Wheels pop up on ebay all the time. If you wanted a spare then you should be able to get one easy enough (I have 2 18" Zeniths as spares ).

Yeah, but you need them

Price up, then cut out stuff like this.

:(

I had read last autumn that there was a chance the MY2010 would get the 170 version of the CR engine (like in the VRS), together with the 7 speed DSG. I'm hoping that is true, as i am ready to change my '05 140 DSG.

Anyone heard anything about this?

Give me a proper spare tyre all the time. Gunk would not have helped when I got a sidewall puncture that made itself known on the M1 at 70mph. Offside rear wheel, so changing it was not a safe option as I would have been playing in the traffic. Skoda Assist came out, but it was just over an hour as I was low priority. Spending an hour down the embankment at the side in the snow was the most exciting time of my life!

Can anyone explain how putting a canister of gunk into a punctured but otherwise repairable tyre is environmentally friendly? I had to do this on a previous car. The tyre was ruined (even though it was nearly new) and the wheel had to be cleaned with some pretty nasty chemicals.

It costs 0.05% of providing your spare. That's the environmental reason

gadgetman - i understand the cost of putting a can into the CAR compared to the cost of the CAR, but my question was about the benefit of actually using it! It cost me 100% of a new tyre, plus a bit more to clean up the wheel, plus the immediacy of having to get the thing replaced. Environmentally the old tyre was contaminated. Had I had a spare wheel, I could have changed it and then continued driving until it was convenient to me to have the tyre repaired, even to drop the damaged wheel off at the repairer and collect it later in the day.

The spare is IMHO essential.

Think, you're in a car with no spare only a repair kit, everywhere is closing or closed and you come back to your car to find a large egg on the tyre sidewall. You now have to drive 100 motorway miles and the only place that is open is a kwikfit that wants £100 to fit a £40 fitted tyre and you need to get to them in the next 10 minutes or they are closed. (It's probably 10 minutes drive away at the best of times)

Also, if you drive a vRS, quite often they have to order the tyres in.

gadgetman - i understand the cost of putting a can into the CAR compared to the cost of the CAR, but my question was about the benefit of actually using it! It cost me 100% of a new tyre, plus a bit more to clean up the wheel, plus the immediacy of having to get the thing replaced. Environmentally the old tyre was contaminated. Had I had a spare wheel, I could have changed it and then continued driving until it was convenient to me to have the tyre repaired, even to drop the damaged wheel off at the repairer and collect it later in the day.

My reply was sarcasm @ car makers pulling this stunt. I was agreeing with you

Apart the spare wheel issue, and the sunstrip on the windscreen, are there any other differences between MY2010 and MY2009 Octavias?

I think the facelift vRS has a shiny gearknob alu plate like the standard model in place of the matt finish alu.

There are a few changes to 2010 MY cars starting with the removal of the spare wheel in favour of a 'puncture repair kit' or tyre weld, leather gaitor to be replaced with non-leather variant and the removal of the 'dark grey' sun strip on the windscreen. All this penny pinching has enraged my father in-law who placed his order for one yesterday (which is why I was asking in the first place).

That's disaapointing to hear (sorry I've only just read this thread). The loss of the spare wheel has been discussed elsewhere on this forum but I hadn't realised about the strip on the windscreen and the gear lever gaiter. My current car is 11 years old and has a leather gaitor that's still as good as new whilst my wife's Polo has a leatherette type that statred to spilt after a couple of years.

One wonders what other penny pinching measures they've taken that we don't know about.