I would not in an EV, that's the point, you'd have to stop every ~100 miles or so for a 15min recharge (assuming Tesla fastest charger) so yes, that makes no sense at all.

It does make sense in a 150bhp+ non-SUV diesel at night, it saves time and is fun, I have been doing it 8-22 times a year, half on business, half to visit family in other countries in Europe, for the past 25+ years so not really a novelty for me, just a regular chore. Why buy a fast, long distance motorway runner car otherwise?

Most people do not travel in their cars further than work, school and shopping, but by this measure, car manufacturers would never need to make more advanced cars than say a Fiat 500 or a Multipla. A milk float with a couch thrown in at the back would be enough for many applications ;)

Anyway, to sum up the points from several posts above, a 2WD, 150bhp+ diesel, manual gearbox, medium size non-SUV car with 50l+ fuel tank and decent headlights that work well both in UK and in Europe seems to be a long term enemy of Skoda/VAG marketing and product specification departments. ☹️
Latest round of factory spec manual gearbox diesel VAG (incl Skoda) cars only come out in 116bhp 2.0TDI guise, and on most if not all of these you cannot have headlights that work equally well in LH/RH traffic due to basic trim level where this engine is exclusively available.

Edited 22 July, 202522 Jul by dieselV6

9 hours ago, whippersnapper said:

If you drive a sporty wagon like me you are already in a distinct minority. Most people buy SUVs and don't care about dynamics. I have access to to older classic cars and love driving manual and caused an uproar when I lived in the US by factory ordering a manual BMW330i M Sport and then an Infiniti G37S. I think the DSG in my 4.5 Octavia RS Combi is very snappy and nice to use and the reality is despite what others have argued almost no-one wants to drive a manual. I'm 56 and still have two motorcycles, I'm an ex racer. If I get too old to ride one day I'll get something like a Boxster GTS 4.0 to replace it and yes it will be a manual because it will be a toy.

I completely agree. Most people were quite surprised I wanted an auto, having passed my test after Covid. I love heel-toeing as much as the next person, but in reality I do that what, 1 time out of 100? The other 99 times are in the real world, in traffic, and having an auto with ACC is just better. I wouldn’t go for a CVT or something mind, it would have to be a DCT/DSG or a nice ZF torque converter.

BTW - as brilliant as the manual box in the 718 is, that PDK is hard to ignore. It’s absolutely amazing.

If I was where I want to be in life, right now, I’d have a vRS/S4/S5/M340 as the main car, something like a shaggy 2009 Fabia/Polo to take into town so everyone can key it and open doors onto it, and then an Exige.

2 hours ago, dieselV6 said:

I would not in an EV, that's the point, you'd have to stop every ~100 miles or so for a 15min recharge (assuming Tesla fastest charger) so yes, that makes no sense at all.

It does make sense in a 150bhp+ non-SUV diesel at night, it saves time and is fun, I have been doing it 8-22 times a year, half on business, half to visit family in other countries in Europe, for the past 25+ years so not really a novelty for me, just a regular chore. Why buy a fast, long distance motorway runner car otherwise?

Most people do not travel in their cars further than work, school and shopping, but by this measure, car manufacturers would never need to make more advanced cars than say a Fiat 500 or a Multipla. A milk float with a couch thrown in at the back would be enough for many applications ;)

Anyway, to sum up the points from several posts above, a 2WD, 150bhp+ diesel, manual gearbox, medium size non-SUV car with 50l+ fuel tank and decent headlights that work well both in UK and in Europe seems to be a long term enemy of Skoda/VAG marketing and product specification departments. ☹️
Latest round of factory spec manual gearbox diesel VAG (incl Skoda) cars only come out in 116bhp 2.0TDI guise, and on most if not all of these you cannot have headlights that work equally well in LH/RH traffic due to basic trim level where this engine is exclusively available.

Well, that’s probably because the people that buy those cars, don’t want that stuff!

• FWD (take it or leave it, most like AWD for the dusting of snow we get here)

• 150bhp and above isn’t required for going around town

• Diesel is bad and kills polar bears

• Manuals are, as above, a dying breed in the average consumer car

• The average consumer wants an SUV or a crossover.

• Fuel tank, eh… most people don’t go far enough and most engines are efficient enough it doesn’t make sense to do a larger tank

• Headlights are subjective - I found the Matrix ones work very well in both the UK and France, but YMMV. If only we had a limitation on lumen output, like the US…

11 minutes ago, OccyVRS said:

I completely agree. Most people were quite surprised I wanted an auto, having passed my test after Covid. I love heel-toeing as much as the next person, but in reality I do that what, 1 time out of 100? The other 99 times are in the real world, in traffic, and having an auto with ACC is just better. I wouldn’t go for a CVT or something mind, it would have to be a DCT/DSG or a nice ZF torque converter.

