
Driving and the Environment
164
The fuel consumption can naturally also be influenced by factors which are beyond
the driver's control. It is, for example, no rmal for the fuel consumption to increase
in winter and under worsened conditions such as poor road conditions, towing a
trailer, etc.
The technical requirements for low fuel usage and economic efficiency of the
vehicle have already been bu ilt into the vehicle at the works. Special attention has
been given to minimisi ng negative effects on the envi ronment. It is necessary to
take note of the guidelines given in this chapter in order to make best use of these
characteristics and to maintain their effectiveness.
Looking ahead when driving
A vehicle's highest fuel consumption occurs it accelerates.
Avoid accelerating and braking unnecessarily. If you drive with forsight you will not
need to brake so often and will also then not have to accelerate so much. Let your
vehicle coast to a stop, for example, if this is possible, when you see that the next
set of traffic lights is at red.
Shifting gears and saving energy
Shifting up early saves on fuel.
Manual gearbox
– Drive no more than about one length of your vehicle in first gear. Always shift up into the next higher gear at approx. 2 000 to 2 500 revs.
Automatic gearbox
– Depress the accelerator pedal slowly. Do not depress it beyond the
kickdown position, however.
An effective way of achieving good fuel economy is to shift up early. You will
consume more fuel if you drive at unnecess arily high revolutions in any given gear.
The ⇒fig. 166 shows the ratio of fuel consumption to the speed of your vehicle in
the relevant gears. Fuel cons umption in 1st gear is the highest, while that in 5th or
the 6th gear is the lowest.
Only depress the accelerator pedal slowly if your vehicle is fitted with an automatic
gearbox in order to automatically select an economic driving programme. You will
achieve good fuel economy by shifting up early and shifting down late. This applies
in particular if you make use of the ma nual mode (Tiptronic) for shifting gears.
Note
Also use the information supplied by the multi-functional indicator ⇒page 15.
Fig. 166 Fuel consump-
tion in litres/100 km. and
speed in km/h.
NKO B5 20.book Page 164 Friday, March 2, 2007 1:46 PM

Driving and the Environment165
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Avoiding full throttle
Driving more slowly means saving fuel.
Sensitive use of the accelerator will not only significantly reduce fuel consumption
but also positively influence environmental pollution and wear of your vehicle.
You should avoid fully exploiting the top speed of your vehicle wherever possible.
Fuel consumption, pollutant emissions and vehicle noises increase disproportion-
ally at high speeds.
The ⇒fig. 167 shows the ratio of fuel consumptio n to the speed of your vehicle.
You will cut your fuel consumption by half if you only make use three-quarters of
the possible top speed of your vehicle.
Reducing idling
Idling also costs fuel.
It is worthwhile switching off the engine in a traffic jam or when waiting at a level
crossing or at traffic lights with a length y red phase. Even after just 30 - 40 seconds
you will have saved more fuel than that is needed when you start the engine up
again.
If an engine is only idling it takes much longer for it to reach its normal operating
temperature. Wear-and-tear and pollutant em issions, though, are particularly high in the warming-up phase. This is why you should drive off right after starting the
engine. Do avoid high engine re
volutions at this time, however.
Regular servicing
A poorly tuned engine consumes an unnecessarily high amount of
fuel.
Having your vehicle serviced regularly at a specialist garge enables you to satisfy
one of the requirements for economical motoring even before you set off on your
journey. Keeping your vehicle properly serviced not only has a positive effect on the
safety of your vehicle and maintaining its value, but also saves on fuel.
A poorly tuned engine can result in a fu el consumption which is 10% higher than
normal.
The foreseen maintenance work should be undertaken exactly according to the
Service schedule by a specialist garage.
Also check the oil level after refueling. Oil consumption is dependent to a consid-
erable extent on the load and speed of the engine. Oil consumption could be as
high as 0.5 litres/1 000 km depending on your style of driving.
It is quite normal that a new engine ha s a higher oil consumption at first, and
reaches its lowest level only after a certain running in time. It is therefore not
possible to correctly assess the oil cons umption of a new vehicle until after you
have driven about 5 000 km.
For the sake of the environment
•You can achieve additional improvements in your fuel economy by using high-
lubricity oils.
•Check the ground below your car at regula r intervals to detect any leakages in
good time. Please have your vehicle inspected by a specialist garge if you find any
stains caused by oil or other fluids on the floor.
