[Caster]

The Good Lady got a call from local dealers at the weekend saying that, as she'd ordered a new 1.5 Style - would she like to come down and see one in the flesh as they'd just got a couple in. I went with her - saw a facelift R (standard except for paint) in showroom, had a quick test drive and put a deposit down. No chance of DCC and sad to see that remote boot feature no longer available + no surround view etc - all things I like on my current Porsche Macan Diesel.

But, I like the size and performance (+ it's cheaper than another Macan!) so only time will tell if I'm making the right choice.

I look forward to gaining much info from the Forum and hopefully contributing more as my ownership progresses - should put it on the road by the end of this month. First job might be a quick black wrap of the chrome roof bars and window surrounds just to see what a part DIY Black Pack might look like.

A couple of pics below:-

 

[Caster]

Agree with you re less equipped Seal. I can do without the £3k Akrapovic though + with having 235/60/18s on my three previous motors - going down to 215/50/18s is already a tough pill to swallow + the thought of 19s is too much for my nearly 70 yr old back to suffer! Would’ve liked the DCC though👍

 

[Caster]

I actually thought those were 19" wheels, they actually look spot on 👌
I only have 19's because they came on my T-Roc, definitely a wee bit more comfort to be had on the 18's.

Thanks - I hope you’re right re the comfort + the more or less free alloy & tyre insurance the dealer included should help with the higher chance of kerbing etc👍

 

[Caster]

Hi Castor, Car looks great from the pics, I’ve got an R line with DCC on 19” 225/40 wheels and most of the time I tend not to change the settings, I tend to flip more between drive and sport with the auto box, with the 18” wheels the ride will be fine. Do you know if they lower the suspension on the facelift R? from the pictures it looks like it’s not lowered, if so this this may also help the ride, as we all know the only real answer is very thick rubber tyres and smooth roads.

Hi Ian…thanks for the comments + the suspension seemed OK on the test drive (checked over speed bumps, cats eyes and a pot hole!) but you never know until had a while. The VW website says “ Dynamic cornering is achieved thanks to the sports running gear lowered by 20 mm” so should be lower than a normal one. Think it should be OK but, if not, I’ll have to stick to the smoother roads!!

 

[Caster]

I’ve always thought the 19s looked ever so slightly too big on the T-Roc. Maybe 18.5s would be perfect haha.

Haha…you could have a good option there twist👍

 

[Caster]

Looks good - I have a Lapiz Blue R on order. Which dealer is this? - I'd be interesting to know more about the spec now that cars are actually arriving. Does this have heated seats as standard I wonder?

Hope you get your R soon Welshchris. I got mine from Vertu at Knaresborough + think JCT600 had one exactly the same at Bradford for sale as well. I understand could’ve been registered as demo’s for up to 12 months but I was lucky to be able to buy. No heated seats + no rear camera but I’m having the VW one fitted by dealer for £500! I understand only factory option added is the Black Pearl paint.

Let me know if any other spec unsure about👍

 

[Caster]

Hi Caster, car looks fantastic and I think black is going to become more popular as it avoids the "in your face" bottle opener appearance of the new front end that is more apparent with other colours. Pity they are still skimping on things like the heated seats and rear camera on a near top of the range model.

Many thanks Impala + I know what you mean about the “not in your face” look - although I did enjoy owning a similar blue Vectra VXR back in the day!

Would’ve been nice to get an electric boot also as standard - I think it was on previous models but happy to settle for overall spec👍

 

[Caster]

Fingers crossed for a July delivery Welshchris.

I don’t know much about the Sat Nav & media system storage but when I opened the glove box there was what looked like something similar to the old CD player in there. That obviously isn’t included anymore but it also had at least one, maybe two what looked like they could’ve been SD card slots.

I asked the salesman and he said they could be something to do with media/Sat nav but he wasn’t sure.

If I get chance I’ll make further enquiries 👍

 

[Caster]

Could you run CarPlay via the wireless connect ability feature and still have one of the two usb-c free? 🤔

 

[Caster]

Thanks for the replies - sounds very encouraging. All I need is the car now!

This might be even more encouraging news Welshchris - I went to the dealers today and took the opportunity to look in glovebox again. Saw two SD card slots at top (pic below) and checked with a different salesman who said you could put a media SD card in them and it would show on main display as a media source - thus enabling you to play your 120gb of music from. He did also confirm that Nav updates are done over the air.
Was nice from my needs to play my Spotify music wirelessly through CarPlay - good news for both of us👍

 

[Caster]

Many thanks Bigwheel & Vernerbongo2 - I’ll have great pleasure in taking a music filled SD card into the salesman and asking him to show me how it plays them!

