Hi,

I'm coming from an older Octavia and looking potentially at a Karoq or Kodiaq. 

The Octavia was great in that you could change various settings as best suited (including any driver aids) and the car permanently remembered.  I'm aware that the new EU regs (that we have copied) have mandated a different approach (settings revert to scratch for each journey).  With effect from ~2022-2024 depending on how respective brands have chosen to implement it? 

Do any of you guys know what the cut-off points are for the two cars above, ie, when these two models above enforced the new EU regs?

I was under the impression (from a local dealer) that for the Karoq it was potentially all models post the new face-lift at the start of 2022?  Depending on whether the hardware was in place for a particular model (which could then be updated via software)?

But I've no idea for the Kodiaq?  Is it perhaps similar in that it's the new model which is the cut-off point?  Ie, this model Mk1 (on this sub-forum) is fine, but avoid the Mk2?  Or is it different - perhaps just date driven?

It'll potentially save me otherwise wasted time on searches / exploring if I can get the broad timings right?  Ie, which more current versions to steer clear of.

Many thanks.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by PWX01

I personally would buy a vehicle without SFD 2.

I can't fully answer this for GB cars, because it's really complicated.

First of all, we had (in the EU), "General Safety Regulation 2", which incorporated a whole load of driver aids, some of them more helpful than others! Things like Advanced Emergency Braking systems for solid objects and other vehicles - that feature that randomly jabs the brakes when you least suspect it. From the 7th of July this year, all new vehicles first registered in the EU, need to have that system, but augmented to be able to detect pedestrians and cyclists. There are other features like Lane Keep Assist (mandatory from 2022) and Emergency Lane Keep Assist, and Intelligent Speed Assist, Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning, Event Data Recorders...etc. I can get a complete list and the implementation dates if you want...

There are two complications though.

1. Vehicles manufactured before the deadline but not registered before the deadline can, at the discretion of the EU Member State it is being registered in, apply for an "end-of-series derogation". This would give them an extra 12 months after the deadline to register those cars. That makes it really difficult to know which cars are likely to have which of those features, if only judging by the registration date.

2. The UK left the EU, (except Northern Ireland, in effect), so none of these measures are mandatory in GB yet. However, it is not illegal to fit them, and a lot of manufacturers can't be bothered making a different spec of car for GB alone, so they fit them anyway! The GB government does intend to align with the EU regulations and bring this in shortly, but hasn't done so yet.

If you can get to see a Certificate of Conformity for any vehicle that you're interested in, Field 54 contains a load of acronyms and abbreviations of what driver aids that particular car is fitted with.

15 minutes ago, Avocet said:

I can't fully answer this for GB cars, because it's really complicated.

First of all, we had (in the EU), "General Safety Regulation 2", which incorporated a whole load of driver aids, some of them more helpful than others! Things like Advanced Emergency Braking systems for solid objects and other vehicles - that feature that randomly jabs the brakes when you least suspect it. From the 7th of July this year, all new vehicles first registered in the EU, need to have that system, but augmented to be able to detect pedestrians and cyclists. There are other features like Lane Keep Assist (mandatory from 2022) and Emergency Lane Keep Assist, and Intelligent Speed Assist, Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning, Event Data Recorders...etc. I can get a complete list and the implementation dates if you want...

There are two complications though.

1. Vehicles manufactured before the deadline but not registered before the deadline can, at the discretion of the EU Member State it is being registered in, apply for an "end-of-series derogation". This would give them an extra 12 months after the deadline to register those cars. That makes it really difficult to know which cars are likely to have which of those features, if only judging by the registration date.

2. The UK left the EU, (except Northern Ireland, in effect), so none of these measures are mandatory in GB yet. However, it is not illegal to fit them, and a lot of manufacturers can't be bothered making a different spec of car for GB alone, so they fit them anyway! The GB government does intend to align with the EU regulations and bring this in shortly, but hasn't done so yet.

If you can get to see a Certificate of Conformity for any vehicle that you're interested in, Field 54 contains a load of acronyms and abbreviations of what driver aids that particular car is fitted with.

A lengthy and detailed reply. Thank you.

Do you know if some or even all of them can be permanently disabled at the owners discretion and what the implications would be with zB insurance and the TüV?

No. Some of them cannot be disabled at all (Like Event Data Recorders). Others can be disabled by the driver, but must automatically re-enable themselves at every "key-on" (i.e. "startup"). Sadly, all the most irritating ones (Lane Keep Assist, Emergency Lane Keep Assist, Intelligent Speed Assist), are ones that have to be disabled on every startup.

14 minutes ago, Avocet said:

No. Some of them cannot be disabled at all (Like Event Data Recorders). Others can be disabled by the driver, but must automatically re-enable themselves at every "key-on" (i.e. "startup"). Sadly, all the most irritating ones (Lane Keep Assist, Emergency Lane Keep Assist, Intelligent Speed Assist), are ones that have to be disabled on every startup.

Thank you. That's the impression I got after a detailed discussion with a Skoda salesperson we spoke to on Wednesday.

Bit off putting for me tbh.

Cairus,

Thanks - that's an entirely new rabbit hole for me!

Avocet,

Thanks for the very detailed answer, and I understand the complications.

In summary, and this is subtly different (and I may have been less clear with the original question): If I can switch it off, and it stays switched off (unless I choose to switch it back on), then that's actually what matters to me.  A 10 year old Octavia has some of this stuff - drowsiness alert for example - that was one of the first things I got rid of: it was uselessly inaccurate!  The brake warning system (just a warning), despite the occasional false alarms, I judged to have more merit (it's possible to be temporarily distracted by something at just the wrong moment on a very busy road).  But in each case it should be the driver's decision.  On the older car, that is the case.  What I can't tolerate is the idiocy of being forced to configure settings individually from scratch every time I get into the car.

Could I (broadly) assume that both the Kodiaq and the Karoq prior to the facelifts (ie, Kodiaq Mk1, and Karoq up to 2022 or whatever the date was) are probably fine on both counts (remembering settings and SFD 2)? 

Or - to ask my question above differently (re the settings):  Have people here using the Mk1 Kodiaq had problems themselves - or heard of problems - wrt user settings no longer being remembered?  If not, then that presumably answers that question, at least here wrt the Kodiaq?

The Certificate of Conformity - thanks again.  Two elements here, a) what I initially narrow any search to, which is the above, and then b) DD once I see something I like.  That Certificate looks like b) , ie something prior to buying.  Along with physically checking... Ie, change some "driver aid" settings, switch off - come back and switch back on...

Just now reading your reply to Lee01 - that's the crux of my question.  Which versions have user settings that are remembered, and which more modern versions have now failed that test....