Good Reviews of 1.5 engine!

[granty09]

15 minutes ago, StEdmund said:

Considering that this thread is entitled 'Good reviews of the 1.5 engine', I can't clearly identified any posts from owners who are delighted with their 1.5 manual.

Agreed, after the first couple of posts it just turned into a 'Problem' topic again, but there we go!

[StEdmund]

15 minutes ago, granty09 said:

Agreed, after the first couple of posts it just turned into a 'Problem' topic again, but there we go!

 

There are some posts from owners who are happy with their dsg Karoqs; there are no posts, as far as I can see, from owners with manual boxes. Maybe that should tell you something?

[OldKaroq]

49 minutes ago, granty09 said:

It's good to actually hear a decent personal review of the car, there are people out there who like the car and have positive experiences I much prefer a firm seat, same with mattresses although that's another conversation. I'm coming from a car with firm sports suspension so hopefully the firm seats won't be too much of a problem on long journeys  

 

I must stress that I find the seats perfectly comfortable for at least the first hour+ of driving. My wife puts the problem down to me - having a bony bot. My good lady is in possession of a - how do I put this delicately- a little more padding in the derriere department? Not a problem for her. Apparently. 

[granty09]

12 minutes ago, OldKaroq said:

I must stress that I find the seats perfectly comfortable for at least the first hour+ of driving. My wife puts the problem down to me - having a bony bot. My good lady is in possession of a - how do I put this delicately- a little more padding in the derriere department? Not a problem for her. Apparently. 

I think that was delicate enough I have a similar problem to you, and my wife, a similar.....aid? (I'm sure there's a better word), as your wife!

[Previouslyrobygerrard]

14 hours ago, granty09 said:

I thought it would it be good for people, who have yet to take delivery of their Karoq (including myself), more specifically people with the 1.5 engine in both manual and DSG, to hear from people who haven't encountered any problems with the 'kangarooing' with their car. I haven't come across many, if any, posts regarding the engine not having any problems and I think it would just be good to hear from these Karoq owners as generally problems are shouted about more than non problems! Having recently purchased the SE L 1.5 DSG it would just be good to know that there are some owners who don't suffer the apparent fault. Maybe useful to specify whether you own a manual or DSG Thanks peeps! 

No problems here. Had it for 6 months - manual. No complaints except maybe about slightly disappointing fuel consumption. 

[Previouslyrobygerrard]

1 hour ago, StEdmund said:

Considering that this thread is entitled 'Good reviews of the 1.5 engine', I can't clearly identified any posts from owners who are delighted with their 1.5 manual.

I am thank you.

[Breezy]

When you look at a thread about this issue and see it running to about 45 pages it seems like everyone with a 1.5tsi manual has the problem and you then start panicking....have I done the right thing?

Now go back and look at that thread again. Yes there are hundreds of posts but when you look at how many actually have the issue and of those, how many find it unmanagable,it is about twenty people. Most of the posts are repeat conversations from the same contributors.

Yes there is an issue, but how big an issue and is it insurmountable?

Of course some individuals are having big issues that appear from what they say to be potentialy dangerous.

One or two have rejected vehicles too.

However, if you look at any car forum from Ford to Bentley you will find the same disgruntled owners with real issues, Stories of awful service, bad issues enough to worry about buying any vehicle at all.

Take comfort from the fact that the vast majority of owners are happily pootling around and dont involve themselves with forums.

They are the silent majority and most are happy with their cars.

None of this is intended to lessen the impact of those who do have a problem but there may be fewr than forum threads might make you think.

Edited 31 January, 2019 by Breezy

[Ootohere]

Bentley VW Group owned.   

Alasdair Stewart the Brand Manager of Skoda UK 3 directors back was a Senior Executive of Bentley and After Sales.

No longer with the VW Group. Then his replacement now with VW in USA. 

Now Rod McLeod, with VW since 1998.  Seems to like releasing good news stories only.

 

Ford RS engine disasters and discontinued.   1.0 EcoBoost engines / cars burnt out and owners being compensated, and buy backs on some years of manufacture.

 

 

Vorsprung Durch Technik.   

If you have built lemons then admit it quickly and then the negative publicity will be reduced.

 

If Honesty is the best policy and a Corporation follows that policy when 'Rebuilding Trust', that will go a long way.

 

Edited 31 January, 2019 by Skoffski

[FrankfurtDave]

I have the 1,5 in DSG and love it. I have no jerkiness at all and having come from Diesels before I love how quiet it is.

