I bought a Fabia Elegance Estate 105bhp Tdi in July, to replace my 8 year old 1.9 Tdi. What a difference!

The new car is fitted with Dunlop Sport Maxx 205/45/R16 83W (168mph rated tyes) which give an appallingly harsh, jittery & noisy ride. This is the only wheel/tyre size available on the Elegance, although the identical car with an SE trim, is supplied with 195/55 R15 85H as standard, but with the option to "upgrade" to 205/45/R16.

On recommendation by two local tyre factors, smaller rims & higher profile tyres would considerably improve the ride & would fit in the wheel arches. However, to avoid any potential issues with warranty or insurance, I contacted Skoda UK four times, for approval to downsize the wheels & tyres to the 15 inch SE size, but ran into a brick wall. They won't approve any downsize.

According to Skoda Customer Services, the Elegance has a different rear spring to the SE

"to counteract the higher level of gravitational forces caused by the increased weight of the vehicle. The wheel and tyre combination chosen for this level of trim combine to keep as high a level of traction and road-holding as in the other levels of trim on the Fabia range. The suspension set-up prevents squatting or bucking when accelerating and braking. This provides a smoother transition and helps to reinforce the elegance name."

Something strange here. According to the Skoda brochure, the SE & Elegance have the same Kerb weight, Total weight & Payload - namely 1239kg, 1694kg & 455kg. Additionally, the weight of the 16 inch wheel/tyre at 19kg is only 1.6kg more than the 15 inch SE combo - hardly significant.

Makes you feel sorry for the SE owners squatting about on their 15 inch wheels!

Of course the full size spare is 195/55/R15 85H, but can only be used in an emergency, according to SUK - SE owners beware!

Have checked my V5c Registration details for Type/Variant/Version & approval number, against the German Skoda Database. It shows the following wheels/tyres as approved for my car:-

185/55 R15 85H & M+S spec tyres - rims 6J x 15 H2 offset 43
185/60 R15 85H - rims 6J x 15 H2 offset 43
195/55 R15 85H - rims 6J x 15 H2 offset 43
205/45 R16 83H - rims 6.5J x 16 H2 offset 43

I have had a high regard for the Skoda brand until now, but feel that Skoda UK have dropped the ball on this occasion. Especially as one of the SUK Customer Service Agents admitted on the telephone, that they had received a significant number of complaints from Elegance owners regarding the harsh ride.

There is a another thread , where an Elegance owner,couldn't live with the ride & sold his car after a few weeks at a considerable loss. Not an option for me I'm afraid.

Any suggestions (polite please), where I go from here - write to Skoda Home Office?