Just thought I'd post my thoughts and queries after my first week with new motor.

 

I have moved straight from MKII to MKIII identical spec except for now 220 petrol from 160 Diesel.

 

So what do I think:

 

Exterior - I don't think pictures do it justice - I particularly like the front end, the bonnet shut on the wings and the head lights look really good, new grille better and also nice disguise of the forward pointing radar? for adaptive cruise among other things. Some nice details in the rear lights too.

 

Interior - I have cream leather and sun roof so inside is light and airy and a very nice place to be. First thing I noticed was the brightness of the front LED lights from roof center console - really light up the inside well.

Seats seem firmer than MKII but still easy to adjust and seat heating seems a lot quicker now.

Dials are nice two tone and look very good - easy to read and still have the initial needle sweep when ignition is turned on.

Rear seat passenger seem to have even more space ! along with heated seats and climate control (I think - haven't sat in back).

Climate control can now be adjusted in 0.5°C increments which is an improvement.

Columbus works as only Columbus can !

Infotainment is going to get some getting used to - at present I can get the sound i like from the system, sounds tinny and too forward but setup shows balance is central. If sub is turned up much beyond halfway it gets very loose. Further trial and error needed I think.

I cant get my iPOD Classic to connect via USB port - iPod 'sees' car but car cant see iPOD - any ideas out there - in MKII it connect fine via MF cable in arm rest.

My HTC M1 connected fine through Bluetooth and plays media.

NOW THE NOT SO GREAT - The car is bigger without doubt BUT I have less usable space !!

The glove box has CD player in it so its smaller inside, the box under the arm rest is smaller due to the slant of the top lid.

There is a cup holder of sorts in front of the arm rest but again its too small to hold a drinks bottle.

Small pocket under climate control which just takes phone / pocket sized packet of Kleenex.

The draw to the right of the steering column now only just takes a single pair of sun glasses - it used to take 2 easily. And I have totally lost the sun glass storage area in the roof by the interior light controls.

- and its not because I have a sun roof now - had one in MKII. MKII had a very neat and simple rotary dial that did both sunroof blind and sunroof tilt + open close, now have two separate controls which take up an inordinate amount of space.

BUT FOR ME THE BIGGEST PROBLEM is that the rear seat no longer go nearly flat !! the base of the seat no longer swings up and out the way, this severely cuts down on load height. There is massive space behind front seats so I fail to see why they can not be made to move up out the way - VERY FRUSTRATING .

 

Engine / Gearbox / Suspension / Lights - Well I'm only 300miles in and so can really be that objective at present. Having moved from diesel to petrol everything is a lot smoother - start/stop almost unnoticeable. Running the engine in as per Rainmaker but I can see already fun is just around the corner. At present MPG sitting at 37mpg for 300 mixed miles and running on vPower fuel.

Trick multi option suspension looks interesting - have played a bit with it - comfort mode reminds me of my old hydro pneumatic Citroen's of old, nice around town just don't push it. Normal mode seems OK, car was in sport when i picked it up and it did seem hard, but will wait till over 600 miles to test more. Eco mode not sure what it does other than car will coast (revs drop to tick over speed) when foot not pressing accelerator - guess every little helps .

I feel Stop / Start cuts in a bit early - perhaps before car has even come to a stop - need to monitor.

Car has come from factory with Hankook tyres on - seem a bit noisier that Good years on MKII.

DSG box is fab - all cars should have it.

Adaptive lights are a revelation - worth the upgrade, they know where to shine !!

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) - Great step forward from std and good fun in town with auto breaking !

Lane Assist (LA) - the car steers itself ! Coming along A14 with ACC & LA on car was driving and steering around the corners - not sure it would work on tighter bends but as long as the white lines are in good nick and bends not too sharp it works. Puts a smile on my face

 

Think that's about it for now, more perhaps in months time.

 

Overall I'm very happy out of 10 at present 7.5 (main

 

Have a few questions - anyone any answers ?

Can I connect my iPOD classic to infotainment system?

Can I shut the sunroof from key fob - used to on MKII with a long press of lock button?

Can KESSY system lock on proximity or do you always have to press key to  lock ?

Does electronic hand break always need to be put on when parking - on other cars I have had it auto engages when engine is turned off.

 

Smudger

 

 

13 minutes ago, Smudgers said:

Can I connect my iPOD classic to infotainment system?

Probably not. There was a thread running where someone was getting a USB read error with their iPod Classic. I borrowed a 5th generation 80GB iPod Classic to try out and got the same USB read error.

You'll be better off copying the contents of your iPod Classic to an SD Card. All the audio and video formats supported by the iPod Classic are also supported by the infotainment - except DRM protected files.

