What's made you smile today?

[varesecrazy]

We've had several instances of the Handbrake mechanism releasing

One after 3 minutes, one overnight and another after several days

Tend to park in gear now..

 

[vexorg]

Plenty of 500 owners post on here about discs and pads at 20k.. ,

Blame modern driving instructors, they tell young drivers to use the brakes and not the gears slowing down.

 

[portland_bill]

Blame modern driving instructors, they tell young drivers to use the brakes and not the gears slowing down.

It has been the correct way to do it since the early fifties, just no-one paid attention. Modern cars have very little engine braking now anyway, so slowing on the gears has little effect. Brakes are cheaper than gearboxes.
Using the brakes also puts the brake lights on, which are a signal, and will help grab the attention of the following driver, away from his phone.

 

[AndyRKett]

It has been the correct way to do it since the early fifties, just no-one paid attention. Modern cars have very little engine braking now anyway, so slowing on the gears has little effect.

Lmao, come drive my Golf with bluemotion tech, it has all the engine breaking meaning if you get it wrong you can actually stall it at a higher speed in a higher gear.

Conversely the mini countryman which on paper has a 2L diesel engine 6 speed both 150hp same kerb weight or there abouts, same generation of cars etc that car has no engine braking at all. So it can depend massively on the technology in the car.

The bluemotion tech means it shunts a huge load into charging the battery when off the power, and turns off the alternator when not needed, therefore this way it can really load up the engine braking effect.

 

[FiatMatt94]

We've had several instances of the Handbrake mechanism releasing

One after 3 minutes, one overnight and another after several days

Tend to park in gear now..

Usually I do park it & leave it in gear, but for some reason that day I didn't

 

[vexorg]

Brakes are cheaper than gearboxes.

That was the argument the driving instructor put to our kids, And I countered by asking to guess how many gearbox I've "worn out" in 30 years of drivng that way with dozens of cars. It's also really bad for driving not going through the gears as you're not as ready if you need to accelerate suddenly.

The citroen diesel has a lot of engine braking, very old school feel.
Though the juke hybrid has a heavy braking effect, same as the golf it seems, but the juke puts on the brake lights when you lift off and it's regenerating.

 

[AndyRKett]

That was the argument the driving instructor put to our kids, And I countered by asking to guess how many gearbox I've "worn out" in 30 years of drivng that way with dozens of cars. It's also really bad for driving not going through the gears as you're not as ready if you need to accelerate suddenly.

The citroen diesel has a lot of engine braking, very old school feel.
Though the juke hybrid has a heavy braking effect, same as the golf it seems, but the juke puts on the brake lights when you lift off and it's regenerating.

Instructors used to also teach you had to depress the button on the hand brake before pulling it up, because you would wear out the teeth on the mechanism…..

They’ve stopped teaching that now thankfully, I think many of these teaching practices where taught at a time when cars where made of chocolate or egg shells

 

[FiatMatt94]

Instructors used to also teach you had to depress the button on the hand brake before pulling it up, because you would wear out the teeth on the mechanism…..

They’ve stopped teaching that now thankfully, I think many of these teaching practices where taught at a time when cars where made of chocolate or egg shells

I have to admit I'm guilty of doing that as well , it's just always been a habit

 

[vexorg]

That handbrake thing was changed after I had questioned that too. There was a topic on a driving instructor forum where it had been discussed and if you press the button in then it's possible that the pawl might be sitting between the teeth and slip back to the next tooth afterward, effectively allowing it to slacken off. Whereas with the button left, it clicks in and wont move.

 

[StevenRB45]

The juke puts on the brake lights when you lift off and it's regenerating.

This is really annoying when combined with a f***wit...was following one at the weekend doing 40 in a 60 along a road that in good conditions has sightlines of about half a mile minimum and 2 miles in places.

I can't imagine anyone would jump between the accelerator and brake as often as this suggested as every 15-20 seconds brake lights flashed for less than a second then off again despite perfect visibility and conditions and no traffic ahead.

They could have been doing some crazy footwork but it suggests rather than maintaining a steady pedal pressure or using cruise control as I was behind them they were just jumping on and off the pedal to hold somewhere near a speed.

I could have passed them to be fair but was turning off in about 2 minutes... short lived annoyance.