Great to see that the Forum is the place to come for the correct info - thanks again👍

 

[Caster]

And if you are lucky, your card won't disappear into the void behind and never be seen again

Don't put a card in there if it has anything important on it.

Thanks for that Impala - I will heed your words when I try it out 👍

 

[Caster]

Apologies Vernerbongo2 - I should've put..... "when I get the salesman who said it would work to try it out"!

 

[Caster]

Apologies Vernerbongo2 - I should've put..... "when I get the salesman who said it would work to try it out"!

Salesman wouldn’t even try loading an SD card today after shining a light into the slots!!
Thanks again + nice that the Forum info is spot on 👍

 

[Caster]

Update……Still hoping to have it on the road in June but a couple of snags:-

1. I wanted the VW Reversing Camera fitting (a £500 cost) but sadly the facelift isn’t compatible with the current VW after fit kit so will have to wait for VW to develop the parts. Apparently another local VW dealer having same issue + they’re trying out an Aston Martin camera set up which might work! If they can fit another system I’ve told them to go ahead + it should be cheaper than the £500 VW version!

2. Think this might have come up before but front mudflaps are OK to be fitted but VW ones don’t fit the rears. Agreed that I’ll have a look at some rear ones + see if a bit of modification might be possible. Otherwise have some custom made from a company who sorted me some for a Focus ST that Ford couldn’t provide any for. Would work out cheaper as well!

Hard work getting a new motor how you want it!

 

[Caster]

This is the unit in mine Welshchris - looks the same as the one in the Wrexham advert. Mind you, the description of the Wrexham one says its got nappa leather, DCC and electric boot etc but don't think first two items are shown in their pics 🤔.
Plus, mine doesn't have the CD unit in the glove box + looks like the MIB3 faceplate picture in Vernerbongo2’s post above if that helps ID it.

 

[Caster]

Just made it in June! Picked it up by 7pm tonight and now back home on drive!

First impressions - my back just about got a comfy position - further work needed though; suspension fine so far without DCC; excellent ACC - even warns you of and slows you down for roundabouts; 35.2 mpg on a mixed driving mode 30 mile trip; the auto park assist takes a bit of practise and it “really goes” in Race mode!

Other points - Dealer fitted rear view camera works OK but even comes on when going forward towards an obstacle! Will fit my mudflats tomorrow (report later) + is it worth paying just over £200 for Voice Activation and can you turn off keyless access permanently?

Quick pic:-

 

[Caster]

Nice R 🥰

I personally have never used the voice control in my car, I feel like a pratt talking to it 🤷‍♂️

As for kessy, you might be able to code it out???
Previous volkswagen models kessy systems could be coded out but you then had to hold the fob against where the key ignition was every time you want to start the car.

There's nothing wrong with the kessy system now anyway, the fob goes to sleep after 5 or 10 minutes of inactivity.
Also I'm sure you're aware you can deactivate the keyless entry temporarily by locking the car with the fob then touching the door handle? (or the other way around, can't remember)

Thanks Vernerbongo2 - I liked to use my previous voice control for asking it to play any song I fancied (via Spotify) or giving a Nav destination etc. A lot to pay for feature though + Apps like Waze are OK with their inbuilt microphone button anyway!

The kessy system sounds good + looks like a bit of Manual reading and testing required but nice that you can temporarily deactivate it anyway.

 

[Caster]

That's new ... is it only on the mk2, or is it on all cars with Mib3 units ?

Good when it works, but could be a bit of a shock if you don't keep the map data up to date and they build a new roundabout ... 😵😖😢😭

Can’t help you with your first question Impala but I’m going to a spot where there’s a new roundabout in next few days so will use ACC and see what happens.
Interesting that the VW Nav map showed various road work signs on it. I wasn’t sure how up to date they were but salesman said that it can update its map info daily via the car Wi-Fi - in fact, it did an update when we initially turned the unit on.

 

[Caster]

Congratulations Caster - Glad you got the car. I've been given "end of July" for mine so we'll wait and see. Look forward to more reports from you!

Thanks Welshchris - hope yours arrives in July as promised + look forward to hearing your thoughts and seeing the pics etc. Quick report on fitting mudflaps soon 👍