Fig. 167 Fuel consump-
tion in litres/100 km. and
speed in km/h.
NKO B5 20.book Page 165 Friday, March 2, 2007 1:46 PM

Towing a trailer
170
should be attached to folding arms. Adjust the mirrors so that they provide you with
an adequate field of view to the rear.
Headlights
Before starting off with a hitched trailer, also check the setting of the headlights.
Alter the setting as necessary with the aid of the headlight beam adjuster
⇒ page 48.
Detachable ball head
The ball rod is detachable on vehicles wh ich feature a factory-fitted towing device.
It is stowed together with separate fitting instructions in the spare wheel well in the
luggage compartment of the vehicle.
Further information on the towing device ⇒page 171.
Note
•We recommend that you also have yo ur vehicle inspected between service
intervals if you tow a trailer frequently.
•The handbrake on the towing vehicle must be put on when coupling and
decoupling the trailer.
Driving Tips
Particular caution is required when towing a trailer.
– Do not, as far as possible, drive with your vehicle unladen and the
trailer laden.
– Do not make full use of the legal maximum speeds. This applies in
particular to downhill sections.
– Apply the brakes in good time.
– Keep a check on the coolant temper ature gauge if the outside temper-
ature is high.
Distribution of weight
The distribution of the weight is very poor if your vehicle is unladen and the trailer
is laden. Maintain a particularly low speed if you cannot avoid driving with this
combination.
Driving speed
Do not drive faster than 80 km/h for safety reasons. This also applies for countries
in which higher speeds are allowed.
The fact that the driving stability of the vehicle + trailer combination reduces with
increasing speed means that the legally allowed speed should not be used when
there are unfavourable road, weather or wind conditions, particularly near accident
black spots.
You must always reduce your speed immedi ately as soon as you detect even just
the slightest swaying of the trailer. On no account attempt to stop the trailer from
“swaying” by accelerating.
Apply the brakes in good time! If the trailer is fitted with a trailer brake, apply the
brakes gently at first and then brake firmly. This will avoid brake jolts resulting from
the trailer wheels locking. Shift down gears in good time before negotiating a down-
hill section to allow the engine to also act as a brake.
Engine overheating
Please keep a check on the coolant temperature gauge if you have to negotiate a
lengthy slope in a low gear at a high engi ne speed when the outside temperature is
very high ⇒page 12.
If the needle of the coolant temperature gauge moves into the right-hand area or
even the red area of the scale, reduce yo ur speed immediately. Stop and switch off
the engine if the warning light
in the instrument cluste r begins flashing. Wait a
few minutes and check the level of coolant in the coolant expansion bottle
⇒ page 190, “Inspecting the coolant level”.
Please refer to the following guidelines ⇒page 26, “Coolant temperature, Coolant
quantity ”.
The coolant temperature can be reduced by switching on the heating.
Any increase in the cooling effect of the coolant fan through shifting down a gear
and increasing the engine speed is not possible since the fan speed is independent
NKO B5 20.book Page 170 Friday, March 2, 2007 1:46 PM

Taking care of your vehicle and cleaning the vehicle179
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Removing stains
– Remove fresh stains which are water-based (e.g. coffee, tea, juices,
blood etc.) with an absorbent cloth or household paper or use the
cleaner from the care set for a stain which has already dried in.
– Remove fresh stains on a fat base (e.g. butter, mayonnaise, chocolate
etc.) with an absorbent cloth or household cleaning paper or with the
cleaner from the care set if the stain has not yet penetrated into the
surface.
– Use a grease dissolver for grease stains which have dried in .
–Eliminate special stains (e.g. ball-point pens, felt pen, nail varnish,
dispersion paint, shoe cream etc.) with a special stain remover suit-
able for leather.
Leather care
– Treat the leather every six months with the leather care product avail- able from Škoda Service Partners.
– Apply only a small amount of the care product.
– Dry the leather off with a soft cloth
It is best to consult your Škoda Service Partner if you have any questions regarding
cleaning and care of the leather interior.
Caution
•You must on no account treat the leathe r with solvents (e.g. gasoline, turpen-
tine), floor wax, shoe cream or such like.
•Avoid leaving your vehicle for lengthy pe riods in bright sunlight in order to
avoid bleaching the leather. If you leave your vehicle parked in the open for lengthy
periods, protect the leather from the direct rays of the sun by covering it over.