Seeing far too many of them at moment and Qashqais as they tend to give them away to Nissan employees to bump up sales figures so there's a load of 73 plate Oxford registered ones just appeared locally. I suppose every single brand new Nissan owner in Oxford could have decided to have a day out to the middle of flipping nowhere but more likely company cars for the factory staff.

 

[vexorg]

Could be a new driver thing again, they treat the pedals like on off switches.

 

[AndyRKett]

Or someone two pedal driving an auto. (With both feet)

I must admit I’ve sat behind quite a few people recently who flit the brakes on randomly and often for no apparent reason

 

[Cheest]

This was yesterday, last night actually. I got to sleep in my own bed after nine and a half weeks. Mrs.Cheest apologized this morning in case she punched me during the night. I said that if she did, I slept through it.

 

[portland_bill]

Instructors used to also teach you had to depress the button on the hand brake before pulling it up, because you would wear out the teeth on the mechanism…..

They’ve stopped teaching that now thankfully, I think many of these teaching practices where taught at a time when cars where made of chocolate or egg shells

That handbrake thing was changed after I had questioned that too. There was a topic on a driving instructor forum where it had been discussed and if you press the button in then it's possible that the pawl might be sitting between the teeth and slip back to the next tooth afterward, effectively allowing it to slacken off. Whereas with the button left, it clicks in and wont move.

When I started in the trade, replacing handbrake levers was quite common, always due to wear on the teeth, with drivers that just pulled them up.
It all seems to be made of better stuff these days, so will tolerate no button being pressed, but it still makes a nasty noise.
So many people, if they depress the button, will release the lever a little before releasing the button. It is a technique issue. It is sometimes a real struggle to get learners to not do this, and I've seen many experienced drivers do it too. This results in the handbrake not being applied quite tight enough, and there have been a few runaways. To fend off lawsuits, the manufacturers now say do not press the button. This ensures the pawl is over a ratchet tooth, and the brake properly applied. It is an instruction to alleviate poor technique. I will continue to press the button, not just to reduce wear, but to eliminate the awful noise. This is another reason we have electric parking brakes. It takes the technique away from the driver, and removes a risk to the manufacturer. It is to protect the manufacturer.

This is really annoying when combined with a f***wit...was following one at the weekend doing 40 in a 60 along a road that in good conditions has sightlines of about half a mile minimum and 2 miles in places.

I can't imagine anyone would jump between the accelerator and brake as often as this suggested as every 15-20 seconds brake lights flashed for less than a second then off again despite perfect visibility and conditions and no traffic ahead.

Sadly, so many drivers do dab the brakes every few seconds. I've experienced many experienced drivers who do this, and when highlighted, they have no idea they're doing it.
Then there are those that use the brakes as a 'thinking tool'. Something changes ahead, they dab the brakes first, before applying any brain cells. "Brain before brakes" I tell them. Look further ahead, develop anticipation skills, and from that gain more time to assess. The brakes shold be a result of the assessment, not the start of it. Still got a few million drivers to get to, doing my best.

Could be a new driver thing again, they treat the pedals like on off switches.

So many new drivers cannot grasp the concept of just letting go. They tap dance between accelerator and brake, unable to not be pressing one or the other. There are so many situations where just let go, and let the car gently slow, gaining time to assess, will allow situations to dissolve before arrival.

 

[portland_bill]

Silly day, drove all three cars.
First, 7am, Panda, 43 miles to Chippenham.
Then swap to the Fabia, and across to Bristol airport to deliver sister, on her way back to Portugal. Then home again. Round trip, both cars 140 miles. Back around 11:30.
Then midday, a 9 mile each way trip, with the Doblo, to take partner to the dentist.

Tomorrow, a 2-3 hour bus journey, 3 buses, to collect the Panda.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Regarding hand brake application. Like PB above, I was taught to depress the button when applying the hand brake back in the 60's when I was learning. This practice was also reinforced by at least one workshop manager when I was a "learner mechanic". Specifically the technique "Old Mr Scott" my driving instructor taught me was to first depress the button, then lift/apply the lever until a goodly resistance is felt. Then release the button and gently let the pressure off the lever. Next gently raise the lever by a fraction without depressing the button and release again to ensure the pawl has engaged the ratchet. I've been applying hand brakes this way all my driving life and never had a problem. Probably too late to teach this "old dog" new tricks now.

