50 MPH limit applies to any car using a different sized spare wheel to the other wheels, irrespective of the drivetrain, because of the safety and stability implications of imbalanced traction and handling.

Everything is always someone else's responsibility, eh? A small knock that just causes the bumper to flex could do damage to the gearbox without you initially noticing. Why would you put it in P at the lights and risk it? What are the benefits over N?

At lights I put mine in N and handbrake on, just as in a manual. Safer and more comfortable. A TC won't burn out when stationary. Never put it in P at the lights because if you get hit from behind you're going to need a new gearbox along with whatever else is broken. Neutral is exactly that. Put it in that if you want to take it out of drive but not lock the drivetrain. Like at the lights as just mentioned or if you are doing maintenance and need to be able to move the wheels. How much you use the manual overrides is up to you. I frequently tap the paddles when going down hills to hold gears (mine uses the inclination sensor to not go back to D until you level out).

On my Subaru I regularly switch modes. Normally in Eco but I tap it into Sport for junctions where I know I need to get out quickly (totally different throttle and CVT response in Eco) or for overtaking on normal roads. If it didn't raise the rev baseline from about 1.5K to 2K, I would probably just leave it in Sport as I'm actually disappointed it doesn't fall back to Eco when you engage CC. However, I pretty much never use Track mode as it keeps the revs high (around 4K when you lift off) but it does make it go. Off road mode is obvious and makes a big difference when I need to use it. Having driven a Subaru XV with the CVT and without SI-Drive (what they call their drive modes) I would say its horrible and there is no way I would have one without it. With an auto box, being able to tell it how you want to it behave and what you expect of it really transforms it.

That depends mostly on if you are the kind of person who lets your tyres wear down to 1.6mm before changing them A more valid reason is so the rears don't perish from age because they don't wear out near as quickly. New ones go on the rear and the old rears go on the front to be worn down and replaced.

The 1.4 Diesel is the one to go for here. No DPF (neither has the 1.9) and no DMF either.

Result. Awesome

Worthless vultures who just push up the cost of everyone's insurance.

I meant in regards to the Winter Tyre laws in various countries. They don't care what the tyre is described as, they care about what certification is stamped on the sidewall. I fully agree with you that the dealer is not being honest. Or just utterly ignorant. And I don't sadly know which I'd say is more likely.

What they are called is utterly irrelevant to the law. The law doesn't require Winter or All Season tyres. The law requires the correct specification moulded on the sidewall (IE the 3 peaks logo or M+S under certain jurisdictions). The police aren't going to google your tyre, they will look around the sidewall and if they don't see the correct logo you get a fine. That is what you should have been asking for, you were getting too hung up on the wording and not listening to what everyone was telling you. However, we are still in the EU. They are not suitable for all-weather in the EU and are being sold as such in this (EU) market, if you have that in black and white. That may be worth something towards getting some good will. However, they now have your money and you have accepted the car so I don't think there's much you will get from them.

Its not like parliament here and MPs have been caught out wasting huge amounts of tax payer money on living as comfy as possible. Its not an EU thing any more than it is a UK thing.

Celebrity brain crash is just a jab at the BBC as they are banned from doing interviews so its not a direct copy of the Top Gear format. And yes, I bloody hope they drop it now that they made their point as its just plain annoying.

The ET figure (the offset) is how far the hub face is from the centre line of the wheel. A higher offset brings the wheel in closer, eg ET34 means the hub face is 34mm towards the outside of the wheel from the centerline. Reducing it to a ET20 would push the same wheel 14mm further out.

8" (something like a 225/30R20) should fit as its nearly identical to one of the common Superb sizes of 225/45R17 but oww, my spine aches at the very thought. And I hope there are no potholes where you live. I dont think BMW wheels could be made to fit as they have a very deep offset so would stick out a lot, before you even add adaptors to match up the bore and bolt holes.

I would replace the fronts as not only will that mean you wont take the gamble with having to change all four later, but there is also a question of your own safety and those around you if you are trying to get the last mm out of them.

What the car came fitted with with not necessarily the specification it needs to meet. Skoda staff saying that is just to excuse their lazyness in finding out what the actual rating requirements are. The type approval documentation will state what the actual ratings are but VAG do not readily publish this information (unlike both the cars we have that have minimum load and speed ratings specified alongside the tyre pressures, even with a separate acceptable speed rating for winter tyres in the case of my Subaru). The 1.9 is very unlikely to have a rating requirement higher than H in the type approval documentation. But I think the OP needs to go outside and come back with the current tyre sizes if we are to be able to provide advise on specific tyres.

That it shakes itself to pieces leaving an expensive mess to fix.

The 91 you state in the original post is the load rating and is sufficient for all Octavia MKIIs. You will have to go super low budget to possibly get one that is below that in a size for your car. You are however likely to see XL 94 load rated tyres which are fine also. It is always better to have all four identical if that is a reasonable option for you.

What age is the car (an Octavia over here I believe)? Is it DSG or an older traditional automatic?