 

My biggest problem is forgetting to turn the ignition off sometimes as I do not notice the engine is still running.

 

Love it.

[Doogle69]

5 hours ago, womanofkent said:

 

Over thinking... that's me

 

We have had our Karoq DSG Edition 1.5 for a year today.  This is our first Skoda and I know that forums are often full of people wanting help with problems but I was thinking only the other day if I was looking now and reading all the tales of woe would I have persuaded my husband away from purchasing the car and I think I really would have, however, he loves the car and we haven't had problems with the DSG box.  Husband drives his on eco mode most of the time, what he likes is that you can flick the gearstick backwards at the approach to a busy roundabout and it will switch to sports mode, then flick back and it will revert to previous mode, so for those occasions where you need to accelerate quickly it is easily possible.  Just had its first service on Tuesday the only negative from the dealer was that they didn't have any windscreen wipers in stock, which he said the bosses were not happy about and couldn't work out how that had happened so I think that issue won't arise again.  We have heated windscreen and nozzles, mostly the car is kept in a garage but when husband finishes work tonight I am sure he will appreciate that as it is -3C today, he says it clears the screen so quickly and you can feel the screen is warmer in the heated area that the edges.  Waiting for him to come home tonight after filling up the tank we are going to see how many miles and what petrol consumption we've used over the year, only because we used to have a Lexus hybrid and it would be good to see the comparison.

Thanks for being so positive about what most of us believe is the best car we have ever owned. This is the first automatic I have used and it drives like a dream and is so comfortable over short or long distances. I think back to the prolonged delivery of my vehicle principally due to the WLTP fiasco and so many people on the Briskoda forum told me to hang on and don't cancel because its so worth waiting for! Where are all those owners now? I can only assume they have DSG transmissions and they are as happy as WomanofKent and myself. 

I really hope that VW group come up with a solution fast because otherwise the reputation of all 1.5tsi powered Karoq will be tarnished. 

[phd_agne]

 So it's a 3rd month of me driving the Karoq 1.5 DSG, and guess what? I love the car! It's my first Skoda and my first DSG. However, just noticed that with every new trip, I'm just falling in love with the car, again and again. You know it wasn't the love at the first glance, more like the rational choice price/size/specs/look/etc. but now I'm feeling like me and my Karoq is creating a really strong bond, I like it, enjoy it and feel no regrets! (Couple days before, and couple days after received keys I was really overthinking was it a good choice, but now- just wow!>)

[Marchincus]

I have a 1.5 manual and love it - I hadn't posted on this thread as it feels bad saying mine is so good when some others are obviously suffering.  I'm fortunate that I don't have any kangarooing and it is truly the best car I have ever had.  it does so many things so well and I can't get used to having so many toys in a car I can afford.  There is a slight hesitancy in 1st gear if you let revs fall below 1500/1600 but that is sorted by a quick flick of revs - if you put it in gear and let the clutch out steadily without touching the accelerator it pulls off with no hopping at all and then a constant steady increase in revs accelerates away smoothly. I can be cruising up to a roundabout in 2nd at 10 miles an hour, see a gap and accelerate away so that is also normal for me.  My Qashqai 1.2 had a lot more hesitancy and hopping in low gears - hence getting rid of it.  It cruise nicely on a motorway at 70mph with a unusual deep humming noise and I got 45mpg yesterday a 20 mile purely motorway trip which seems ok.  ACC is also amazing and I didn't realise until yesterday that if you indicate and change lane it seems to gauge the gap in the new lane and accelerate into it as you manoeuvre. don't even get me started on heated windscreen, seats and steering wheel - heaven! I suppose I have to say test drive the one you are buying as there is some combinations that have this kangarooing problem and you won't want that but I think there are a lot more that don't.  What I don't understand is why they can't work out what is right with the good ones and wrong in the others as the hardware should be the same _ I thought it was maybe depending on when they were built - mine was April 18 - but apparently there are examples with problems both before and after this period so I'm confused.

To me it is the best car and I love it in a way I couldn't love the Audi Q3 2.0 diesel quattro that I had before the Qashqai.  (If you get 19" wheels change them to 17" with cross Climate - amazing difference!)

