MajorTom

You might have noticed, it's also a 4x4... but instead of a standard 100:0 torque split in normal running, it's 33:66 with infinite split ie all power to the front or the rear....

To the extent that you lot want an update, I finally settled on a 911 Carrera 4S - a Carrera White 997.2 with a 3.8 flat six, 7 speed PDK, active suspension, Sports Chrono Pack + (for a latp timer and launch control) and 19" wheels. It comes with a years' membership of the Porsche UAE Club so as the season starts, we should be out at the Dubai Autodrome for some coffee, track time and handling events. And I'll need to find a decent forum.

And once the family wagon's sorted out, I'll be needing my own set of wheels. At the moment I'm wavering between a 3.8 flat six with PDK and a 4.0 V8 with DCT. I've already given up looking for manuals. The latter seems easier to come by, but the former is more special (and a bit more money for an older car too... ). Hmmm. Suggestions and comments welcome.

Now that we're getting closer to moving, I need to start thinking about a new set of wheels for the family. I know this is off topic, but it is my thread... Anyway, in the MAD that is Dubai traffic, might is right, and visibility is key. As such, I'm considering a second hand Land Rover Discovery4 (LR4 in UAE) with the 5.0 V8, ZF automatic, seven seats and "full option" (they all seem to come fully loaded because UAE). Big, chnuky but not so enormous that you can't park it. The biggest challenge seem to be finding one that doesn't have running bars (they'll come off when we go to the desert for a picnic), and that isn't black. I want one in silver, or perhaps UN spec white, because buying a black car in a desert country is simply deranged. We went down for a recon mission, and unfortunately rented a grey car with a brown leather interior. It was ridiculous, as it got so hot, it hurt to sit down and the steering wheel simply couldn't be touched for 10 minutes or so (until the a/c had brought the temperature back to something resembling normality).

When we got the Yeti as the family car, I was 46 and my wife a bit less. It still makes an excellent family wagon, and with the Haldex and raised/compliant suspension, it's a quick and quiet car.

^ thanks. As usual the dealer response is to replace rather than resolve. I'll keep an eye on those bulbs!

And as to Dubai, I'm not going there so that I can buy a new Skoda - I'll be in the market for something less practical and more rear wheel drive. My wife wants a bigger SUV. Maybe we'll get a Skoda when we get back from the posting: I fancy the latest 2.0T Superb estate with DSG and Haldex as the family runaround. That thing seems long enough to be able to stick the skis in without folding anything down!

One other item to report: the various lightbulb error messages were finally diagnosed as water ingress in the fuse box. I was getting confused as replacing a light bulb didn't seem to make a difference. I had to have the whole fuse box replaced eventually, at great expense and inconvenience, but it seems there is still some way that water is getting in - we drove through some pretty torrential rainstorms in Sweden this summer and we now have a couple more error messages on the MFD. I wonder if this is a known or otherwise common problem in the UK (where it seems to rain a lot as well)?

Love this car ... the in-car reactions from the track videos are just hilarious (it's also great that they are prepared to post them up on the internet!). I think you might have to change the colour, or the numberplate, or both, to preserve it's Sleeper factor.

The Yeti feels bigger than an Octavia to me - it's more upright, more square, and has a useful sized boot. Without a spare, it's more than adequate for a summer road trip with the family. When we need extra space for the winter holiday, we add the ski box. This applied to the old car (a Subaru Outback), and it would also apply to an Octavia. Maybe next time, we'll go for an Octavia Scout, as I like the extra ride height and long travel suspension.

My carpet mats are unused ... summer or winter. Rubber all the way.

Dubai, UAE. Although I must correct myself, as I have seen some Fabias for sale on 'dubizzle'

It looks like life with the Yeti is coming to an end - we're moving. And I don't think they even sell Skodas where we're going. In the meantime, we've got a summer fun: a couple of trips up to Lapland, and one across Sweden to Jutland, Denmark.

By altering the offset, you are changing the track or the distance between the tyres; this affects stability and steering but 2x 5mm is not really enough to worry about in my view. Most people want a wider track, and hence fit spacers. It might make a difference if you reduce the offset and the tyre start to rubs on the strut though....

I've got the OE Skoda/Thule cross bars on my Yeti and they're very easy to install and remove, certainly easier than Subaru/Mont Blanc and Land Rover Disco3 or 4 factory rails. I did think the Yeti bars were very high, as they sit well above the roof rails, but then I'd forgotten that I have the pano sunroof, and I suppose you need the clearance. When we went skiing, I just tied the skis direct to the cross bars for a few km, as there's plenty of room for the big chunky bindings. I wouldn't recommend that for the motorway though...