Elsie's first 1700 miles & 3 weeks.

[rockhopper]

As one or two of you will know I took Elsie up to Scotland the week before Christmas for a breakfrom work. I had collected her a week earlier from James at Allams.

I spent the first week pottering around South London and Surrey, around some lovely lanes, for workand play.

I had decided before I collected Elsie to buy some winter wheels and tyres, as I wasn’t going to chance it going up to Scotland, or even around where I live, as where I am there are many fairly steep hills – several in the region of 1 in 4 . I had witnessed first hand the difference between winter tyres and summer tyres, snow chains and snow socks on one bicycle journey when the snow first fell in Croydon.

So we set off for Scotland with about 560 miles on the clock around 9am on the Sunday before Christmas. We were very weary as the reports were that it would be busy. We had packed the shovel and sleeping bags.

The journey round the M25 was great. It was the first time we had been any distance on the motorway in Elsie. Reasonably quiet, but not BMW e39 quiet. Very comfortable. Then we headed up the M40. Most of the way there were two lanes open out of the three. Between Thame and Northampton exits there was lots of snow and only one lane was open.

But hey, I have a 4x4 with winter tyres, so out I go into the un-cleared lane and drive past lots of very slow moving vehicles.

I had 470 plus miles to cover, so I wanted to keep the average speed as high as possible.

At one point the road started to narrow as I was going past a vehicle, and the snow was much deeper, the front offside started to dip in at about 40mph. I managed to hold Elsie from spinning, but speed dropped to around 15mph.

The vehicles behind me saw what was happening and dropped back a little

All was fine in Elsie and we carried on.

That was a reminder that winter tyres and 4x4 does not make you invincible….

The rest of the journey was uneventful until we reached the Glen of the Eagles. That road was icy. No problems for Elsie.

The 473 miles was covered in 10 hours exactly door to door, with 8 ¼ hours driving time, 60mph average and a maxidot consumption of 42.9mpg.

Next day drove in to Edinburgh to do the tourist thingy and visit the Castle. With that done it was time to get me some winter shoes! Motorcycle boots aren’t great for walking around in!

Once again Elsie handled all the snow and ice I drove her on without complaining. Discovered that the previous night it was -15°C. Most nights we were there it was between -10°C & -15°C.

The next day we visited the local town Achterarder. It was bitterly cold so we didn’t walk far, so off we went in search of snowy & icy roads. Elsie was amazing is all I can say. No problems anywhere at any time. I did get out at one point to take some photos and it was -12°C. My fingertips after 10 photos approx were feeling very blue!

Had a lazy day the following day and let Elsie freeze outside the door.

The last day we just went for a drive with nowhere in mind. Just looking for some more snowy & icy roads. We found this was the best way to see the scenery, keep off the mainroads, and drive on the icy ones slowly, enjoying the views. Our last stage of the journey took us from Yatts Of Muckhart, through the fairly steep and stunning, climbing up to around 1100 feet through Dunning Glen to the village of Dunning and then across country back to where we were staying. Only 50miles, but approx 35 were on snow and ice. Elsie was flawless. Every now and then I would stop on what I though would be a slippery surface and all she did was….stop. The winter tyres were brilliant.

The next day was Christmas Eve and we drove home, leaving at 6am. 473 miles, average 62mph & 43mpg (maxidot), with just under 8 hours of driving, arriving home around 4pm.

The biggest problem was at Shap on the M6, where the VAG windscreen wash had frozen to the wipers and the windscreen. Thank goodness for the heated windscreen. The heated mirrors were used loads as well. The outside temperature was -13°C and at 70mph the wind chill must have been alot less…(around -30°C? As I was running out of VAG screenwash, I had probably diluted it alittle too far. But it never froze at night when the outside temps were at -15°C.

At the end of the journey I just got out of Elsie and started to do stuff around the house. No back problems etc.

I am using a CG-Lock to hold me in position, which I think is fantastic.