•Sharp-edged objects on items of clothing such as zip fasteners, rivets, sharp-
edged belts may leave permanent scratche s or signs of rubbing on the surface.
Note
•Use a care cream with light blocker and impregnation effect regularly and each
time after cleaning the leather. The cream no urishes the leather, allows it to breathe
and keeps it supple and also provides moisture. It also creates surface protection.
•Clean the leather every 2 to 3 months, remove fresh soiling each time this
occurs.
•Remove fresh stains such as those from ball-point pens, ink, lipstick, shoe
cream etc., as quickly as possible.
•Care also for the leather dye. Refreshen areas which have lost their colour with
a special coloured leather cream as required.
Alcantara upholstery
Do not use any leather care products for cleaning Alcantara upholsteries.
Eliminating dust and dirt
Wipe the Alcantara upholstery with a slightly moistened, soft cloth or clean the
covers with a suitable shampoo.
Removing stains
Moisten a soft cloth with lukewarm water or diluted methylated spirits and dab the
stain from the edges toward the middle.
Caution
•Do not use any leather care product on the Alcantara upholsteries.
•Avoid leaving your vehicle for lengthy periods in bright sunlight in order to
avoid bleaching the Alcantara upholsteries. If you leave your vehicle parked in the
open for lengthy periods, protect the Alcant ara upholstery from the direct rays of
the sun by covering it over.
Seat belts
– Keep the seat belts clean.
NKO B5 20.book Page 179 Friday, March 2, 2007 1:46 PM

Inspecting and Replenishing
188
– After this, once again withdraw the dipstick and read off the oil level ⇒page 187, fig. 175 .
Oil level within range
– You must not top up the oil.
Oil level within range
–You may top up the oil. It is possible that the oil level may then be
within range after doing this.
Oil level within range
–You must top up the oil ⇒page 188. It is sufficient, once this is done,
to keep the oil level is within range .
It is normal for the engine to consume oil. The oil cons umption may be as much as
0.5 l/1 000 km depending on your style of driving and the conditions under which
you operate your vehicle. The oil consumpt ion may be slightly higher than this
during the first 5 000 kilometres.
One should therefore check the oil level at regular intervals, preferably every time
after the fuel tank is filled or after driving for long stretches.
We recommend maintaining the oil level within the range if the engine has been
operating at high loads, for example during a lengthy motorway trip during the
summer months, towing a trailer or negotiating a high mountain pass, but not
above this .
The warning light in the instrument cluster will indicate whether the oil level is too
low ⇒page 27, “Engine oil ”. In this case, check the oil level as soon as possible.
Top up with an approp riate quantity of oil.
WARNING
Read and observe the warning notes ⇒page 185, “Working in the engine
compartment” before working in the engine compartment.
Caution
•The oil level must on no account ex tend beyond the range . Danger of
damaging the catalytic converter.
•Do not continue your journey if for some reason it is not possible under the
conditions prevailing to top up with oil. Switch the engine off and obtain profes-
sional assistance from a specialist garage, otherwise it could lead to severe engine
damage.
Replenishing engine oil
– Inspect the oil level ⇒page 187.
– Unscrew the cap of the engine oil filler opening.
– Pour in a suitable grade of oil in portions of 0.5 litres ⇒page 186,
“Engine oil specifications”.
– Inspect the oil level ⇒page 187.
– Carefully screw on the cap of the filler opening and push the dipstick in fully.
WARNING
•Avoid dripping oil onto hot parts of the engine when topping up will oil -
a risk of fire!
•Read and observe the warning notes ⇒page 185, “Working in the engine
compartment” before working in the engine compartment.
For the sake of the environment
The oil level must on no account be above the range ⇒page 187, fig. 175. Oil
will otherwise be drawn in through the cr ankcase ventilation and may pass through
the exhaust system to atmosphere. The oi l may combust in the catalytic converter
and damage it.
Aa
Ab
Aa
Ac
Ab
Aa
Aa
Aa
NKO B5 20.book Page 188 Friday, March 2, 2007 1:46 PM

Wheels and Tyres203
Using the systemSafetyDriving TipsGeneral MaintenanceBreakdown assistanceTechnical Data
Note
It is not normally possible to fit wheels from other models of cars for technical
reasons. This may also apply in certain circumstances to the wheels of the same
type of vehicle.