17 minutes ago, Smudgers said:

Can I shut the sunroof from key fob - used to on MKII with a long press of lock button?

Works on my MY16 hatchback, closing sunroof and windows. There was a service update for the MY16 Combi panoramic roof to prevent auto-closing so it is probably now shipped with the function disabled.

22 minutes ago, Smudgers said:

Can KESSY system lock on proximity or do you always have to press key to  lock ?

No it doesn't work on proximity but you don't need to use the key fob either. Just tap the rear outer edge of either front door handle after closing the door. Double-tap if you want to lock the car without the dead lock and alarm activating (so it can still be opened from inside if someone is remaining in the car or prevent a pet activating the alarm).

I'm pleased it doesn't work on proximity. I had that on a Renault Keyless and every time I got out to pay for fuel or pop into a newsagent it would lock the car with my passenger(s) still inside and set off the alarm. I had to get into the habit of taking the fob out of my pocket and leaving it on the driver's seat.

Regarding the iPod Classic - I suspect this is due to the Classic not running iOS. The infotainment user manual does specifically mention it supports Apple iOS devices.

1 hour ago, Smudgers said:

Does electronic hand break always need to be put on when parking - on other cars I have had it auto engages when engine is turned off.

If you enable auto-hold then the electronic park brake does activate when you turn the engine off.

I have auto-hold permanently enabled but on rare occasions need to switch it off when manoeuvring in tight spaces, then I turn it back on again before switching off the engine.

So you have 18 inch rims ?

BillyJim,

Thanks for the info, I understand about the iPOD, will take your advise and migrate to SD card. Could you tell me how to proceed with that and also how do I know which files have DRM on ?

Will VCD sort out the sunroof closing issue ?

I thought I had Auto-Hold enguaged - will check today.

 

Corbu33 - yes running on standard 18" Silver Pegusus - car has Moon white body

 

There's no obvious way to see if a file is DRM protected until you try to play it. If you obtained video from the Apple iTunes Store they will almost certainly be DRM protected (FairPlay). Apple stopped using DRM for audio in 2009/2010. If you have songs that were purchased from Apple earlier than that then simply delete them from iTunes and reload them from Apple to get a DRM-free version without needing to repurchase (after deleting go to iTunes -> Music -> Store -> Purchased -> Not in My Library).

Before copying to an SD Card (or USB drive if you prefer) bear in mind there is a limit of 1000 files per folder and approximately 10000 files/folders in total.

To copy your songs to an SD Card either;-

1. Go to your music library on your computer and copy the files to the card/USB. If using iTunes and the default "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" setting is active then the library containing the music files is located in User -> Music -> iTunes Media.
2. Highlight all the songs/albums you want in the iTunes music list. Select Copy, open a window to your SD Card/USB and select Paste. Not recommended if you have a large selection as they are copied to the root (i.e., not into any folders).

 

Not sure about VCDS for the sunroof. Doesn't affect the Hatchback so I've never looked.

 

Auto Hold is not enabled from new. You have to manually turn it on about three or four times between ignition starts and it will then be enabled by default. When it's enabled and you come to a stop the green P light is displayed. When you turn the ignition off the red P light is displayed as it switches automatically from Auto Hold to Park Brake.

42 minutes ago, BillyJim said:

There's no obvious way to see if a file is DRM protected until you try to play it. If you obtained video from the Apple iTunes Store they will almost certainly be DRM protected (FairPlay). Apple stopped using DRM for audio in 2009/2010. If you have songs that were purchased from Apple earlier than that then simply delete them from iTunes and reload them from Apple to get a DRM-free version without needing to repurchase (after deleting go to iTunes -> Music -> Store -> Purchased -> Not in My Library).

Before copying to an SD Card (or USB drive if you prefer) bear in mind there is a limit of 1000 files per folder and approximately 10000 files/folders in total.

To copy your songs to an SD Card either;-

1. Go to your music library on your computer and copy the files to the card/USB. If using iTunes and the default "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" setting is active then the library containing the music files is located in User -> Music -> iTunes Media.
2. Highlight all the songs/albums you want in the iTunes music list. Select Copy, open a window to your SD Card/USB and select Paste. Not recommended if you have a large selection as they are copied to the root (i.e., not into any folders).

 

Not sure about VCDS for the sunroof. Doesn't affect the Hatchback so I've never looked.

 

Auto Hold is not enabled from new. You have to manually turn it on about three or four times between ignition starts and it will then be enabled by default. When it's enabled and you come to a stop the green P light is displayed. When you turn the ignition off the red P light is displayed as it switches automatically from Auto Hold to Park Brake.