At the end of the trip Elsie had done 1663 miles.

So my thoughts on Elsie after 3 weeks and 1700 miles:

I love the driving position. It is the most comfortable car I have ever driven over long distances.

It is so easy to get in and out of.

The DSG gearbox is sublime. Previously, the most intelligent gearbox I had used was in the BMW e39& e60’s, but now the DSG to me, has grown up. I rarely have to use the tiptronic going down steep hills as the ‘box now changes down its self.

The CR140 engine isgreat, it has noticeably loosened up over the first 1700 miles, and I’m sure it will do much more with more miles. The power delivery is far superior than the PD140 of my old Octavia, which was all or nothing, which made it feel fast, but wasn’t any faster. I do feel that it need more oomph when joining dual carriageways & motorways. The remap will sort that out…

The 4x4. The biggest difference. No wheel spin, just acceleration. Traction on ice & snow as mentioned above was brilliant.

I love Xenons so it is wonderful to get them back, and the cornering function when you are going round bends as speed. Brilliant. The cornering fogs work well at low speeds as well, though I would like to turn them off independently of the cornering function of the xenons.

I used the cruise control a little on my trip, but it wasn’t safe to use it too often on my trip due to the conditions.

I love the way we can program loads through the maxidot computer.

The road holding is excellent, the ride is better than my Octavia was on Koni FSD’s by miles and better than my worn out Polo’s suspension!

The white can get very dirty and there is a big build up of dirt on the foils by the rear doors whichI’m glad are fitted.

The boot door gets very dirty and in the weather we have just had all the handles get dirty so you can’t get in the car without getting your hands dirty.

The door mirrors seem to attract salt, and rain, making it hard to see through them, especially at night.

The side windows also attract running rain.

It is best not to wash the windscreen if you are stationary, otherwise the car can get covered in screen wash!

The mirror-dimming feature is great, but missing from the passenger door mirror. Why?

The heated mirror control is very easy to leave on all the time, as it is not on a timer. Again Why?

Almost every time Ihave filled up with fuel it has been dark and it is very difficult to see whenit is up to the brim.

On the Columbus Ihaven’t yet been able to set the default setting to be no sound, turning it on when I want it, not on all the time, even if it is on quite low. (shows 0 onscreen).

Bluetooth GSM11 telephone preparation works like a dream, very clear for both parties with my iPhone 4.

I miss having a few smaller cubby holes around the cockpit like my Octavia had.

Overall this is the best and most comfortable car I have ever owned, possibly driven. Many people have said that it is expensive for a Skoda. I have the most expensive model, with many expensive options fitted. I personally believe that it is very good value compared to the competition.

I like her……loads and loads! And can’t wait for an excuse to get out and drive…and when she has had her remap, Elsie will rule the snow!

Mike

[Rob666]

Great post! Thank you for sharing. Will be very interested to hear what you think post remap.

[hmibennett]

+1. What you say about problems with dirt on the hatch handle and rain on windows/mirrors is not surprising but it puzzles me that designers cannot achieve a compromise between aerodynamics and user-friendliness - eg by designing a concealed hatch handle that does not get covered in dirt (VW good for this).

[aerofurb]

Good report, Mike. Don't worry, when the roads aren't as filthy as they are at the moment, Tibetan White Yetis do a really good job of not looking that dirty.

Rain X on the side windows and mirrors really help with keeping the water from obscuring the vision. I agree, it's a shame a bit of time and oney isn't spent exploring the aerodynamics in these areas. I find the electric hatch release button easy to use without getting too dirty and at least there's the dongle thing for shutting the hatch without getting dirty (something you don't get on many cars).

I don't really know why but I've been blinded by traffic in the non-dipping pax mirror - the auto dipping other two are great.

Keep enjoying!

[Onesque]

Mike thanks for the post and pics, some good observations I enjoyed reading it.

[The Plumber]

Yes thanks Mike for an excellent post Like the graffiti by the way

TP

[Allams Skoda]

Great write up and lovely photos! Always like to know where our cars end up!

