TMfSR

Welcome aboard, Chris! Really enjoyed reading your mini write-up. For the dash, I use 303 Aerospace Protectant, which is not sticky at all and gives a non-glossy sheen. It is not too easy to get hold of in Oz, but available at a few on-line suppliers. Also, it is more of a dressing than a cleaner, so I usually vacuum, followed by a damp micro-fibre towel, and then apply the 303.

A 40 foot gum tree with room to spare (chainsaw came in handy...)

If you have rain sensing wipers, just make sure these work properly after the replacement. I had problems with the wipers after a windscreen replacement on my previous work car (VW Golf Wagon).

Fast but thirsty

I recently fitted some Thule RT 9583 roof bars, and as I have not seen these yet on the forum, I thought I'd post some pics. They were a little more fiddly to fit than I expected, mainly as I was working alone. The fixing points on the rails came in very handy in aligning the bars square to the centre line of the car The bar has integrated feet, which sit on the roof rail and are secured in place by a rubber/steel strap... ...which wraps around the rail and hooks into a couple of lugs: A tool is provided to tighten the strap. The tool functions like a torque wrench and “snaps” at 2 Nm This picture shows the strap fully secured. The strap is rubber with steel inserts at each end Once the ends are secured, the covers are snapped into place and locked with the key Here are a couple of pics with the roof bars in place:

My "Biggest with the smallest" would have to be a 1960's Fiat Multipla - 600 cc, 6 seats, and the only car I have driven at wide open throttle for prolonged periods, at probably about 45mph. It was not my own, but a work car that my dad would bring home occasionally. This period was also the only other time I have driven a Skoda - a 1960's Octavia, which I remember mainly for the very heavy steering. Largest in terms of engine size would be Holden Commodore with a 3.8litre V6 (currently used by 'er indoors).

No idea why we give our cars names. Being a work car, mine's called "Plant No 9042"

Heatwave? What heatwave?

Thanks Tony - much appreciated Ash

Inspired by Mark's and Tony's efforts, and with the benefit of having access to the original full sized image, I have cropped and cleaned up the fuse decal image to get rid of the surface reflections. Tony: PM on its way for a word version of your excellent document. Ash

Here you go. The decal in my car was in a bit of a sorry state to be honest, not applied very neatly at all. The cover would not sit flat on my scanner due to the clips etc, so I had to dig out my old steam powered camera... The decal is approximately 98mm x 76mm

MC Hammer bringing us neatly back to the fragility of windscreens (as in "U Can't Touch This"...). One thing I would add (that I learned from experience) is that if replacing a windscreen on a VAG car with rain-sensing wipers, it might be better having it done at a VAG dealer rather than a generic windscreen place. My Golf had its windscreen replaced due to a stone chip, and neither the rain sensor or the intermittent function worked properly after that. I'm not sure if this was due to the glass being carelessly fitted, or whether the electronics of the car need to be "told" that the rain sensor is now sitting on a different piece of glass.

Thanks ernieb - I'm sure I will.

Collected the car on Friday - 23 days after the order was placed. The whole experience was handled very pleasantly and efficiently by Colin at Lennock Skoda. At delivery, he again took his time to explain everything about the car, and even paired my iPhone 5 to the Bolero for me. The only thing different from when I collected my Golf 3 years ago was that on that occasion, the car in the hand-over area was actually covered with a large piece of red fabric, which was ceremonially whipped off to reveal the shiny new car underneath. Very happy with the Yeti so far (187km on the clock), but I am going to miss the sound of the Golf's 1.4 twin-charger engine driving up the mountain roads with the DSG box in sports mode! Some quick pics attached. Hope to have some better pictures up when I have had a chance to head out and about.

By the way, VW Australia has just issued a recall of cars fitted with the DQ200 box built between June 2008 and September 2011. I have also heard that the recall will be extended to Octavia and Superb models as well as Audi's using this gearbox. The recall notice states that cars currently being sold are not affected. Interesting timing for me personally because on Friday I will be changing my DQ200 equipped Golf Wagon after 72,000kms/ 3years of trouble free running, for a DQ250 equipped Yeti 1.8TSI, though this is a programmed replacement of my work car, unconnected with the recall.

...and, compact as the Yeti is, it is still bigger than the largest AusPost Mailing Box!!