[GlosJanner]

Had my 1.5TSi DSG since July 2018 and done just over 3K miles. No problems with the engine/gearbox combo. MPG could be a lot better having driven diesels for the past 20 years getting between 26 -35 mpg is a shocker but then my commute is 9 miles. LED lights are brilliant! Continental tyres not so much. Can spin these bad boys up with hardly any revs at all out of a junction and the traction control (cheap electronic control) rather than a proper slip diff cuts in through the first 3 gears if I am a bit peeved with it. Apparently Continental tyres are the bees knees, don't rate them at all but as I will be handing the car back before, hopefully, before they need swapping out I am stuck with them. Seats very good and heated, as is the steering wheel.

 

My biggest gripe is the front assist which has a mind of its own, giving spurious warnings and especially does not like the red reflectors on roadside posts. It has been back to the dealer but continues to annoy. 

[Breezy]

1 hour ago, GlosJanner said:

Had my 1.5TSi DSG since July 2018 and done just over 3K miles. No problems with the engine/gearbox combo. MPG could be a lot better having driven diesels for the past 20 years getting between 26 -35 mpg is a shocker but then my commute is 9 miles. LED lights are brilliant! Continental tyres not so much. Can spin these bad boys up with hardly any revs at all out of a junction and the traction control (cheap electronic control) rather than a proper slip diff cuts in through the first 3 gears if I am a bit peeved with it. Apparently Continental tyres are the bees knees, don't rate them at all but as I will be handing the car back before, hopefully, before they need swapping out I am stuck with them. Seats very good and heated, as is the steering wheel.

 

My biggest gripe is the front assist which has a mind of its own, giving spurious warnings and especially does not like the red reflectors on roadside posts. It has been back to the dealer but continues to annoy. 

Used to get spurious warnings with front assist on my Qashqai too. You can always switch it off but  so far Ive only had one warning so it seems to be set up quite well compared to my Qashqai.

[grandadpip]

I could not agree more with the comments from Breezy regarding this owners topic.My 1.5 manual has been an absolute delight in every respect and I do not regret at all my decision to purchase.Marchincus and others also repeat pertinent remarks on owners driving style regarding the first gear issue.I have replicated this and are willing to apply and have not found it impairs either the safety or enjoyment of the drive experience.Some owners cannot apply this as it would appear there are more serious characteristics or flaws to their individual car.

 

 

 

 

[womanofkent]

7 hours ago, GlosJanner said:

 getting between 26 -35 mpg is a shocker but then my commute is 9 miles.

 

My biggest gripe is the front assist which has a mind of its own, giving spurious warnings and especially does not like the red reflectors on roadside posts. It has been back to the dealer but continues to annoy. 

 

Just sat and calculated our full years petrol costs with calculations per litre as we have noted price of petrol/litre each time we've filled up.  Husband tends to drive in eco mode most of the time, he has a 10.7 mile round trip to work 2.5 miles one way on the M20 which is only one junction so probably doesn't move out of lane one he does this approx 22 days a month plus a 50 mile round trip mostly on dual carriageways 4 times a month plus short trips at weekend to our nearest town about 3 miles away then 8 trips to Central London and a few other hour or so trips.  

He always has the bluetooth connected to his phone and plays his music that way, he will also have electric seats on in winter and air con on in summer, and last year it was very hot in Kent plus the glass roof open when he can.

From 1st Feb 2018 to 31 Jan 2019 we have driven 8363 miles spent £1171.07 fuel at 957.54 litres which equates to 8.73mpl or 39.68mpg.  

 

We have had one episode where the front assist was affected by grasses on a country road going round a bend, did make the car behind us back off a bit, but I was very impressed the other day, husband was driving and I could see the car in front of the one in front of us just slammed its breaks on for no reason but from his angle he couldn't see it happen but the car display went red and beeped didn't get to the point of slamming on the brakes though.

 

[GlosJanner]

1 hour ago, womanofkent said:

 

Just sat and calculated our full years petrol costs with calculations per litre as we have noted price of petrol/litre each time we've filled up.  Husband tends to drive in eco mode most of the time, he has a 10.7 mile round trip to work 2.5 miles one way on the M20 which is only one junction so probably doesn't move out of lane one he does this approx 22 days a month plus a 50 mile round trip mostly on dual carriageways 4 times a month plus short trips at weekend to our nearest town about 3 miles away then 8 trips to Central London and a few other hour or so trips.  

He always has the bluetooth connected to his phone and plays his music that way, he will also have electric seats on in winter and air con on in summer, and last year it was very hot in Kent plus the glass roof open when he can.

From 1st Feb 2018 to 31 Jan 2019 we have driven 8363 miles spent £1171.07 fuel at 957.54 litres which equates to 8.73mpl or 39.68mpg.  