Why isn't auto hold enabled from new? Surely if you enable it once it should stay enabled.  Doesn't say anything about that in my manual. 

Edited 11 March, 20179 yr by tigermad

5 minutes ago, tigermad said:

Doesn't say anything about that in my manual. 

It does in mine...

 

Quote

Activation/deactivation
The activation and deactivation of the system (Auto-Hold) is done by pressing the symbol key (A).
When the system is activated, the symbol illuminates.
After switching off and switching on the ignition system several times the system remains either activated or deactivated depending on the last setting.

 

I've never comprehended the logic as to why it works that way.

7 minutes ago, BillyJim said:

It does in mine...

 

 

I've never comprehended the logic as to why it works that way.

Cheers. That's certainly weird. I haven't got my car yet but been reading the manual. How come auto hold has an "A" symbol the same as stop start? Or is it all rolled in to one?

Edited 11 March, 20179 yr by tigermad
Spelling

17 hours ago, Smudgers said:

Just thought I'd post my thoughts and queries after my first week with new motor.

 

I have moved straight from MKII to MKIII identical spec except for now 220 petrol from 160 Diesel.

 

So what do I think:

 

Exterior - I don't think pictures do it justice - I particularly like the front end, the bonnet shut on the wings and the head lights look really good, new grille better and also nice disguise of the forward pointing radar? for adaptive cruise among other things. Some nice details in the rear lights too.

 

Interior - I have cream leather and sun roof so inside is light and airy and a very nice place to be. First thing I noticed was the brightness of the front LED lights from roof center console - really light up the inside well.

Seats seem firmer than MKII but still easy to adjust and seat heating seems a lot quicker now.

Dials are nice two tone and look very good - easy to read and still have the initial needle sweep when ignition is turned on.

Rear seat passenger seem to have even more space ! along with heated seats and climate control (I think - haven't sat in back).

Climate control can now be adjusted in 0.5°C increments which is an improvement.

Columbus works as only Columbus can !

Infotainment is going to get some getting used to - at present I can get the sound i like from the system, sounds tinny and too forward but setup shows balance is central. If sub is turned up much beyond halfway it gets very loose. Further trial and error needed I think.

I cant get my iPOD Classic to connect via USB port - iPod 'sees' car but car cant see iPOD - any ideas out there - in MKII it connect fine via MF cable in arm rest.

My HTC M1 connected fine through Bluetooth and plays media.

NOW THE NOT SO GREAT - The car is bigger without doubt BUT I have less usable space !!

The glove box has CD player in it so its smaller inside, the box under the arm rest is smaller due to the slant of the top lid.

There is a cup holder of sorts in front of the arm rest but again its too small to hold a drinks bottle.

Small pocket under climate control which just takes phone / pocket sized packet of Kleenex.

The draw to the right of the steering column now only just takes a single pair of sun glasses - it used to take 2 easily. And I have totally lost the sun glass storage area in the roof by the interior light controls.

- and its not because I have a sun roof now - had one in MKII. MKII had a very neat and simple rotary dial that did both sunroof blind and sunroof tilt + open close, now have two separate controls which take up an inordinate amount of space.

BUT FOR ME THE BIGGEST PROBLEM is that the rear seat no longer go nearly flat !! the base of the seat no longer swings up and out the way, this severely cuts down on load height. There is massive space behind front seats so I fail to see why they can not be made to move up out the way - VERY FRUSTRATING .

 

Engine / Gearbox / Suspension / Lights - Well I'm only 300miles in and so can really be that objective at present. Having moved from diesel to petrol everything is a lot smoother - start/stop almost unnoticeable. Running the engine in as per Rainmaker but I can see already fun is just around the corner. At present MPG sitting at 37mpg for 300 mixed miles and running on vPower fuel.

Trick multi option suspension looks interesting - have played a bit with it - comfort mode reminds me of my old hydro pneumatic Citroen's of old, nice around town just don't push it. Normal mode seems OK, car was in sport when i picked it up and it did seem hard, but will wait till over 600 miles to test more. Eco mode not sure what it does other than car will coast (revs drop to tick over speed) when foot not pressing accelerator - guess every little helps .

I feel Stop / Start cuts in a bit early - perhaps before car has even come to a stop - need to monitor.

Car has come from factory with Hankook tyres on - seem a bit noisier that Good years on MKII.

DSG box is fab - all cars should have it.

Adaptive lights are a revelation - worth the upgrade, they know where to shine !!

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) - Great step forward from std and good fun in town with auto breaking !

Lane Assist (LA) - the car steers itself ! Coming along A14 with ACC & LA on car was driving and steering around the corners - not sure it would work on tighter bends but as long as the white lines are in good nick and bends not too sharp it works. Puts a smile on my face

 

Think that's about it for now, more perhaps in months time.

