What annoys you about your current car?

Man of Honour
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I proceed to turn off stop/start and select my individual driving mode

I am absolutely amazed that:

a) You can be bothered to do this every single time
b) Selecting your individual driving mode does anything worth the effort in a Skoda Octavia

You're not on the F1 Start Grid in a Ferrari.
 
Associate
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I am absolutely amazed that:

a) You can be bothered to do this every single time
b) Selecting your individual driving mode does anything worth the effort in a Skoda Octavia

You're not on the F1 Start Grid in a Ferrari.

Not sure why that's triggered you but ok? :confused:

Stop/Start is very annoying and I should have a choice whether to have this enabled/disabled. Skoda deemed it necessary to enable it every time you start the car no settings saved. This was not present on the MK3 as it was saved and didn't need messing with.

Driving modes again are not saved on each ignition event. Not sure why you mentioned a F1 car. Settings like the steering feel, suspension fake exhaust note and DSG settings are set to what Skoda call eco. I choose to have them set to how I drive hence choosing individual mode.

This is a rant about about an Octavia, have you driven one? Perhaps you can explain why Skoda have removed the above when on the MK3 they worked perfectly.

I have a suspicion that it was the result of the VAG emissions scandal.
 
Man of Honour
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Not sure why that's triggered you but ok? :confused:

Basically what happens on an internet forum about cars is people post stuff about cars and other people reply to them with their own thoughts.

Stop/Start is very annoying and I should have a choice whether to have this enabled/disabled. Skoda deemed it necessary to enable it every time you start the car no settings saved. This was not present on the MK3 as it was saved and didn't need messing with.

Driving modes again are not saved on each ignition event. Not sure why you mentioned a F1 car. Settings like the steering feel, suspension fake exhaust note and DSG settings are set to what Skoda call eco. I choose to have them set to how I drive hence choosing individual mode.

You came across like one of those internet race car driving heros who can't possibly go and get a pint of milk without spending 8 seconds before he drives off setting his car into Sport mode, disabling his traction control and turning off all the driver aids.

Beneath my hyberbolic way of putting things was a sound point - I'm amazed you can be bothered to set those settings every single time you drive. Start-stop particularly still surprises me how many people insist they can't possibly drive without turning it off. I've never switched it off in any car I've driven and it's never caused an issue.

This is a rant about about an Octavia, have you driven one?

Not at all, I'm a big Octavia fan! It was more of a jokey way of likening your little pre-fetching the bread from the shop routine with that of start up a racing car or something.

Have you tried just jumping in the car and driving off? :D
 
Soldato
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24,796
I can understand the irritation, as I also like to use different settings to what's pre selected in 'Normal', albeit I'm lucky enough to have a car from just before WLTP kicked in and Skoda set everything to reset to default every ignition cycle.

It must be doubly annoying if, on top of being buried in menus and not on a button, the Mk4 is defaulting stuff to Eco as that really blunts the pedal feel and the steering is so light you could blow on it to turn the wheel.

They're easy habits to get into if he's had a Mk3, as it was at most two button presses, one if you had a car pre WLTP that didn't reset the drive mode selection.

Stop Start is fine though, even with the DSG once you learn that you can control whether it cuts in (for example if you don't want it to at a roundabout) by adjusting how hard you press the brakes.
 
Associate
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Basically what happens on an internet forum about cars is people post stuff about cars and other people reply to them with their own thoughts.

But this thread is about what is annoying about your car? You will be very hard pressed to find any new VAG owner who has anything positive to say about how they have removed all functioning buttons and dials and prefer the touchscreen. It's backwards hence my post?

You came across like one of those internet race car driving heros who can't possibly go and get a pint of milk without spending 8 seconds before he drives off setting his car into Sport mode, disabling his traction control and turning off all the driver aids.

How has turning off stop/start and setting an individual driving mode made you believe I was emulating Lewis Hamilton on a F1 start grid? No where did I say it's a sport mode or disabling TC or any other driving aids. Again if you have been in an Octavia you would probably know you can adjust the weight of the steering wheel feel, turn AC off from ECO mode and change how the DSG behaves? Also I use it to turn off the crap fake exhaust sounds. Again the Octavia on every ignition puts everything back to default. I like to use my driving profile I don't see an ussue? No it's not a Ferrari but go test drive the new Octavia VRS in ECO mode it feels like a normal 1.2 Octavia. Take some time adjusting how you want the car to feel and it's 100% better. You don't get in a new car and drive, you adjust the seat, mirrors turn the AC down the list goes on, the point is these are saved. Something the Octavia does not do, it's annoying hence my post the old MK3 was perfect, it ALWAYS saved your driving mode & stop start settings on every ignition.

Beneath my hyberbolic way of putting things was a sound point - I'm amazed you can be bothered to set those settings every single time you drive. Start-stop particularly still surprises me how many people insist they can't possibly drive without turning it off. I've never switched it off in any car I've driven and it's never caused an issue.

But there is a delay, and it's not something I like? Google disable stop/start and you will get thousands of people wanting the same thing and that's it been disabled.


Not at all, I'm a big Octavia fan! It was more of a jokey way of likening your little pre-fetching the bread from the shop routine with that of start up a racing car or something.