 

We have had one episode where the front assist was affected by grasses on a country road going round a bend, did make the car behind us back off a bit, but I was very impressed the other day, husband was driving and I could see the car in front of the one in front of us just slammed its breaks on for no reason but from his angle he couldn't see it happen but the car display went red and beeped didn't get to the point of slamming on the brakes though.

 

Hoping mine will get better mileage as it is run in but suspect the next one will either be hybrid or electric.

[Breezy]

40mpg is pretty reasonable for a petrol engine of this size and performance with DSG. Checkout real mpg for other 1.5 or 1.6 turbo petrol engines. I got 50mpg out of my diesel Qashqai and am quite happy to lose 10mpg when Im driving something as quiet and smooth as my DSG Karoq.

[womanofkent]

17 minutes ago, GlosJanner said:

Hoping mine will get better mileage as it is run in but suspect the next one will either be hybrid or electric.

 

Interestingly enough we traded in a hybrid Lexus IS300h.  In my opinion the government haven't helped this by the new vehicle excise duty rates.

 

Husband's old car came under the £10 a year category, however even if we had bought a new Lexus IS300h we would have paid the same as the Karoq, then factor in that we wanted a car on a higher platform we'd have been looking at RAV4, RX300 or NX range the latter 2 are much more expensive than the Karoq and would have come in over £40k so extra excise duty rates.  You also pay extra for the rav4 hybrid than the normal petrol version, so we crunched lots of numbers and sadly decided financially it was no longer better for us to have a hybrid with the mileage we did.  Hopefully there will be a change in the future, electric cars I am sceptical about at the moment with all the gadgets we have become accustomed to and the range they can do before a big charge, plus the incompatibility with the fast chargers that you fit to your house are currently manufacturer specific, and our electricity price keeps rising.  Plus the electricity in this country generally isn't clean at source so the emissions are still there.  Let's hope a solution is forthcoming soon.

[Previouslyrobygerrard]

On 31/01/2019 at 19:51, Marchincus said:

I have a 1.5 manual and love it - I hadn't posted on this thread as it feels bad saying mine is so good when some others are obviously suffering.  I'm fortunate that I don't have any kangarooing and it is truly the best car I have ever had.  it does so many things so well and I can't get used to having so many toys in a car I can afford.  There is a slight hesitancy in 1st gear if you let revs fall below 1500/1600 but that is sorted by a quick flick of revs - if you put it in gear and let the clutch out steadily without touching the accelerator it pulls off with no hopping at all and then a constant steady increase in revs accelerates away smoothly. I can be cruising up to a roundabout in 2nd at 10 miles an hour, see a gap and accelerate away so that is also normal for me.  My Qashqai 1.2 had a lot more hesitancy and hopping in low gears - hence getting rid of it.  It cruise nicely on a motorway at 70mph with a unusual deep humming noise and I got 45mpg yesterday a 20 mile purely motorway trip which seems ok.  ACC is also amazing and I didn't realise until yesterday that if you indicate and change lane it seems to gauge the gap in the new lane and accelerate into it as you manoeuvre. don't even get me started on heated windscreen, seats and steering wheel - heaven! I suppose I have to say test drive the one you are buying as there is some combinations that have this kangarooing problem and you won't want that but I think there are a lot more that don't.  What I don't understand is why they can't work out what is right with the good ones and wrong in the others as the hardware should be the same _ I thought it was maybe depending on when they were built - mine was April 18 - but apparently there are examples with problems both before and after this period so I'm confused.

To me it is the best car and I love it in a way I couldn't love the Audi Q3 2.0 diesel quattro that I had before the Qashqai.  (If you get 19" wheels change them to 17" with cross Climate - amazing difference!)

I'd go along with pretty much everything you said there mate. I've got a 1.5 SE Tech manual & fortunately have had none of the issues some others have had.

Only slight disappointment is fuel consumption cos I'm only getting about 35mpg but my daily commute is about 17 miles overall with lots of stop/start, rush hour traffic & waiting to get in car parks so I suppose this explains a lot.

I've been back & forth over the Snake Pass a few times recently with no problems & always feel relaxed & comfortable when I get home. 

I came from a diesel Octavia VRS which I miss for the torque & speed off the mark but refinement wise no contest.

Best car I've ever had..not sure but definitely one of the best. I like the VRS styling so ? an Octavia petrol next time. Love look of the Kodiaq VRS & Karoq Sportline but both expensive.

I'm jealous of your heated windscreen,  seats & steering wheel in this weather though!

