Is it me or has anyone else noticed that the roof section on the Karoq (and Fabia) on 2018 models (the only model I can check) are really thin and flexible?  The wife had a pine cone incident that left a dent in her Fabia roof (3 days after she purchased it)  and I was polishing my new(ish) 2nd hand 2018 Karoq today and the roof panel was flexing worse than an empty can of fizzy pop when empty. 

 

It seems a lot lot thinner than the side panels and bonnet and a lot thinner that cars of old.  I can see an acorn damaging it let alone a stone that might fly up when driving.  I dread to think the damage that a kiddies football would do.

 

Cheers,

Paul

 

Same on most cars these days to save weight

If it were saving weight then a Mini (as an example) would not weigh 3 times or more today what it did originally.

 

Removed the front wing on my Yeti to have better access to panelbeat a wheelarch, it is flimsier than a lettuce leaf and even when bolted on has to rely on a piece of sponge to give it any side rigidity.

 

It has dents and dings all over it, every single panel and there is not even a single paint scratch or scuff, they are all just the usual knocks that would never have developed into dings on my Octavias, loads around all the door handles from presumably wris****ches.

 

Maybe I did a typo, why would it asterisk out wris****ches?

 

Seriously?????????????? wrist + watches becomes a swearword? What sort of watcher would think of that?

 

sorry, I am a bit slow today and being a bit of a T wat, must be to do with being born in Scunthorpe.

Edited 2 May, 20206 yr by J.R.

I get the weight issue and can understand why but not at the expense of not being able to withstand even a tiny bit of abuse.  I mean a tiny little pine cone causing £200 of damage  - not great is it!

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/479370-paintless-dent-repair-video

 

2 hours ago, J.R. said:

If it were saving weight then a Mini (as an example) would not weigh 3 times or more today what it did originally.

 

I'm sure it is weight saving.

 

The reason a modern Mini weighs more than the original Mini is because it's a completely different car in all but name. It's huge in comparison, is filled with safety systems and all the latest technology.

 

The thickness of steel used would be a rounding error in the overall weight difference.

Modern cars are fast becoming consumables, when you're finished with it, throw it away and lease a new one.

 

Much like white goods and home technology has already gone.

 

Fuel efficiency and emissions are the top priority now, and thinner steel is a contributory factor to reducing weight, and cost.

I am sure the panoramic roofs are heavier than the metal, but they can be another issue as reported occasionally with Mk3 Fabia.

Another potential reason to avoid them, as well as water ingress, increased insurance premiums and reduced towing capacities.

If you think the metal on a Skoda is thin,  have a look a Honda to make you feel better! 

 

Lots of comments on UK and American forums about dents on the roof above the doors (A pillar - C pillar? ) being put down to owners or valeters leaning on it when cleaning the roof.

 

Tbe metal on the doors and wings is just as bad.

13 minutes ago, FirstAndLastSkoda said:

If you think the metal on a Skoda is thin,  have a look a Honda to make you feel better! 

 

Lots of comments on UK and American forums about dents on the roof above the doors (A pillar - C pillar? ) being put down to owners or valeters leaning on it when cleaning the roof.

 

Tbe metal on the doors and wings is just as bad.

 

Thin metal applies to Honda lawnmowers as well!!   Tom

9 minutes ago, Sanqhar said:

 

Thin metal applies to Honda lawnmowers as well!!   Tom

I think my passengers would probably have justification in commenting about having to dodge whirling blades of death than just how thin the metal is on the roof! 

The roof has been dented by a pine cone!  Unless you're Peter Crouch what wris***ches of a difference is it going to make?

 

Seriously, I sold an Ateca to a dealer back in November, I watched him as he checked all the panels and glass - he never fetched a ladder and checked the roof tho.  And when we buy our brand new cars we do exactly the same. I check the car with a fine tooth comb before driving it away from the dealership but have to admit, I've never checked the roof, especially on an SUV.

 

As for glass sunroof being more expensive to insure?

 

1 hour ago, silver1011 said:

Another potential reason to avoid them, as well as water ingress, increased insurance premiums and reduced towing capacities.

 

You can option a roof on SE L and the insurance won't even ask if it has a roof or not. Where did you get the idea that a glass sunroof increases premiums from?

If the sunroof is an optional extra, some insurance companies (such as Admiral) ask customers to declare all non-standard extras.

 

The glass panels are extremely expensive to replace, so some insurance companies will apply an excess over and above their normal glass excess or load the premium to cover the additional risk of having to replace the sunroof.

 

However, a lot of insurance companies add clauses to specifically exclude them, or include them but with caveats.

 

 

When checking insurance on our Kodiaq before we bought it the factory sunroof would have affected the premium, however the factory towbar didn't.

 

It pays to check the T&C's of your policy as there are plenty of variations out there from company to company.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/244422-tesco-insurance-refusing-roof-payout

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/325674-rapid-spaceback-insurance

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/386819-panoramic-roof-any-good

 

 

Edited 2 May, 20206 yr by Roottootemblowinootsoot

1 hour ago, Scot5 said:

The roof has been dented by a pine cone!  Unless you're Peter Crouch what wris***ches of a difference is it going to make?

 

 

I am vertically challenged bordering on a PORG but even I could see a dent in the roof of a Fabia!

3 hours ago, silver1011 said:

 

I'm sure it is weight saving.

 

The reason a modern Mini weighs more than the original Mini is because it's a completely different car in all but name. It's huge in comparison, is filled with safety systems and all the latest technology.

 

Do you know I would never have even thought of that! 🙄

 

Couldn't possibly be anything to do with cost could it? 🤫

 

Loopski confirmed some while back how many kgs of  profile cut & powder coated steel ballast weights were added to the rear bumper of a Fabia for weight saving 🙄, think it was 25kg.

 

 

All I can say is my Suzuki Swift is similar and has a slight don't from a small branch landing on it and my mother's Jazz is the same...

 

And as for my MX5...   Well the roof on that has no strength at all...   😄

@J.R.

Very true.  When Skoda launched the Mk3 Fabia with supposedly 60kg average less weight than the Mk2's, & they made that sound like a good thing.  Actually if journalists had checked that was not true, there were not many anything near 60kg lighter than previous similar spec trims / engines.

 

With Mk2 vRS they Sand Bagged the hatch with ballasts to make it supposedly heavier than the Estate and the Sister cars from VW, SEAT and Audi.

It made the Skoda hatch and estate a tax band heavier than the VW & Audi but if you weighed them the Skodas were actually still lighter.

After 2 years VW had to correct the Unladen / Kerb Weights, reduce the Seat a VED Band, but never bothered with the Skoda Hatch.

Vorsprung Durch Technik.

Use less paint, less insulation, lighter glass and design and manufacture and fit extra weights and make the traction worse under acceleration and handling and braking worse than the sister hatches.

Edited 2 May, 20206 yr by Roottootemblowinootsoot

13 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Do you know I would never have even thought of that!

 

So why compare an original Mini with today's Mini if you weren't trying to suggest using thinner steel as not being a reason for saving weight?

 

My point was the reason the current Mini weighs more than the original is nothing to do with the thickness of the steel...

 

7 hours ago, J.R. said:

If it were saving weight then a Mini (as an example) would not weigh 3 times or more today what it did originally.

 

The Fabia vRS ballast was many moons ago, well before emissions were such a priority, and back when the infighting inside VAG meant Skoda had to be disadvantaged. Those days are over.

 

I mentioned several posts ago that the use of thinner steel (or reduced bracing) is down to emissions, fuel economy (weight) and cost.