BTW - as brilliant as the manual box in the 718 is, that PDK is hard to ignore. It’s absolutely amazing.

If I was where I want to be in life, right now, I’d have a vRS/S4/S5/M340 as the main car, something like a shaggy 2009 Fabia/Polo to take into town so everyone can key it and open doors onto it, and then an Exige.

Interesting we have the RS and a 2012 Polo GTI that kids get to use too.

On 22/07/2025 at 09:15, dieselV6 said:

Most people do not travel in their cars further than work, school and shopping, but by this measure, car manufacturers would never need to make more advanced cars than say a Fiat 500 or a Multipla. A milk float with a couch thrown in at the back would be enough for many applications ;)

Anyway, to sum up the points from several posts above, a 2WD, 150bhp+ diesel, manual gearbox, medium size non-SUV car with 50l+ fuel tank and decent headlights that work well both in UK and in Europe seems to be a long term enemy of Skoda/VAG marketing and product specification departments. ☹️
Latest round of factory spec manual gearbox diesel VAG (incl Skoda) cars only come out in 116bhp 2.0TDI guise, and on most if not all of these you cannot have headlights that work equally well in LH/RH traffic due to basic trim level where this engine is exclusively available.

An interesting tidbit I found on Autoexpress website may point to Skoda Auto at least not having utterly lost the plot yet after all...

Skoda Fabia, Scala and Kamiq to remain on sale until 2030

It seems that a lot more people do want these old-fashioned, small to medium sized, 2WD, non-SUV, non hybrid nor electric, and often manual gearbox Skodas after all 🙃

I am only hoping they will eventually bring back the manual diesel Scala (it was in the range about 6 years ago) at some point in the next 5 years, once it is even more evident that electric and petrol hybrid cars are not the answer for everyone. A 130bhp+ diesel Scala (assuming it kept the 50l fuel tank) would be a car worth buying new for me, certainly more than any electric or petrol hybrid offering.

I could also quote the latest Q2 results for Audi and Porsche falling car sales results to illustrate what happens when sensible and long term cherished petrol and diesel drivetrains (e.g. 3L V6 TDI tiptronic) are axed in the name of electrification fad, but I will leave it as an exercise for the reader 🙂

The issue was the 1.6tdi and AdBlue and not getting what they required emissions wise for the WLTP and RDE2. No chance of kidoligy anymore.

10 hours ago, Ootohere said:

The issue was the 1.6tdi and AdBlue and not getting what they required emissions wise for the WLTP and RDE2. No chance of kidoligy anymore.

I read somewhere that VW group are no longer doing any development or improvements on diesel engines.

I suspect the key dates are euro7 (29 Nov 26 for new models), with existing models able to continue a year until November 2027. And Euro7 has to be good for 10 years or 200,000km (124,000 miles), so an emissions system that partly clogs up a few years into a vehicles life isn't going to be good enough.

Accordingly I would not be surprised if the remaining diesel engines are dropped spring 2027 so none are left in stock by November 2027

Regarding extending life of the Fabia, Scala, Kamiq to 2030, has also been announced for Arona and Ibiza, and I understand Polo and T-Cross. I would guess there will be usual minor facelift (different wheels, a few minor tweaks etc) but basically a continuation of current models.

My guess is all these will get a slimmed down range as the Epiq, Raval and VW ID2 models build up production in 2026. VW group doesn't want to be competing directly with itself, it is having to compete with likes of Kia for innovation, and more budget brands like Dacia and Fiat for cheap runarounds. Even a bottom of range Fabia is not a simple budget second car like the original Ford Fiesta popular.

I think they have given up on the cheap second car for running popping into town market (do you really need connectivity, and lots of gadgets to find your regular corner shop / local supermarket, or do a regular school run). They have priced themselves out of the basic car market.

I Think over the last 10 years, Skoda carved out quite a nice segment for itself, all the models from the last 10 years look good, are affordable and drive reasonably well. For someone like myself, Id prefer a sporty driving station car(the first car i drove when i had a license was an Alfa 159 sw). However, since the demand of SUVs increases over the years, i believe this segment is a dying breed, except for the top line models of very expensive german brands and tuners, like the RS6 or or alpina B5.

Hope skoda keeps on making these awesome station cars for the upcoming years, since for the price, there is little competition.