Edited 2 February, 2019 by Previouslyrobygerrard
Additional point

[Apprentice]

Collected my Karoq SE 1.5 TSI manual (wk 50 build, model year 2019) two days ago and as I said in another post so far I haven't had any issues with the engine and gearbox, quite like the electric auto hold/handbrake system as well, first car I've owned with it fitted.

Cloth covered seats in the SE and they do feel firmer than the ones in my previous Honda and Subaru.

Some misting/condensation within the small light units after driving for around two hours but gone in the morning, I pointed it out to the dealer when car was collected.

Still obviously getting used to the Karoq and so far I am happy with the vehicle ....... time will tell.

 

Edit

All the driving I have done so far has been with the stop-start deactivated so will leave it in default next time I'm out and see if that changes things.

Edited 2 February, 2019 by Apprentice

[VAGCF]

On 30/01/2019 at 22:22, OldKaroq said:

 

I would not be at all happy with the manual from the way you describe it. My last 3 cars have been autos, this is my first DSG. I can't see myself with with a manual in the future. My wifes Fabia is a great car. But in town with 6 gears means constant gear changing. 

I don't see the DSG as storing up troubles. I don't expect the car to change from what it it does now. I intend to keep the car for around 5 years, (keeping up with warranties) It has done some 6,000 miles in 9 months.

I think this came from someone whose car lurches quite badly if driven quite slowly i.e. 20 mph. The supposition is that the DSG etc. will be put under more stress because of this lurching and the clutches will probably be engaging and disengaging more than usually required.

 

It's great that most folks are happy with their DSG Karoqs but I would be very unhappy if I was landed with one of the faulty ones. I'm unwilling to participate in what is effectively a lottery and have put off buying a new car until the design fault with the 1.5 petrols has been rectified.

 

There may "only" be 20 on this forum who have reported problems with the manual version but VW have been made aware enough to finally admit there is a fault. If so few, why have they done this? Because across the different marques and models it must be a big problem and getting bigger all the time as they are still selling defective cars and introducing new ones with this engine e.g. the Kodiaq and Arona.

[womanofkent]

1 hour ago, Apprentice said:

 

Some misting/condensation within the small light units after driving for around two hours but gone in the morning, I pointed it out to the dealer when car was collected.

 

 

you should find that goes soon, we noticed it a few days after owning the car this time last year and were ready to contact dealer but it soon went and never returned

[OldKaroq]

52 minutes ago, VAGCF said:

I think this came from someone whose car lurches quite badly if driven quite slowly i.e. 20 mph. The supposition is that the DSG etc. will be put under more stress because of this lurching and the clutches will probably be engaging and disengaging more than usually required.

 

It's great that most folks are happy with their DSG Karoqs but I would be very unhappy if I was landed with one of the faulty ones. I'm unwilling to participate in what is effectively a lottery and have put off buying a new car until the design fault with the 1.5 petrols has been rectified.

 

There may "only" be 20 on this forum who have reported problems with the manual version but VW have been made aware enough to finally admit there is a fault. If so few, why have they done this? Because across the different marques and models it must be a big problem and getting bigger all the time as they are still selling defective cars and introducing new ones with this engine e.g. the Kodiaq and Arona.

 

I think I had better try to explain further!

In my experience as the owner and only driver of 6,500 miles in a Karoq (not other VAG vehicle) the car has NEVER lurched quite badly. After a short fast sprint today, there was a slight hesitancy whilst coasting briefly over a roundabout  in town, Im assuming the  DSG was waiting for accelerator/braking input as to what it should do next. This is an auto after all - it cannot know what will be expected of it in the future for certain. It gets it right  over 95% of the time. I put this down to a characteristic. If this is a fault or characteristic of the DSG I'm not sure, it is my first DSG. If this is as bad as it gets, its hardly worth mentioning to be honest. On acceleration the car quickly sorts itself out, picking the correct gear. 

I had a comfortable, faultless 180mile journey yesterday in a mix of driving conditions - snow, ice, wet then dry roads. The car was a pleasure to drive and was faultless, even with heavy traffic and stop-start traffic jams/roadworks  on the M6. Not one jerk or lurch in 4 hours. And this is normal. If there is a problem it is very slight, and only when warming up, and also only in certain weather conditions.

 

[MJ1]

Just to back up the previous statement I have similar issues. Not a major problem but certainly no other car I have had has had this jerkiness. 1st time I have had a Dsg but it just does not feel smooth at times, low speed and very cold engine more noticeable...