SE-L Estate initial thoughts

[24Lemons]

I finally got my hands on my new SE-L estate tsi 150 in Race blue yesterday. I haven’t driven it too far yet but early impressions are very positive. It’s very different to my old BMW 320d coupe but with a baby on the way and my BMW starting to develop issues I decided it was time to change. 
 

it’s very comfy to drive, steering feels very light which will take some getting used to.  I haven’t found the lane keeping to be too intrusive yet. Gear changes are nice and smooth. I still think I would have preferred an auto but budget and availability ruled this out. 
 

the infotainment is very complicated but I suspect I just need to get used to it. I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality of the standard speakers. The screens are bright and easy to read. I’ve always been sceptical about touch screens and for now the jury is out. The I-drive system was so intuitive to use. 
 

Im driving very carefully for now while I run it in and get used to everything but for the daily commute it feels like it has  enough performance. It’s not as sporty to drive but I think it will be an ideal family run around. 
 

This car was already specced  when I reserved it so I didn’t have any say in the options,  it has the rear camera which is useful, this also includes the dynamic rear indicators which are quite cool. The tailgate is the standard manual one. I would have liked a power one but I’ve heard complaints from friends with dogs that they can be a pain.  According to the handbook, you can’t mount a tailgate bike rack on this car which is annoying. I wonder if the big spoiler gets in the way.  I also have the interior light pack which I haven’t had a chance to test out properly. The headlights are the standard non matrix ones, which I’d prefer but not for the price they charge. Not having driven at night yet, I don’t know how good the standard lights are yet. 
 

If you are still reading this and want to ask me any questions, I’ll do my best to help. 

[threadbear]

What’s the LED interior light pack like? I do night shifts so spend a fair amount driving in the dark...Matrix lights are too pricey. 

[24Lemons]

I still need to have a play with everything. Maybe I’ll sit in the darkened garage tomorrow and suss things out!  As far as I can tel the led interior lights mainly consist of colour changeable ambient lighting. The reading lamps as far as I can see are much the same as any other that I have used. The Skoda logo projected on the floor is a bit of fun! Hard to say if it’s worth buying but I suppose it adds a nice ambience to the car 

50 minutes ago, threadbear said:

What’s the LED interior light pack like? I do night shifts so spend a fair amount driving in the dark...Matrix lights are too pricey. 

 

[threadbear]

I guess the LED interior light pack is could bean unnecessary indulgence? I have always spec’d up cars with useful stuff like fog lights, and boot liners! 

[match14]

Does the led interior light pack extend to the rear doors?

[24Lemons]

Do you mean the ambient light strips?  I don’t think so but I’ll go and have a look after dinner!

[ShEfA]

28 minutes ago, match14 said:

Does the led interior light pack extend to the rear doors?

It does not against all logic

[match14]

On 04/03/2021 at 18:57, 24Lemons said:

Do you mean the ambient light strips?  I don’t think so but I’ll go and have a look after dinner!

Yes 👍🏻 

[24Lemons]

19 hours ago, match14 said:

Yes 👍🏻 

The ambient light strips don’t extend into the back of the car I’m afraid 

[Matmacka]

1 hour ago, 24Lemons said:

The ambient light strips don’t extend into the back of the car I’m afraid 

i think the ambient light pack us just more colour choice, unless your car never had as standard and you ordered as an optional extra to have the ambient lighting 

[Malc52]

Have you tested the standard LED headlights at night yet ? If so how are you finding them?

[nickcoll]

On 03/03/2021 at 10:27, 24Lemons said:

it’s very comfy to drive, steering feels very light which will take some getting used to.  

 

Does your model have the Drive Mode Select function? If so, what is the steering like if you change it to Sport mode?

[24Lemons]

Firstly regarding the standard LED headlights, I was very impressed. I drove a mix of dual carriageway and unlit country roads and I honestly can say they were on a par with the xenons in my old 3 series coupe. The top cut off of the beam is less abrupt as it is with xenons or my wife’s mini with led projector style lights and if I’m picky, I’d like a bit more throw in the centre of the road on low beam but on high beams the brightness and spread were very good. The lights were probably my biggest cause of anxiety while waiting for delivery but I was very pleasantly surprised by how good they were. 
 