If you are going to leave the car in gear (and it's doubtful whether this actually does much good as the engine will probably "go over" compression by itself if you're on any sort of a steep hill) Then remember you want to be in first if facing down the hill and reverse if facing uphill. This is so that if the car does move you're not forcing the engine to turn backwards. Why? because turning engines backwards, especially if it's an engine with a timing chain, may cause the chain, or belt, to jump a tooth or two which might be catastrophic when you next try to start the engine. What might be more effective is to remember to always leave the front wheels turned into the kerb if on a steep hill so the kerbstone will act to stop the car if it moves. Also, if you do this, the steering lock should click in before the wheel recentres so the car won't move far even if it does manage to mount the kerb.

Using engine braking? I find modern cars, as has been mentioned above, seem to have very little effective engine braking although "Smart" alternator control modules - as mentioned by Andy above, which force the alternator to charge heavily when the throttle is closed on overrun - can actually give a small but noticeable increase in engine braking effect. I do slow on my gears but also using the brakes as necessary. However the "gear thing" is more so that I'm always in the right gear for when I next want to apply throttle. One, maybe unusual, habit I do have I learned when I was competing in club rallies. What this involves is that when driving at speed out on country roads I "brake check" the brake pedal some distance before the point at which I need to apply meaningful braking effort. So, for instance, descending a hill at speed where perhaps a dead stop will be needed at the bottom, I'll just "dab" the brake pedal a few hundred yards before needing to apply serious braking effort to be sure there's a normal "feel" to the pedal. This is just one quick dab and doesn't result in any slowing of the vehicle but, should an unusual pedal feel be detected it gives you a few extra thinking seconds to decide what to do. I will only do it in the most extreme situations where a brake failure would be really catastrophic. It got me out of trouble on several occasions when driving competitively.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Well, that's our first long journey done in the Scala.

Starting from our home in north Edinburgh (Leith area) and driving south across the city, over the bypass and out onto the A702. Following that until it meets the M74 then south until it becomes the M6 until branching off on the M5 in the midlands and continuing south 'till Tiverton. Then across the North Devon Link Road to Barnstaple and on into the wee narrow Devon lanes to the edge of Exmoor where my Mrs's sister lives.

With only about 350 miles on the clock I set up the Sat Nav before we left - first time for me and it took me some time to get the hang of it, never had a car with Sat Nav - Didn't really need it because I know this route so well I can do it with eyes closed - good fun glancing at the displayed map from time to time though. Although this is the 3 cylinder engine from the same EA211 family as my Ibiza, the way the engine drives is really quite different. The 95 hp Ibiza, with it's wastegate controlled turbo has quite a bit of lag from very low revs but once the turbo spins up it comes on strongly in the mid range but tails off a bit at higher revs, although the engine doesn't mind being rev'd out if you feel like it, but there's little reason to as an earlier change lets the torque produced in the mid rev range to allow swift progress. This 110 hp Scala has a variable vane turbo (or so I believe?) and it has much less lag away from very low revs - which I much appreciate when negotiating speed bumps - but it doesn't "peak" like the wastegated Ibiza engine in the middle of the rev range. It delivers a much more linear power curve with the engine pulling slightly less "peakily" in the middle of the rev range but going on to deliver better pulling power higher up in the rev range. Of course, with so few miles on the clock, I wasn't using much over 3500 rpm even on the country roads on the journey south and only tried her out briefly on the homeward journey when she'd got approaching 1,500 miles under her wheels, when coming back up the A702 towards Edinburgh at the end of the trip - still haven't really let her have her head yet though. In my opinion this engine suits the Scala well and will be sufficient for most folk buying one.

General driveability I'd rate as very good for a car of this type. As I'd hoped, she's much more comfortable than the Ibiza was with her (the Scala's) softer suspension, larger wheels with quite relatively "tall" sidewall tyres and lumbar adjustable front seats. I'd expected handling on the country roads to suffer somewhat with this generally softer setup but none of it. The car is bigger so not quite so "Go Cart" like to drive as the Ibiza was, but it feels very taught with surprisingly good feedback through the steering and a lot less body roll than I was expecting. Being slightly wider and me not yet fully "dialed in" made driving in the narrow Devon lanes - where the locals all drive like "kamikaze pilots" and take no quarter - somewhat "hairy" but we survived without any "battle scars". The Scala is slightly higher than the Ibiza which gives you a slightly better view at junctions when other cars are alongside you. Observing local cars in the car parks is an interesting pass time, they're invariably filthy on the N/S from squeezing past each other with N/S wheels in the gutter on the lanes with multiple "battle scars" on the O/S, many with O/S mirrors missing or damaged!

