I wish Škoda UK Customer Support lived up to the brand’s “Simply Clever” catchphrase but in my experience sadly not.

I’ve mentioned before in this forum that I’ve been having problems with media playback from a usb stick. After many months of gritting my teeth and trying to live with it I decided to have one last attempt at finding a solution myself by checking that the folder and file structure I use on the usb stick complies with any limitations of the infotainment system. The manual only gives information of what type of media files are supported but nothing about any limitations on file size, folder size, max files in a folder, max files on the stick etc. etc.

I emailed customer support saying that I have been experiencing problems with the infotainment system and so that I can check that I’m not exceeding any limitations could they please supply me with information regarding the items I mentioned above.

Their reply was “we are sorry that you are experiencing problems with your infotainment system, please speak with your Skoda retailer to arrange for a diagnostic check of your system”.

Considering too a recent experience in the Superb when it suddenly performed an emergency stop while travelling at 70mph in the middle lane of the M20 with no apparent reason it’s the last straw for me. I’m getting rid of the Superb and going elsewhere.

I’ve had a number of test drives over the last week, the 2026 Honda Civic eHEV is top of my list. Not as luxurious or as spacious as the Superb and lacks some of the toys but boy what a fantastic drive! It’s a long time since I’ve driven a car that handles so well. The sort of car I’d find excuses for going out in rather than reasons for not going out in the Superb because of my frustrations with it. On my 40min test drive the trip meter said the car achieved 62mpg, Bose sound system beat the Canton hands down and the top trim comes in at a tad under £40k so no luxury car tax.

As the song goes, “so long, farewell, it’s time for me to go…”

I completely agree, we have experienced the extremely dangerous braking problem twice and now always turn it off.

I raised several complaints with Skoda UK, including the above; the rest relate to the customer service at the branch I purchased from, and I have had generic responses to all. I imagine that a neutral answer avoids any potential liability, but it also avoids actually addressing the problem. At some point, some road users are going to get seriously injured (or worse) under an emergency braking scenario, and I very much doubt my "Customer Relations Manager" will be able to use generics at a formal inquest.

Luckily, my local branch, Trancity, is very customer-focused and have just serviced the car and resolved a few problems. But they did say the braking scenarios are as expected from the position of the sensors. Like you, I would have hoped Skoda UK would be collating customer reports for researching and eventually releasing a software improvement or update?

I would look closely at the reliability of the Honda; not so sure it is what it was in the pre-electric days?

Another contender for me has been Toyota, 'dull but dependable", if they release a plug-in Corolla estate, I personally would seriously consider that instead. They also have the extended warranty periods for the car, 10 years and 15 on the hybrid system (if you service it annually with Toyota).

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