All the other Karoq same level trim, autos are 18500+

I found a skoda kodiaq 2018 1.5 TSI DSG 35k mileage, SE L trim - in this lovely dark blue colour with a black interior for £20k....

Thanks everyone for the comments, I'll be sure to take the M sport and SE suspension into consideration, Ive heard the SE is much smoother. Also Id get noting bigger than 18/19in alloys. Like I say, Ive owned, mk3 and mk4 mondeos so size of 5 series isn't really an issue for me, Im used to larger cars. Ive never owned a BMW, so although there 'common' probably a step up in quality than the mondeo, although I like the mk5 Vignale version!. I'll be on the look out for lower milage 19 plate 530i in a couple of months, the market seems pretty expensive for used cars at the minute, not sure if I should wait a few months and see if they start falling again or bite the bullet and nail one now.

Further to the above, you do get "bonding" in some filtration applications. For example, ionic bonding with solute gradient elution is used routinely, along with molecular sieving ("Sephadex") in protein purification, and activated charcoal is used in gas mask filters to adsorb nerve gases and such.

The last does suggest that elemental carbon, at least in some forms, could "bond" (not in this case actual covalent bonding, but an adsorption involving weaker intermolecular forces like hydrogen bonds) to a matrix....

I can’t help with your problem with the stalk not returning from a left signal unfortunately. Mine was the opposite - it wouldn’t stop signalling right. That was after the switch clicked back to the middle position but had just a little upward play allowing it to make contact still. I fixed that by taping a 15g weight to the back of the stalk. Just enough to keep it in the right place but move both directions. I used an M10 nut and double sided tape but I’ll get a thin bit of lead sheet as it’s less visible. You might be able to fit a rubber band to bias yours upwards if you remove the shroud.

...... "As for the newer cars, I don’t trust modern DPF equipped diesels (for good reason) and I don’t trust over-complex automated manual gearboxes, so that pretty much rules out 99% of modern Alfa models"

Modern DPF dielses are perfectly fine unless you drive lots of short journys. There is nothing else to worry about them, apart from the fact oil burners are effectivly dead in the water due to high fuel costs and the government (mistakenly) doing everything it can to outlaw them.

Having run Skoda DSG vehicles since 2011 I can assure you that the gearboxes are absolutely fine and its simply short-sighted to think otherwise.

As for "Modern Alfas" - they use the ZF box which is also used by Aston Martin, BMW, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Toyota......