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Care and consideration for you and your car

We will:

Work competently and in your best interests
Treat you as a valued individual and respect and care for your property.

Article source: www.skoda.co.uk

Mikkelsen first to win back-to-back IRC titles

ŠKODA UK Motorsport’s Andreas Mikkelsen has become the first driver to successfully defend his Intercontinental Rally Challenge title, after finishing 2nd on the final round, the Cyprus Rally, in his Fabia S2000.

Partnered by Ola Fløene, who retains the co-drivers’ title, Andreas has won two rounds of this year’s IRC, finished 2nd five times and recorded 58 stage wins. In fact, over the 2011 and ’12 IRC seasons, Andreas has recorded an impressive 99 stage victories!

ŠKODA has dominated this year’s IRC, scoring 120 stage wins out of a possible 172 on its way to being crowned IRC Manufacturers’ champions for the third consecutive year. Four different ŠKODA drivers – Andreas Mikkelsen, Juho Hänninen, Jan Kopecký and Dimitar Iliev – won IRC events in 2012. ŠKODA drivers also filled the final top four positions on the drivers’ standings and the Fabia Super 2000 won eight out of the 13 rounds.

Andreas took an early lead in Cyprus with the fastest time on the opening Pafos city centre stage on Friday night, before losing two minutes and dropping to 7th after picking up a right rear puncture on Saturday’s opening stage.

He launched an amazing comeback on the mixed surface stages in the rugged Troodos Mountains, setting seven fastest stage times over the next eight stages to close to within just 49 seconds of the leader Nasser Al-Attiyah after SS10.

Another puncture on SS11 saw Andreas settle for 2nd place in Cyprus and the IRC title – and in tribute to the contribution his co-driver has made during his double title success, and indeed since the start of Andreas’ career, Ola drove the final stage in Cyprus; setting a very respectable 13th fastest time!

Andreas: “These have been the best two years of my life in the IRC with ŠKODA UK Motorsport and it’s an amazing feeling to be champion again. I have to thank ŠKODA for giving me the chance to return to international rallying and giving me the best available car to help me develop as a driver.

“We tried hard to win the Cyprus Rally and we really went for it, but three punctures cost us a lot of time. The mixed surface format and the hot and rough conditions were a real challenge, but it’s been great fun to fight with Nasser and I’m really pleased with our performance.”

Pierfrancesco Zanchi, ŠKODA UK Motorsport Team Principal: “It’s been another great season. We started the year aiming to defend the title, which isn’t an easy thing to do. We’ve had our ups and downs, but I have to say I think we’ve done a really good job. We are really happy to celebrate back-to-back drivers’ titles with Andreas and to have played our part in helping ŠKODA win three manufacturer titles in a row.”

Final positions (provisional top 6 after SS13)

1. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Giovanni Bernacchini (Ford Fiesta RRC)… 3hrs 16mins 25.2secs

2. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (ŠKODA Fabia S2000)…+3mins 35.3secs

3. Toshi Arai/Dale Moscatt (Subaru Impreza)…+10mins 07.1secs

4. Jarkko Nikara/Jarkko Kalliolepo (Subaru Impreza)…+12mins 42.1secs

5. Sepp Wiegand/Timo Gottschalk (ŠKODA Fabia S2000)…+14mins 00.6secs

6. Savvas Savva/Andreas Papandreou (Mitsubishi Lancer)…+15mins 45.1secs

IRC points (provisional after Round 13)

Drivers’

1. Andreas Mikkelsen…168pts

2. Jan Kopecký…101pts

3. Juho Hänninen…93pts

4. Sepp Wiegand…73pts

5. Giandomenico Basso…65pts

6. Nasser Al-Attiyah…50pts

Article source: www.skoda.co.uk

Skoda Superb review by Top Gear

The Skoda Superb is an old-school cheap barge. A previous Passat with a wheelbase stretch gives gigantic rear space, impressive durability and predictably stodgy dynamics. Avoid, unless your business is VIP airport cabbing.