@M035 Is this estate cars? Are they the Octavia and Superb estates? Not so well priced in the UK new now. Once they get out the Octavia Estate size BEV they will maybe be onto a winner. And a light commercial version.

50 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

@M035 Is this estate cars? Are they the Octavia and Superb estates? Not so well priced in the UK new now. Once they get out the Octavia Estate size BEV they will maybe be onto a winner. And a light commercial version.

Yes, that's indeed what I mean. I agree the new ones are quite expensive now. Unfortunately, i also do not see that much of an alternative in this market unfortunately...

@M035 Is it a Fabia Estate / Combi you have? Pity they are no longer produced.

Edited 30 July, 202530 Jul by Ootohere

I guess what makes us go search for another car or not is how well the current car is fitting what we currently want from it.

A bit of context:

Me and my wife started with a 2008 Dacia Logan 1.4 petrol, brand new, our first car. Good car, but we wanted a safer one, especially as we started going on holiday in longer trips in Greece and Turkiye, so we bought a new 2013 Chevrolet Cruze 1.8 petrol. Absolutely loved the car, awesome engine sound, but we wanted more space, 4x4 and an SUV made sense.

For some time now, around 2018, both my wife and I driving, so we have two cars, one as a daily driver and one as a long drive / vacation car. Of course we drive both of them regularly, not being healthy for a car to stay unused for more than a week. We had a 2011 Dacia Logan 1.2 petrol, inherited from my father in law in 2018, and a 2017 Hyundai Tucson 4x4 2.0 diesel. In 2024, we changed the 2011 Dacia Logan with a 2024 Hyundai I20, as we wanted a safer car, some extra options (AC, reverse camera, heated side mirrors) and the 2017 Hyundai Tucson with a 2024 VW Tiguan Allspace R line 4motion, the 190 HP one.

So, comes 2025, we placed the order for the Skoda Kodiaq and for a Mazda 3.

Getting back to the OP:

Skoda Kodiaq is the 2025 VRS model, comes to address the many issues I had with the Tiguan (made in Mexico). None technical (except for some rare alerts from sensors, but no actions from the car), rather quality (gaps, build, finishing) and functional (infotainment position, seats manual and not that comfortable, seating position). I have the car for a month now, drove about 2000 km and will add 4000 km in a week or so. So far, I'm very happy with it. I loved the looks of the Tiguan, I considered Kodiaq not that good looking, but now having the car, it grew on me, it's a different kind of beauty, bulkier and reassuring. Three issues with it, but none that would have made me not buying it: no massage seats (no option to add them either, having the updated interior already), no direct TPMS sensors (no option to add them, had this in the Tiguan) and the armrest has only one position up and requires to be extended (the Tiguan had more). Other than this, I actually like the car very much, drives nicely, suspension is nice, response is good, consumption is not that bad (gently caressing the gas pedal allowed us 7.1-7.2 L/100KM on a long journey, while city driving at rush hour, under 20 KMPH average speed means 12-14 L/100KM, but we were aware of this and we bought it as a long drive car, not as a city commuter), seats are great (comfy, adjustable, electric, thigh extender is great - I was avoiding sport seats and was affraid of the headrest, but no issue there), useful HUD, headlights are at least the same level as the Tiguan, same space in the boot or a bit more, and the list can continue. What would make me change it? Technical problems. Not being confident that the car is safe, not having the peace of mind that I can go on a 2000 KM trip and I'm not left stranded somewhere in the middle of nowhere, middle of the night, raining, cold etc. Other than this, no minor things like gear selector, bips, touchscreen options or whatever can make me change it. I knew what I was buying after many hours of material consumed, test drive and checking the car.

Mazda 3 is a beautiful car with high safety, reliability, customer satisfaction and an awesome driving feeling. I did not get the car yet, but the test drive was an absolute banger, I spent 2 hours driving not realizing, just pure joy. A daily driver, not as practical or economical as the I20, but better quality, better interior, better looks, more power (opted for the Skyactive X with 186 HP). Makes sense? Maybe not, but I just fell in love with the car. I mentioned Mazda as I also considered CX 5, CX 60 and CX 80. Maybe in the future one of these will be an option to replace the Kodiaq, as they are all beautiful cars with very good quality and technically reliable, but for now, they aren't an option, as CX 5 is smaller then the Kodiaq and the engine option in RO is just bad (141 HP, AWD, 2.5 petrol), while the CX 60 and 80 have less boot space and the engine options are not attractive for me (either a 3.3 diesel or a 2.5 petrol PHEV). We'll see in the future.

So, in short, reliability can make me look somewhere else, otherwise I can say I have all that I want already, so I can consider myself happy. I would order again both even now.