Just heard from the dealer a couple of days ago that the car had arrived, and was ready for collection once the payments have been finalised. Planning to collect next Friday. So all being well, 23 days from order to collection. Even before seeing the actual car, I have received an email from a Skoda Australia nominated survey firm asking me to report on my purchasing experience, which so far has been excellent. Had the same survey sent to me when I got my Golf 3 years ago. Dealers here in Oz still seem to have 1.8TSI cars available in the pipeline, which is kind of ironic in the light of the unfortunate experience reported today by UK member theeventhorizon, where his order for a 1.8 petrol engined Yeti was cancelled at short notice.

Thanks Subbu - I agree it's a great drive, based on my 350+ km test run. Good to hear from someone who went through a similar process of elimination in choosing the Yeti. Johann - hopefully the face lifted model will offer a DSG option with whatever engine that replaces the 1.8TSI in the new line up. BTW, your posts (especially the pinned one about things to consider when ordering a Yeti) were invaluable in helping me research the purchase.

I have been looking at a Yeti as a replacement for my Golf Wagon (work car), and I have just heard that all the appropriate autographs have been placed on the paperwork, and an order has been placed for a Yeti 112TSI DSG in Platin Grey. In the end it was an easy choice - the contenders were basically the Forester (very popular around these parts), the RAV4 and the IX35. The information and opinions on this forum were of great help in making my choice. Being someone who has been playing the guitar badly for many years, I was not deterred by the occasional "bum note" being struck regarding the capabilities of the Yeti. The test drive was the final confirmation that the Yeti was what I was looking for - the refined driving experience of the Golf combined with the ground clearance and "poor road" ability called for by my job. The Tiguan was tempting, but did not come with DSG within my budget (and the dash looks fussy compared with the Snow Monster). The dealer also played a masterstroke by letting me have the demo car over a public holiday, despite me living over an hours drive away. This allowed the wife to give the car a workout in a comfortable environment, and give it the nod (there is, after all, a reason for the letters "MBO" in "SWMBO"). The only options the car will have are rear park sensors and towbar. Items like the under-body shields and spare wheel are standard in Australia (still cannot get my head around the spare wheel being an optional extra!!). I was looking for Off-Road tech as well but there were no cars in the pipeline with this fitted. It also helped that the dealer was able to give a discount of $6300 due to a special promotion (presumably clearing stocks for the FL model, whenever that appears). It also seemed (as reported by others) that supplies of the 1.8 petrol engine are winding down, so I'm glad I got the order in in time. All I can do now is sit back and hope that the wait is not as long as UK members have experienced. It should not be too long as this is a car already in the supply chain rather than built to order

Was slowing down for a roundabout in my Golf near Canberra Airport last Saturday when a white Yeti with a black roof whizzed past on the outside lane as if the roundabout didn't exist. First sighting in the area outside the dealer..

I knew the Yeti was versatile, but this takes it to a whole new level: http://www.udrivemob...y.com/yeti.html (apologies if this has been posted before)

Snow Fan, just found another article, this time about VW group engines: http://en.wikipedia...._petrol_engines It appears that it is the same engine, and available in various states of tune from 88kW to 125kW, used in everything from the Audi TT to the VW Passat. Look for the section titled "Four cylinder EA888 petrols". There's a fair bit of technical info about the engine as well. I guess APR should be able to tell you if their ECU upgrades etc are applicable to the specific ECU in the 112TSI Yeti.

The determinant of whether the engine is 112kW or 118kW seems to be the DSG gearbox. Am I right in thinking that none of the UK spec 1.8 litre versions have the DSG option?

Three models of the Yeti are sold in Australia: the 77TSI (1.2 litre petrol), the 112TSI (1.8 litre petrol) and the 103TDI (2.0 litre diesel). The 112TSI with 6sp manual gearbox has a 1.8 litre engine with VW ID code CDAA, and an output of 118kW/160ps/158bhp. The 112TSI with 6sp DSG has a 1.8 litre engine with VW ID code CDAB, and an output of 112kW/152ps/150bhp. I believe the 112kW engine in the DSG vehicle is a detuned version of the 118kW engine in the manual car, as stated by OP Snow Fan. Skoda Australia refers to both cars as the 112TSI despite the manual version having 118kW. Reluctant as I am to quote Wikipedia as an authoritative source of information, the article linked below has a lot of data on Yeti engine options: http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Škoda_Yeti