500km up on my Skoda Slavia 1.5: Driving experience and fuel efficiency

Whenever I'm the first one at the signal, there is always an inner itch to put the car in sports mode.

BHPian AlokSharma recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

500 kms update:

The 1.5 TSI is a brilliant engine. Smooth, fast and yet efficient. Whenever I'm the first one at the signal, there is always an inner itch to put the car in sports mode and I have had a good number of occasions in the past 10 days to do the same. The difference in normal vs sports mode is exactly like Clark Kent and Superman.

The fuel efficiency behaves exactly the same. When you floor the car it drops to single digits effortlessly the way it reaches triple digit speeds. I had a 12-13 km stretch where I drove sedately at around 60-70 kmph. To my utter suprise, the mid showed a stunning 24.5 kmpl as the average fuel efficiency for that 12-13 km stretch. Overall I'm happy with the way the car handles, picks up speed and even brakes from a good speed. The car dynamics are pretty sorted and it should be a happy mile muncher.

The car also underwent a full body PPF at Detailing Dons in Navi Mumbai and I am pretty happy with their workmanship. 3m car care was considered for the 100 series with 7 year warranty, But the prices were on the higher side and I was not sure about their applicators. I chose Tint and Orange PPF 180 microns with 5 year warranty over Garware Premium. I spoke to couple of PPF applicators across Mumbai and was told that the common issue with Garware is yellowing and stretch marks appearing around an year from application. The guys at Detailing Dons also showed customer chats regarding the same and I decided to trust them with their suggestion of Tint and Orange over Garware. The car looks gorgeous post the PPF and I am at some level of peace of mind with regards to stone chippings and a decent level of security against bikes and rickshaw walls in the city limits. The car will again for a small inspection after 8-10 days to check for any sort of bubbles cropping up in the PPF.

A car cover from was also ordered from Neodrift. I opted for the Neotech one which comes with triple stitched seams and multi-layered soft fabric. It also has front and rear tags and all round elastic grips for a secured fit. I invested in a good cover as post PPF I am going to wash the car only once in a week or 10 days. Attaching a picture with the cover.

I am also in the middle of making a DIY bed for my pet dog that would seal off the rear leg space with foam customized blocks to have a seamless flat space right from the ending of rear seats to the rear end of front seats. I will post pictures soon as I get it made.

Since the car is protected with PPF, I have started taking it work and it will be a 45-50 kms daily drive. I noticed a wierd issue with the car today on my way to work. The car suspension makes a loud thud noise going over road/bridge joints especially when there if there is a small angle between the two joints. It happened on 2-3 occasions and I am getting nervous about the same . I was driving at normal speeds at all occasions. Has anyone faced the same issue? It doesn't happen over normal surface or going over speed breakers. Should I take it to the service centre to show the same. I am more concerned as there is long 3000-4000 kms road trip planned after 10 days and I don't want any such issues to crop up in between such a long road trip.

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