If I really try hard to find something to criticize it might be that, with my car being the 110Hp engine and having the 6 speed gearbox, first gear seems to be really a bit too low. By that I mean that you rapidly run out of revs before you've hardly got moving. Very handy for creeping in traffic jams though as you can just let her dribble along with the clutch fully engaged and the engine at idling revs. In normal driving I find that I'm using first simply to get her rolling and changing into second almost as soon as she moves. If you hold on to first for too long it makes progress a bit "jerky". This is difficult to describe, you'd be best to test drive one if ever thinking of buying.

On the journey south I drove her gently to let things settle down. Cruising in top gear gives you 60MPH with only about 2,000 rpm on the rev counter. when you get down into the Midlands though there's so many 50mph road works and just generally slow moving traffic due to congestion, you're lucky if you can get up to 60mph! By the time we'd spent a couple of weeks with Mrs J's sister and traveled out to do shopping and eating out, the mileage was up around the 800/900 mile mark so I was starting to use slightly more of her potential but still being quite reserved as we headed off back across the link road, onto the M5 for a short way and then off onto the A303 to my daughter's near Salisbury Wilts. A good combination of fast single carriageway/dual carriageway on the link road and motorway (M5) to start with followed by some fast A roads (A303) with heavy fast, and sometimes slower, moving traffic. The car was all I could have wished for easily keeping up with the flow without me having to push her. For the first time I had to use a quite large throttle opening to avoid a "situation" and discovered that she really picks her skirts up and "scoots" when the throttle gets near the floor - very impressive for such a small engine.

5 days at daughter's with a couple of recalcitrant teenagers was enough so we headed home on the Sunday. North on the A419 - a route we know well - until we can join the M5 around Gloucester. This time though, disaster! approaching Swindon notices diverting us off the dual carriageway due to structural bridge repairs necessitating road closure! Follow diversion signs it says. So we do. Sat Nav takes exception to it all and takes a "hissy fit" to itself so better half, not renowned for her map reading ability, tries to navigate us using our big AA road map. About half an hour later, having partially followed the diversion signs and partially guided by my better half, we end up back where we started on the south side of Swindon!!! Sod this! There's a sign for the M4, I'm going to go west on the M4 'till we're well clear of Swindon and then strike north again. In the end I just headed west on the M4 'till it met the M5 and turned north. Added about an hour and a half overall but was simple to do. Doh!

The rest of the journey was pretty much as always with heavy traffic in the midlands thinning as we headed up past the lake district. Cruising at 70mph now with somewhat less than 2.500rpm on the rev counter. Engine and running gear pretty much inaudible but, if I'm really looking for something to pick on, road noise could be better. By this I mean, on smooth surfaces, for instance freshly rolled tarmac, the car is very, very quiet. However on more worn tarmac or concrete road surfaces there's a fair bit of road noise transmitted into the body. I've heard worse but it's something to be aware of and try out for yourself if thinking of buying a Scala. To put it into perspective though, it's better than the Ibiza was. I think a lot of it's down to modern tyre construction.

So, having returned home, next morning I topped her off with fuel, checked the engine oil and other fluids and tyre pressures. The 50 litre fuel tank was not in the red when we reached our Devon destination, a journey of around 450 miles. I filled up next day and did local running around and the journey across to Salisbury and then local running around there. This year we didn't do our usual weekend in a hotel with all our friends - just didn't work out - but we did meet up separately which involved a trip over to Alton Hants to visit one couple and another of similar duration to a pub for reunions with most of the other friends we've kept up with from when we lived down there. I was impressed that we'd done all this without needing to refill the fuel tank. Of course I filled up again to ensure we'd get home without having to stop for fuel and the tank was again quite low but not in the red by the time we got home. By always filling the tank to the second click of the pump I was able to check mileage against actual fuel used and the fuel consumption over the whole journey has worked out at 57 MPG - which is exactly what the dashboard computer was showing! The Ibiza always worked out at around the 60 MPG for the same journey - which we do at least once a year. As the engine and general running gear would have been "tight" for a lot of this running I have quite high hopes the Scala may manage to return the 60 MPG the Ibiza used to achieve once the Scala's engine etc is fully loosened up. Needless to say, I'm delighted with these fuel consumption figures.