I did try putting it in sport the other day and I can’t say I noticed any difference at all! Mind you I’m taking it pretty easy for now to run it in properly. On my old 3 series, the sport mode mainly seemed to affect the gear shifts (auto box) and maybe the throttle was a bit sharper but other than that the steering didn’t change.   I wouldn’t say that the light steering is a problem however, I didn’t buy this car expecting it to be as sporty as my last one. 
 

I have noticed the dreaded kangaroo hop when pulling away from cold. I’ll keep an eye on that. 
 

I was a bit surprised to read in the manual that tailgate mounted bike racks can’t be used. I don’t really want to have to go out and buy a set of roof bars and a new rack. That’s a bit annoying!!

[nickcoll]

11 minutes ago, 24Lemons said:

I did try putting it in sport the other day and I can’t say I noticed any difference at all... the steering didn’t change.   I wouldn’t say that the light steering is a problem however, I didn’t buy this car expecting it to be as sporty as my last one. 

 

That's a shame - in my Mark 3 model the steering is appreciably weightier in Sport mode, which makes it much easier to corner smoothly.

 

Can you adjust the steering separately when in Individual mode - if the steering can be adjusted but this doesn't make any difference you have to wonder why they provide the ability to change its setting?

[24Lemons]

1 minute ago, nickcoll said:

 

That's a shame - in my Mark 3 model the steering is appreciably weightier in Sport mode, which makes it much easier to corner smoothly.

 

Can you adjust the steering separately when in Individual mode - if the steering can be adjusted but this doesn't make any difference you have to wonder why they provide the ability to change its setting?

To be honest it’s something I need to play with because I’ve only driven a short amount of time in sport mode. 

[SkodaCB]

It's really odd in relation to the ambient lighting. Looking here under ambient lighting it does mention light strips in all 4 doors. 

[24Lemons]

21 hours ago, nickcoll said:

 

That's a shame - in my Mark 3 model the steering is appreciably weightier in Sport mode, which makes it much easier to corner smoothly.

 

Can you adjust the steering separately when in Individual mode - if the steering can be adjusted but this doesn't make any difference you have to wonder why they provide the ability to change its setting?

Ok I’ve been driving around this morning and I think that sport mode does make the steering feel a bit heavier than normal 

[nickcoll]

6 minutes ago, 24Lemons said:

Ok I’ve been driving around this morning and I think that sport mode does make the steering feel a bit heavier than normal 

That's encouraging - is it as heavy as you would like?

 

It may be possible to beef it up a bit more using VCDS - has anyone tried this, I wonder? 

[Skodev]

14 hours ago, SkodaCB said:

It's really odd in relation to the ambient lighting. Looking here under ambient lighting it does mention light strips in all 4 doors. 

I’ve not seen that literature before, but absolutely refers to all four doors having the ambient lights. 
I had put it down to VAG politics with only Golf8 having rear lighting, but what you’ve linked above clearly contradicts that now. 
However, when all said and done, it’ll count for nothing as they clearly don’t fit it in the rear doors. 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

[24Lemons]

4 hours ago, nickcoll said:

That's encouraging - is it as heavy as you would like?

 

It may be possible to beef it up a bit more using VCDS - has anyone tried this, I wonder? 

It’s ok, I think it could be a shade heavier but that’s personal preference. 

[SkodaCB]

So direct from the brochure effective 21/12/20. As we can see under ambient lighting and it's description, front and rear doors are both meant to have the LED strip with 10 colour options. 

 

 

Edit: Even further confirmation of the rear ambient door lighting on the configurator.

 

 

Edited 9 March, 2021 by SkodaCB
Further proof of rear ambient door lights.

[DManel]

In Portugal configurator it only mentions interior ambient lights and then front and rear lights on the footwell. No mention of the doors.

And when I ordered I checked with the dealer, and even saw one on the dealership, and the led strip was not present in the back doors. 
 

Didn’t think much of it, doesn’t bother me, but indeed the information you have says otherwise! By principle, they should deliver what they advertise, in my opinion... Even if it’s different by country, for some strange reason...