 

Overall I'm very happy out of 10 at present 7.5 (main

 

Have a few questions - anyone any answers ?

Can I connect my iPOD classic to infotainment system?

Can I shut the sunroof from key fob - used to on MKII with a long press of lock button?

Can KESSY system lock on proximity or do you always have to press key to  lock ?

Does electronic hand break always need to be put on when parking - on other cars I have had it auto engages when engine is turned off.

 

Smudger

 

 

I have a MY17 hatch and the sun roof does close all windows and roof with long press on the key fob.

A long press opens all windows and just tilt the roof.

To lock the car without the alarm i.e. a dog inside, press the isolator button on the bottom of the B pillar.

iPod classic does not work.

 

 

Small difference...

Probably upset the parent company if they used "SS"

 

Start-Stop and Auto-Hold function independently. I think the vast majority are in favour of Auto-Hold enabled, less so Start-Stop. I have them both enabled.

Start-Stop has its quirks but you can quickly adapt to them and use it to your advantage.

Quote

BUT FOR ME THE BIGGEST PROBLEM is that the rear seat no longer go nearly flat !! the base of the seat no longer swings up and out the way, this severely cuts down on load height. There is massive space behind front seats so I fail to see why they can not be made to move up out the way - VERY FRUSTRATING .

The seat cusions now have to be fixed for the ISOFLEX seats, and yes, it is annoying that they do not swing forwards,

But you can get the seats to go flat if you remove all three of the rear headrests, a bit annoying to have to do this but easy enough, use the emergency key in the slots to get them off completely, the manual shows you how.

12 minutes ago, philsmith said:

The seat cusions now have to be fixed for the ISOFLEX seats, and yes, it is annoying that they do not swing forwards,

But you can get the seats to go flat if you remove all three of the rear headrests, a bit annoying to have to do this but easy enough, use the emergency key in the slots to get them off completely, the manual shows you how.

Not sure about that the set base in my mondeo rotated forward as the isofix loops were fastened to the floor pan. If Škoda fastened the loops to the seat rails then I suppose that might be the case.

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

BillyJim, nailed it with the E Parking brake & iPod - Library now on two SD cards and working fine - too big for the Columbus HDD - do we know a maximum capacity for the SD cards ?

 

I find it very strange that on the hatch the sunroof works with the key and on the estate it will not

 

16 hours ago, philsmith said:

The seat cusions now have to be fixed for the ISOFLEX seats, and yes, it is annoying that they do not swing forwards,

But you can get the seats to go flat if you remove all three of the rear headrests, a bit annoying to have to do this but easy enough, use the emergency key in the slots to get them off completely, the manual shows you how.

 

philsmith - any chance of a pic of the seats "flat" I cant see taking my head restraints off will help - perhaps I have different seats ?

So how you find the ride with 18 wheels and dcc ? What tyres do you have on ?

 

do you have canton ? Any rattles in the dash or anywhere else for that matter ?

4 hours ago, Smudgers said:

do we know a maximum capacity for the SD cards ?

It will certainly read cards up to 256 GB. The limiting factor is not the card size but the number of files/folders the system can read before it runs out of database/scan capability - which seems to be around 10,000.

If only using lossy audio formats like mp3 and m4a then there's probably little to be gained in using cards greater than 64 GB, 128 GB if they're mostly highest bit rates. If you use lossless formats like Apple Lossless and FLAC or any kind of video then you may want to supersize.

Corbu33

 

Ride is good with 18" wheels, I can certainly tell the differenc between Comfort, Normal and Sport settings. Comfort is fine around town for me but might be too soft for some. The tires are Hankook Ventus Prime² 235/45 94W. Jury is still out at present, used to have Goodyear on my MKII and they were great. There is a lot more road roar at motorway speeds in the MKIII but dont know if thats down to the tires or less acoustic treatments in the petrol version MKIII, my MKII was a diesel and was quieter at motorway speed.

 

Yes have Canton - L&K spec as std I think ? Still need to play with it to get sound I like, there is now a sub in the nsr compartment in the boot, this takes up about half the compartment. Had a bit of a play yesterday and I think it has potential from around 50% volume upwards. Would be intersted to know how others here have theirs set up. Guess it also depends on source material so need to experiment with that also.

 

No creaks or rattles all solid and silent at present. Dash all seems fine.

Edited 12 March, 20179 yr by Smudgers

I presume the model of the alloys is pegassus ?

 

can you check with your dealer if you have these internal codes 2b1 and or 3w6 3w3, all related to sound insulation... or maybe you know already

 

when was yours manufacturated?

Edited 12 March, 20179 yr by Corbu33