Comfort

Here's the payback for the dull drive. The ride is level, the seats supportive and the space positively palatial. The Skoda proceeds generally fairly quietly down the road too.
Performance

There's a V6 in the price lists but it's utterly irrelevant. The basic four-cylinder models suffer from being old-gen powerplants. New ones come along when the new Superb launches in September. So performance is mediocre.
Cool

This car isn't even a sleeper. It's a deep, deep, hundred-year, slumberer. It is catatonic. That is not cool.
Quality

Has a reassuring, bomb-proof nature. Abuse it and it just won't care. Nor will you of course, because it doesn't have the Audi-esque quality that makes you treasure a car.
Handling

Not really. The Superb's soggy steering, unfortunate nose-heavy weight distribution and long wheelbase combine to give it the alacrity of a goods train. Or maybe a little less.
Practicality

Immense, obviously. What saloon gives more space and comfort and boot volume for the money? If only it came as a more versatile estate or hatch. But no, you have to wait for those in the next generation.
Running costs

Low in terms of fuel and service costs. Beware though, it's a big car and the engines aren't the newest, so the performance/consumption compromise leaves room for improvement. And the top-spec versions are going to depreciate like a stone.

Article source: www.topgear.co.uk

Winter Tyres

When winter comes, you need to get a grip. After all, there’s only a footprint-size area of rubber on each of your tyres that’s actually in contact with the road.

That’s why we offer a whole range of winter tyres for you to choose from, thoughtfully selected by us from some of the best-known and most trusted brands. We also offer expert fitting advice, so you can be sure you’ve got the right tyres for the job.

A chilling thought

When the temperature drops to 7°C or lower, your ordinary tyres start to suffer. The rubber reacts badly to the cold, and gripping and braking performance is not as good as it should be.

Add in a bit of snow or ice, and what used to be your stopping distance can easily become your not-stopping distance.

Fitting winter tyres from our range to your ŠKODA during the winter months can make a big difference to your safety on the road.

We also offer a tyre hotel service for £120 per year, please ask your local Retailer for details.

A cure for baldness

Bald or worn tyres are dangerous in good weather, and downright deadly in winter. Not to mention being illegal, of course.

We can check if your tread’s wearing a little thin. Then, if any of your tyres do need replacing, we can recommend the right size and speed rating – based on the latest information from ŠKODA – to ensure you get the best and safest handling and performance.

And we have a wide range of tyres for you to choose from, at prices that are far from hair-raising.

Be prepared

Your ŠKODA comes equipped with a tyre repair kit. But if you would feel happier with a spare wheel on board too, we can provide one – together with the tool kit for fitting it.

The tool kit – comprising lifting jack, spanner, tool box, fastening strap, and screw to hold the spare in place when stored – starts at just £30. The spare wheel starts from just £94. Or get both together from only £124 RRP.

Pull your Snocks™ up

Snocks™ Snow Socks are a quick and easy way to get a better grip in winter. Fitted in minutes to the driving wheels of your ŠKODA, they give better traction in snow and ice.

Article source: www.skoda.co.uk

ŠKODA AUTO increases revenues and deliveries

Sales revenue rise to 7.9 billion euros in the first nine months of 2012
Deliveries grow to 717,200 units in the same period
Operating profit is 567 million euros through September
Significant investment in expansion and renewal of model range

Czech carmaker ŠKODA’s sales revenue rose by 3.1% in the period of January - September 2012, reaching 7.9 billion euros (previous year: 7.6 billion euros). At the same time, deliveries to customers rose by 7.9% to approx 717,200. At 567 million euros (September 30th, 2011: 575 million euros) the operating profit was on a par with last year’s figure also.

“ŠKODA is staying its growth course,” says ŠKODA CEO Winfried Vahland. “We can see that the company’s growth strategy is bringing tangible results. We delivered more cars in the first nine months and raised our revenues despite some difficult market conditions,” said Vahland. “The Citigo and the Rapid have successfully rung in the largest model offensive in ŠKODA’s history. We will continue on this road, further increasing our efforts next year,” said Vahland.

As ŠKODA CFO Winfried Krause explains: “In the first three quarters of the year, ŠKODA implemented the necessary investment in models and capacity in a difficult business environment. ŠKODA also maintained operating profit at a steadily high level. Given increasing economic headwinds, we will need to manage costs strictly. We have a solid basis on which to continue executing our 2018 growth strategy.”

Investments in new models and in expanding production capacity, the precondition for the model offensive, grew to 525 million euros during the first nine months of 2012. Net liquidity as of the 30th September was in excess of 1.9 billion euros.

Article source: www.skoda.co.uk

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