I've read about the EA211 engine family liking to use a bit of oil, although the Ibiza never used much, and the dealer warned me that they are known to do so when running in. I probably could have got away with some of the Ibiza oil (5w-30) I had left over but it's meant to be 0W-20 in the Scala so I bought a 4 litre container of compatible Castrol 0W-20 oil from the very helpful Frank at Halfords Seafield before making the journey. My Halfords trade card makes this really quite affordable, actually cheaper than I can buy it at my local trade factor! I was told at the garage to keep an eye on oil consumption over the journey and if it needed a top up to call at any Skoda main dealer who would add oil if needed - I think FOC? The local dealer said he'd top up free of charge - I prefer to keep my own supply though, much more convenient if you're out on the edge of Exmoor! Anyway, I was a little alarmed to see she went from the top of the dipstick marks to nearly the bottom on the journey south - took about 3/4 of a litre to bring it back to the top mark! However, when checked in Salisbury before driving north again the level had dropped by so little I didn't top it off at all and when checked back in Edinburgh it had dropped by only a few mil on the stick and I haven't felt it needs topped off as it's not even half way on the marked section of the stick. Looks like she's settling her rings/bores in nicely. I think these are "hard metal" sprayed bores? I seem to remember reading something about a "special finish" on the bores of the EA211 family of engines? Regular followers of my "ramblings" may remember I mentioned that one of the several reasons I decided the time had come to trade the Ibiza in was that she was taking a very long time for the coolant temperature to reach "normal" and that I suspected one of the twin thermostats had failed (which really means it's best to replace the twin thermostat/water pump assembly together with it's "mini" synchronous drive belt - a not inconsiderable cost) I'm glad to report that the Scala, with a similar thermostat setup, shows "normal temp" almost before I'm turning onto the main road at the end of our lane!

From my Mrs point of view, in addition to finding the front seat comfortable, she really likes the extra room in the back seats where there's far more room than in the Ibiza, her sister commented on this too as she has mobility problems and really appreciated the extra roominess. The boot swallowed our luggage more easily than the Ibiza ST did - Ibiza ST being the estate version - which means there's slightly more room in the boot of the Scala than in the boot of the Ibiza estate. I believe the Scala also has a "cool" glove box too? says so in the owner's manual.

I now realize I don't have much idea how any of the infotainment/Sat Nav/Tech stuff works though and I badly need to sit and "fiddle" with it all until I do, Starting with getting all the updates it keeps asking me to do - which I'm too scared to do in case it all goes wrong as most of these things do when I "fiddle" with them! At least the wee screen between the rev counter and speedo is pretty much the same as the Ibiza.

So, in conclusion, I'm almost unreservedly pleased with my new car. and so glad we decided to buy her. If you're thinking about something similar in size to the Golf but with maybe a bit more passenger space in the back and don't want to spend so much money, You might get a very pleasant surprise if you try a test drive in a Skoda Scala.

Always something to spoil the party though isn't there? We've returned to a washing machine which appears to have broken it's shock absorber. It's bashing it's drum against the casing when on spin cycle. Mind you it is over 12 years old and has seen some serious family use when it was newer and the kids were around more so I think a new one is called for. Also our free view recorder - Humax Aura - has decided it's "taken a powder" after only two years of life. It's completely locked up in the Android home page and won't allow you to select anything else! I have to say though that the Humax people have been very helpful, talking me through a whole host of diagnostic procedures but all to no avail. Full marks to them though for when we couldn't resolve the problem they agreed to take the old one back and send me a new one. Now that's what I call service!

 

[Cheest]

Stolen from another forum. How my body sees the upcoming physical therapy.

 

[StevenRB45]

If I really try hard to find something to criticize it might be that, with my car being the 110Hp engine and having the 6 speed gearbox, first gear seems to be really a bit too low. By that I mean that you rapidly run out of revs before you've hardly got moving. Very handy for creeping in traffic jams though as you can just let her dribble along with the clutch fully engaged and the engine at idling revs. In normal driving I find that I'm using first simply to get her rolling and changing into second almost as soon as she moves. If you hold on to first for too long it makes progress a bit "jerky". This is difficult to describe, you'd be best to test drive one if ever thinking of buying.

