What's the latest?

[johnd]

Time to think about my next new car (to follow my current Q3 SB 45TFSI) and considering a Formentor VZ2 with sunroof. Actually, I've been mulling it over in the background for a while now and watching reviews & forums. But time to assess things more seriously now.

I'm aware that the Formentor had some significant bugs at launch, especially to infotainment. And also that lead times are potentially long - presumably more so if you spec the pan roof? And I know both of these kinds of issue will have been covered in various threads here. But trawling back through old threads doesn't necessarily give a good picture of what things are like for the latest production cars.

So, I was wondering if any kind soul would summarise in a sentence or two what the current state of play might be. I guess key questions are:

• What significant bugs are still outstanding, even on the latest VZ2 cars?
• Are there any particular likes or dislikes you have about the car aside from software bugs. My current Q3 gives me a pretty good idea of what running a compact SUV/crossover with decent performance (if not 300bhp!) is like in practice, so I'm thinking more about pros/cons specifically for the VZ2. For instance, how are you getting on with the all (or largely) touch screen controls now that you might have got used to it?
• What about production delays? I'm guessing that this might be ca 4-6 months, which is tolerable if not ideal? But is speccing the pan roof likely to extend this towards infinity for instance?

TIA.

 

[Napmasterflash]

I got my VZ2 with a pan roof at the end of May and it has the 1790 software and generally it runs pretty well.

I only really use the infotainment through Android Auto with Waze and Spotify and once everything is set up its all good. It has the odd wobble switching between profiles and I did get the popping sound but have solved that by turning privacy settings to max and using the phone connection rather than the inbuilt SIM.

Pros
- It's brilliant to drive with so much adjustability with the driver settings
- ACC is a bit of a revelation for me and works really well in my opinion, though others will disagree
- Wireless Android Auto
- Decent power and performance
- The interior

Cons
- Explaining to people what you drive and what it is gets boring
- No backlighting on volume and temp controls but you get used to it

I can't really comment on production delays.

It has its faults but in my car they are no worse than some other cars I have had. I really love the car, it's brilliant. Hope that helps.

 

[jcbmally]

Time to think about my next new car (to follow my current Q3 SB 45TFSI) and considering a Formentor VZ2 with sunroof. Actually, I've been mulling it over in the background for a while now and watching reviews & forums. But time to assess things more seriously now.

I'm aware that the Formentor had some significant bugs at launch, especially to infotainment. And also that lead times are potentially long - presumably more so if you spec the pan roof? And I know both of these kinds of issue will have been covered in various threads here. But trawling back through old threads doesn't necessarily give a good picture of what things are like for the latest production cars.

So, I was wondering if any kind soul would summarise in a sentence or two what the current state of play might be. I guess key questions are:

• What significant bugs are still outstanding, even on the latest VZ2 cars?
• Are there any particular likes or dislikes you have about the car aside from software bugs. My current Q3 gives me a pretty good idea of what running a compact SUV/crossover with decent performance (if not 300bhp!) is like in practice, so I'm thinking more about pros/cons specifically for the VZ2. For instance, how are you getting on with the all (or largely) touch screen controls now that you might have got used to it?
• What about production delays? I'm guessing that this might be ca 4-6 months, which is tolerable if not ideal? But is speccing the pan roof likely to extend this towards infinity for instance?

TIA.

I have taken deliver of my second Formentor. Hopefully I can offer some answers.

• What significant bugs are still outstanding, even on the latest VZ2 cars? I was told the ACC is still awaiting an update but I haven’t tried it yet. I’ll update in the next few days. Part from that the infotainment in my new car works spot on. Loads up quickly, everything connects seamlessly and works great. Vast improvement on my VZ Edition.
• Are there any particular likes or dislikes you have about the car aside from software bugs.
  Dislikes:Very annoying that the rear temperature controls light up but the front ones don’t, go figure. Likes; how it drives, very smooth, quiet, well made interior, modern looks, spacious and for me the software/tech is brilliant.
• What about production delays? I'm guessing that this might be ca 4-6 months, which is tolerable if not ideal? But is speccing the pan roof likely to extend this towards infinity for instance? According to our local dealer new car orders are probably 4 to 6 months away but things are improving at the factory. I don’t think the sunroof make a difference to build times, just the semiconductor issue at the moment.

 

[johnd]

@jcbmally: Many thanks - just the concise summary I was looking for.

Re the pan roof: I think the issue is that the pan roof seemingly uses some particular chip that is in especially short supply. I suspect this chip probably serves a very mundane purpose and in all likelihood is a fairly bread and butter part. But it's also a slightly specialised item that's not easily substituted and is probably used across the VW range, if not more widely, so demand is substantial. As one example, Audi are saying that the chances of getting a Q3 of any trim with a pan roof as an option (ie as distinct from eg the Vorsprung trim where it's standard) in the next 12 months are close to zero. Since I'd definitely want the pan roof this is a potential concern.

 

[Big A]

When I ordered mine in July I was considering specing the pan roof and the dealer more or less talked me out of it, which I found surprising as it adds about £1,500 to the price. He said, "Do you really need it in this country and you have 3 zone climate control as standard".

As it would've added a few quid more to the monthly payments and also the fact that a mate had to give back a brand new Tiguan to VW because of ongoing pan roof issues and leaks (which I'm guessing are shared components with the Formentor) I just left it and didn't bother adding it to my spec.

Now maybe makes sense if there is such a delay with adding the pan roof that the dealers are maybe advised to dissuade customers from wanting to add it.

 

[jcbmally]

@jcbmally: Many thanks - just the concise summary I was looking for.

Re the pan roof: I think the issue is that the pan roof seemingly uses some particular chip that is in especially short supply. I suspect this chip probably serves a very mundane purpose and in all likelihood is a fairly bread and butter part. But it's also a slightly specialised item that's not easily substituted and is probably used across the VW range, if not more widely, so demand is substantial. As one example, Audi are saying that the chances of getting a Q3 of any trim with a pan roof as an option (ie as distinct from eg the Vorsprung trim where it's standard) in the next 12 months are close to zero. Since I'd definitely want the pan roof this is a potential concern.

The “chip” is all to do with the semi conductor and they are used in tons of things and with the factory burning down, and Covid, it’s had a massive knock on.
I had the pan roof on the previous Formentor and was a bit let down by the wind noise TBF. Wasn’t terrible but you did notice it, obviously current car is quieter without the pan roof. Just to confirm as well I tried the ACC a couple of times today and it worked a treat.