Wheel bolts
Wheels and wheel bolts are matched to each other in terms of design. Each time
you fit other wheels - e.g. light alloy wheels or wheels with winter tyres - you must
therefore also use the matching wheel bolts of the correct length and shape of
spherical cap. This is essential to ensure that the wheels are tightly fitted and that
the brake system operates properly.
If you retrofit wheel trims (or have this done), please also ensure that an adequate
flow of air remains assured for cooling the brake system.
The Škoda Service Partners are instructed in the technical possibilities which exist
regarding converting or retrofitti ng wheels, tyres and wheel trim.
WARNING
•In case of incorrect treatment of the wheel bolts, the wheel can loosen
when the car is moving - risk of accident!
•The wheel bolts must be clean and must turn easily. However, they must
never be treated with grease or oil.
•If the wheel bolts are tightened to a too low tightening torque, the rim
can lossen when the car is moving - risk of accident! A tightening torque
which is too high can damage the bolts and threads and this can result in
permanent deformation of the contact surfaces on the rims.
Caution
The prescribed tightening torque of the wheel bolts for steel and light alloy wheels
is 120 Nm.
Winter tyres
The handling of your vehicle will be significantly improved when driving on wintry
roads if you fit winter tyres. Summer tyres do not offer the same grip on ice, snow
and at temperatures below 7 °C because of their construction (width, rubber blend,
tread pattern). This applies in particul ar to vehicles which are equipped with low-
profile tyres or high-speed tyres (code index V, W or Y on wall of tyre).
Winter tyres must be mounted on all four wheels to obtain the best handling char-
acteristics.
You must only fit those types of winter tyre which are approved for your vehicle. The
permissible sizes of winter tyres are stated in your vehicle documents. Approvals
may differ because of national legislation.
Please remember that the tyres should be inflated to 20 kPa (0.2 bar) more than is
the case for summer tyres ⇒page 200.
Winter tyres no longer offer the same winter performance once the tyre tread has
worn down to a depth of about 4 mm.
Ageing also causes winter tyres to lose most of their winter performance properties
- even in cases where the remaining tread depth is still clearly more than 4 mm.
Speed restrictions apply to winter tyres as well as to summer tyres ⇒page 201,
⇒ .
You can fit winter tyres of a lower speed ca tegory to your vehicle provided that you
also do not drive faster than the permissible maximum speed for such tyres, even
if the possible maximum speed of your vehicle is higher. The corresponding tyre
category can damage the tyres when exceeding the permissible maximum speed.
Please pay attention to the notes if you decide to fit winter tyres ⇒page 199.
You can also fit so-called “all-year tyres” instead of winter tyres.
Please contact your specialist garage if there are any points which are not clear who
will be able to provide you with information regarding the maximum speed for your
tyres.
NKO B5 20.book Page 203 Friday, March 2, 2007 1:46 PM

Technical Data
228
Gearbox code, paint number, interior equipment number, engine output,
engine code
Partial description of the vehicle
7GG - vehicles with DPF ⇒page 160
Vehicle identification number (VIN)
The vehicle identification number - VIN (v ehicle body number) is stamped onto the
partition between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment and
on a sign on the lower left hand edge below the windscreen.
Engine number
The engine number is stamped into the engine block.
Type plate (production plate)
The type plate is affixed to the rear cross panel in the engine compartment on the
right looking in the direction of travel.
Vehicles for certain export countries do not have a type plate.
Sticker on inside of fuel filler flap
The sticker is affixed to the inside of the fuel filler flap. The sticker contains the
following data:
•The prescribed types of fuel,
•Tyre s iz e ,
•Tyre pressure.
Fuel consumption according to the regulations
(99/100/EU)
Depending on the range of the special equipment, style of driving, traffic situation,
weather influences and vehi cle condition, the consumption values which in prac-
tice result when using the vehicle ca n deviate from the indicated values.
Urban traffic
The consumption measurement in urban traf fic begins with starting of the cold
engine. Afterwards the normal urban traffic is simulated.
Non-urban traffic
For the consumption measurement in non-ur ban traffic the vehicle, as in daily
motoring, is accelerated and braked several times in all gears. The vehicle speed
changes within the range from 0 to 120 km/h.
Combined traffic
The consumption value in the combined traf fic consists of 37% from the value for
the urban traffic and of 63% from the value for the non-urban traffic.
Dimensions
Dimensions (mm)
A3
A4
A5
Length4803
Width1765
Width including exterior mirror1895
NKO B5 20.book Page 228 Friday, March 2, 2007 1:46 PM