The car was all I could have wished for easily keeping up with the flow without me having to push her. For the first time I had to use a quite large throttle opening to avoid a "situation" and discovered that she really picks her skirts up and "scoots" when the throttle gets near the floor - very impressive for such a small engine.

The rest of the journey was pretty much as always with heavy traffic in the midlands thinning as we headed up past the lake district. Cruising at 70mph now with somewhat less than 2.500rpm on the rev counter. Engine and running gear pretty much inaudible but, if I'm really looking for something to pick on, road noise could be better. By this I mean, on smooth surfaces, for instance freshly rolled tarmac, the car is very, very quiet. However on more worn tarmac or concrete road surfaces there's a fair bit of road noise transmitted into the body. I've heard worse but it's something to be aware of and try out for yourself if thinking of buying a Scala.

By always filling the tank to the second click of the pump I was able to check mileage against actual fuel used and the fuel consumption over the whole journey has worked out at 57 MPG - which is exactly what the dashboard computer was showing! The Ibiza always worked out at around the 60 MPG for the same journey - which we do at least once a year. As the engine and general running gear would have been "tight" for a lot of this running I have quite high hopes the Scala may manage to return the 60 MPG

This all sounds spookily familiar, you kinda get used to hanging on to first for 500rpm longer than feels ideal so it doesn't fall on its face at the bottom of second but making sure to come out of the throttle gently and match the rpm on the upshift and gently back on. Its either that or drop out of 1st before it boosts so there isn't a nodding dog effect as you pull the clutch in re-engage 2nd below the level of boost and then the boost comes back in. The one good thing about no engine braking is slightly smearing a gear change doesn't feel as abusive as there's no real weight or resistance to the engine.

Perform wise..having all the torque to drive it like a diesel is nice I assume you can just surf between 1500 and 2200rpm in most use and the torque is there to pull it with a light 3 cylinder grumble and that'll keep up with traffic. Drop a gear and ours doesn't really slow down until about 5k but that comes with 3 cylinder noises and about 35mpg.

Motorway Cruising at less 2400rpm is still a bit of a novelty to me in petrol...the engine with it's DMF and balancer shafts is absolutely smooth at less than 5k rpm. Our old diesel obviously cruised at this but more than 2700 sounded like a washing with a broken damper... strangely.

Even the economy seems similar, on similar jaunt we managed a measured 58.5...on the high resistance all season tyres no less but ours can probably be classified as extremely run in..in fact it had all the boost from day one because erm yeah. It's another engine known for oil use but ours never has who knows why some do and don't perhaps the rings got well bedded in the "running in" period with lots of boost.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

This all sounds spookily familiar, you kinda get used to hanging on to first for 500rpm longer than feels ideal so it doesn't fall on its face at the bottom of second but making sure to come out of the throttle gently and match the rpm on the upshift and gently back on. Its either that or drop out of 1st before it boosts so there isn't a nodding dog effect as you pull the clutch in re-engage 2nd below the level of boost and then the boost comes back in. The one good thing about no engine braking is slightly smearing a gear change doesn't feel as abusive as there's no real weight or resistance to the engine.

yeah, it's kind of like that but different. Pulls away from a dead standstill very smoothly as the clutch bites but then, as the clutch fully locks up it sort of hangs slightly before then accelerating again. It's a bit like being on a bungee. Or, if you can imagine very soft bottom arm bushes taking up the initial force of moving the vehicle and then giving it back as the vehicle's inertial is overcome and it accelerates. Very difficult to describe and I don't think it's anything at all to do with the turbo. I've never driven anything quite like it but already I'm allowing for it and, give me a bit more time and I'm sure it will just be part of driving it which I'll compensate for without thinking. By the way, the almost identical used Scala I drove on the test drive was absolutely identical so, although at the time I thought the test car maybe had a small problem, I'm now absolutely sure they're all like this - well, all the 110hp engined ones anyway.

Perform wise..having all the torque to drive it like a diesel is nice I assume you can just surf between 1500 and 2200rpm in most use and the torque is there to pull it with a light 3 cylinder grumble and that'll keep up with traffic. Drop a gear and ours doesn't really slow down until about 5k but that comes with 3 cylinder noises and about 35mpg.