[rockhopper]

Great post! Thank you for sharing. Will be very interested to hear what you think post remap.

Remap booked for wednesday afternoon....Roll on wednesday.

will post my thoughts later.

Thanks all for your encouraging comments.

Mike

Edited 31 December, 2010 by rockhopper

[loadswine]

Its obviously going to be a Yeti week at Shark then Mike.

[redandwhitepauly]

Dont know if anyone else with a white monster has noticed, but it seems very easy to clean the crap off ?? Dont know if its just the wrong type of crap or just ice making it less adhesive but it just seems to wash straight off ?

[rockhopper]

Dont know if anyone else with a white monster has noticed, but it seems very easy to clean the crap off ?? Dont know if its just the wrong type of crap or just ice making it less adhesive but it just seems to wash straight off ?

Elsie is very easy to clean, but I did cheat and have the lifeshine treatment which makes a big difference.

Mike

Edited 1 January, 2011 by rockhopper

[rockhopper]

Its obviously going to be a Yeti week at Shark then Mike.

You having yours done then? I'm up there Wednesday afternoon.

Mike

[loadswine]

Friday for me, we'll compare notes mate.

[900000]

Great review. I'm in Edinburgh as I type but had hardly any snow coming up on the 30th. Driving back tomorrow in sunshine apparently.

I had two bikes on the roof the week before to Cornwall and the fuel consumption dropped to 35mpg. Grrr. Coming here we were five up with my Kamei Delphin 380 litre roofbox. Car hardly noticed it with consumption dropping from my normal 42 on motorways to just over 40. Which is fine.

But that rear hatch is a magnet for dirt! And the boot latch always ends up dirty.

As to mirrors and side glass I have to go and get some Rainex for sure. They get very dirty.

But what a long distance car. You feel totally fresh when you arrive. And the DSG? Sublime. I'll never want to be without one ever again. That and cruise control makes a trip so relaxing. Just a pity Skoda can't learn from Mercedes or Audi as to how to make a cruise control stalk! The cencel being on top and the set resume on the side is a pain. Why not have set at the top (which you use less often) and have cancel and resume on the toggle?! Or better still a Merc style separate stalk. Up for faster, down for slower, forward for resume and back for cancel. Even a monkey can understand that and you never get that annoying click every time you press cancel.

[rockhopper]

Great review.

Thanks Johann. Long time no hear

But what a long distance car. You feel totally fresh when you arrive. And the DSG? Sublime. I'll never want to be without one ever again. That and cruise control makes a trip so relaxing. Just a pity Skoda can't learn from Mercedes or Audi as to how to make a cruise control stalk! The cencel being on top and the set resume on the side is a pain. Why not have set at the top (which you use less often) and have cancel and resume on the toggle?! Or better still a Merc style separate stalk. Up for faster, down for slower, forward for resume and back for cancel. Even a monkey can understand that and you never get that annoying click every time you press cancel.

To turn off the cruse control just push the rocker to the right until you feel pressure. Don't push it so far that it clicks. That way when you press resume, it will go back to your previous setting. I never turn mine off, so I can set it any time over 20mph.

Driving back tomorrow in sunshine apparently.

Have a safe speedy journey with lots of mpg

Mike

Edited 1 January, 2011 by rockhopper

[rockhopper]

Friday for me, we'll compare notes mate.

Have a good trip up & fun one back

Mike

[900000]

To turn off the cruse control just push the rocker to the right until you feel pressure. Don't push it so far that it clicks. That way when you press resume, it will go back to your previous setting. I never turn mine off, so I can set it any time over 20mph.

Thanks Mike. That is what I do with the rocker switch. I never switch mine off either, but even so it is not an intuitive system. But I'm getting used to it and will just have to live with its stupidity.

I hope for good mpg coming home too, but five up and fully loaded I'll just be happy to get the same 40 odd I had coming here!