Thats a bit far fetched. Takes me longer to press the memory seat function on my Giulia to set my driving position when the other half has used it, just like I need to adjust the mirrors before setting off too. But I don't complain about that. Skoda and VAG are getting a lot of hate around the 2 valid points I made in my original post.

Have you tried just jumping in the car and driving off? :D

So let my ask you this. Do you drive a vehicle which is setup how you like it? Do you adjust anything when you set off? More to the point if you just drive, has the car saved any profiles? The Octavia does not. I'm sure over time I'll just give in and drive the car in ECO mode. I Should have bought a Vauxhall Corsa instead :o
 
Man of Honour
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I'm sorry, but I also have to press a couple of buttons each time I start. And yes, they are: 1) turn off stop/start, and 2) sport mode. But I do it because a) I hate stop start, and b) there's almost no difference in consumption between sport and economy if you drive sensibly, but there's a world of difference in response. But mostly because both reset to default on engine-off, not last position.

That said, they aren't the annoyances. Top is probably the basic centre console panel and its apps. The satnav is Becker (2015 model) which is average at best. But I like uncluttered, so I don't want to put up another satnav. And the display for the stereo is basic, without a pause button. I can mute from the steering wheel, but to pause I have to select the stop option with the centre wheel, then click it to turn off the music. And it's not touch screen. Sound is better than my old car though.
 
Man of Honour
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I'm sorry, but I also have to press a couple of buttons each time I start. And yes, they are: 1) turn off stop/start

But there is a delay, and it's not something I like? Google disable stop/start and you will get thousands of people wanting the same thing and that's it been disabled.

Yes - I'm aware that a huge amount of people seem to hate it. But I don't really understand why. I've never found it to be intrusive on any car I've ever driven and no delay ever exceeds the time taken to ordinarily move your foot onto the throttle anyway. I just don't get it. It's not even that the system in my car works well - I've never found it to be an issue on *any* car I've ever driven.

You also generally have control over how and when it activates - on a manual the clutch is inherently linked to whether it kicks in and on an auto the brake pressure does it, so if you do end up in a situation where it'll start stop and for whatever reason you don't want it to, you don't even need to have disabled it for it to keep the engine running...

I'm convinced people try it once, decide its the worst thing ever and then refuse to get used to it because it's about the only explanation that makes sense. Once you get used to it you forget it's even there really, it just blends seamlessly into the operation of the car. It feels weird now when I drive a car which sits there idling away at the lights.
 
Soldato
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You also generally have control over how and when it activates - on a manual the clutch is inherently linked to whether it kicks in and on an auto the brake pressure does it, so if you do end up in a situation where it'll start stop and for whatever reason you don't want it to, you don't even need to have disabled it for it to keep the engine running...
in a manual at a roundabout, when you see the gap, it eats into your safety margin the additional 500ms it takes to restart engine
you see the gap and raise the clutch on your pre-engaged first gear, simultaneously press accelerator - you want to go now.
On a regular exercise route, I, rest watch 50 odd cars arriving at a rush hour roundabout, and frequently see cars which fail to merge because the re-start wasn't fast enough,
they get frustrated, and you see people then taking risks.

I thought resetting (to on) stop start was an eu requirement for the car to satisfy its WLTP/emissions rating.


windscreen wash wipe which will continue to function (older bmw) when there is not enough liquid left is my bane.
 
Man of Honour
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in a manual at a roundabout, when you see the gap, it eats into your safety margin the additional 500ms it takes to restart engine
you see the gap and raise the clutch on your pre-engaged first gear, simultaneously press accelerator - you want to go now.
On a regular exercise route, I, rest watch 50 odd cars arriving at a rush hour roundabout, and frequently see cars which fail to merge because the re-start wasn't fast enough,
they get frustrated, and you see people then taking risks.

I don't see how this is possible.

Start stop on a manual car engages only when the car is in neutral and the clutch is fully released.

If you're about to go for a gap, why is your car in neutral? It isn't, so this doesn't really happen, does it? Yet loads of people think it does so they all disable start stop....
 
Soldato
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I don't see how this is possible.
ok if they all/mostly only turn off only when the car is in neutral I wouldn't have an issue;
I'm a bit perplexed (e: like you) that may mean many people at the roundabout, where I see people with re-start problems are sitting in neutral, maybe they are driving auto cars though.

I hadn't understood manual behaviour from the previous similar thread - ironically nov 2020 https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/do-you-have-start-stop-system-turned-off.18905917/
 
Man of Honour
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ok if they all/mostly only turn off only when the car is in neutral I wouldn't have an issue

So you actually have no idea how the system you are criticising works? Why did you post then? I'm not aware of a single start stop system in a car with a manual transmission that will stop the engine with the clutch pedal depressed and the car in gear!

You've demonstrated my point perfectly, people just decide it's terrible without having any idea and then that's that.
 
Soldato
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The authoritative tone of your post suggested quite the opposite!

I have the opposite problem, too much response away from a roundabout can cause problems for other road users so discipline is required. Careful for what you wish for if its 'i want people to move away from rounabouts quickly into marginal gaps'
 
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