Yup, drives very much like a diesel which was one of the things I found attractive about the similarly engined Ibiza as I was coming from a 1.9 TDI Cordoba back in 2016 and found many of the non turbo petrols at that time a bit disappointing. These 3 cylinder petrols have the added advantage that if, in an emergency situation, you need to hang onto the gear you are in and just let it rev out then it will - unlike the diesel which simply runs out of huff forcing you to change up. Although I haven't really explored the higher rev range yet this engine is giving every sign of having more usable power in the higher rev range than the Ibiza did. Can't see myself doing that often with it though but nice to feel it's there if needed. The 3 cylinder engine noise sounds very similar to the V6 engine in the Dodge my daughter ran when they lived in the US, I rather like the sound - purposeful when pulling hard is how I'd describe it?

Motorway Cruising at less 2400rpm is still a bit of a novelty to me in petrol...the engine with it's DMF and balancer shafts is absolutely smooth at less than 5k rpm. Our old diesel obviously cruised at this but more than 2700 sounded like a washing with a broken damper... strangely.

The Ibiza wasn't that different with it's 5 speed box but I think the Scala is knocking best part of 150 rpm off that when in 6th - so the Ibiza was a bit above the 2500rpm whereas the Scala is nearer the 2450 or maybe slightly less (can't be certain, I'll pay more attention next time we're going out of town to one of my boy's houses.)
Interestingly the VAG engine has no DMF and no balance shaft either, which is unusual for an inherently out of balance design like a 3 cylinder is. it gets round this by having an intentionally "out of balance" flywheel which cancels out the inbuilt 3 cylinder imbalance problem and I must say it works very well indeed. At idle the engine is so smooth and quiet I sometimes have to check the rev counter to be sure it's actually running - really! and even when pulling hard there's very little to give away the fact it's a 3 lunger, except the unusual 3 cylinder growl. The Ibiza was the same although I think it had less soundproofing so was more audible at high revs. I also have a Petrol Particulate Filter which, I believe is unavoidable on a modern petrol. I'm told they don't give problems like those on diesels though because they operate at much higher temperature so just burn up the solids.

Even the economy seems similar, on similar jaunt we managed a measured 58.5...on the high resistance all season tyres no less but ours can probably be classified as extremely run in..in fact it had all the boost from day one because erm yeah. It's another engine known for oil use but ours never has who knows why some do and don't perhaps the rings got well bedded in the "running in" period with lots of boost.

The Scala is on Goodyear EfficientGrip tyres which claim to be low rolling resistance with extra good wet performance and they certainly felt very well planted in the extremely heavy rain we encountered on our recent journey south with not the slightest hint of lack of grip even when the rain was so heavy I could hardly see past the next HGV on the M6.

As to oil consumption. The Ibiza was bought at the same time of year so it's breaking in experience was very similar to the Scala in that, with very few miles on the clock it went to Devon and back on the exact same route with a light foot on the throttle going down and a slightly more aggressive right foot being applied as we got back up onto the M74 and A702. The Ibiza though never really used any oil between oil changes even when new. The Scala, as I said above, used about 3/4 of a litre on the way down but a negligible amount on the return journey. Had I not been warned about the possible use of oil by the garage I'd have been a little concerned about that much oil being used in about 450 miles but she really does seem to have settled down now. I'll be checking her every Saturday for a while now though until I'm sure she's "behaving".

As to running in procedures with modern engines, well, it seems to be a recommendation ignored now a days? I'm sure that probably the big end journal finish achieved these days is so good that soft metal bearings don't really need to be gently run in and all other fits and clearances will be sub milimetrically perfect (not quite sure what I mean by that, but experienced forum members will probably "get" what I'm trying to say?) Even so though, I do like to cosset a new engine for the first few thousand miles. Of course you don't want to slog it with too few rpms either, just run it at moderate revs on a light load. I always remember the first performance engine I built with a relatively high lift cam and being surprised that the instructions in the box (think it was a "Kent Cam" if I remember) warned not to run the engine at less than 2000 rpm as soon as it was started to avoid scouring of the cam lobes during running in. It was during that engine build that I learned about assembly lube and from that moment on I've always used it when assembling engines.