helix

All done as per schedule. I’m taking it in tomorrow so we’ll see

Thanks again; the car is low mileage. I’d considered spark plugs too as a possible factor given the symptoms and I’ll certainly ask for these to be checked

Thanks very much for your advice- I don’t think I am aware of this; my Yeti is late 2015 production so could be in scope.

Hi, I recently had my Yeti 1.2tsi DSG serviced and the cam belt changed, as advised at 5 years. Since, the car sometimes judders at low revs, as if about to stall. A factor seems to be that the car is in too high a gear, ie changes up too soon and holds it for longer (e.g. 4th at 20mph). I’ve sometimes addressed this by moving into manual and dropping a gear. I’ve had a situation where I couldn’t get acceleration, I suspect because the revs were held too low for the turbo to engage. Put simply it’s as if the ‘intuitive’ link between the engine and transmission is less effective. I also occasionally notice the engine miss a beat at idle. Prior to the service the drive was very smooth, and DSG gear changes almost always imperceptible and appropriate. The garage is aware, and I’m taking it back to give them a chance to fix it, but I’d value people’s suggestions for possible causes and solutions so I’m prepared. Please note my mechanical knowledge is slight! Thanks very much.

Hi, no I think you will still get the SE’s standard screen as you can order the virtual cockpit separately as optional equipment if I recall correctly.

Agreed - of course neither, like most small ‘crossovers’, are really SUVs. And probably confer little practical advantage over traditional hatchbacks, except for the slightly higher driving position and perhaps ease of access, as several motoring reviews have pointed out about the small crossover phenomenon. However while the style is popular, a greater height and perceived chunkiness is likely to appeal to some along with other considerations. My basic point is the T-Cross and Kamiq both seem to be good cars and similar value within their category, so take your pick.

The Kamiq is certainly not a budget VW T-Cross! At latest prices I think a standard 115 PS SEL is just under £22,000 for a Kamiq and just over for the T-Cross. It seems to me that both specs would satisfy most customers, and the differences between them more or less balance out so choice is largely about personal preference. As pointed out T-Cross has more driving aids eg adaptive cruise, front parking sensors. It also has useful adjustable rear seats and looks to my eyes a bit more SUVish and an attractive car. Both have blind spot monitoring and lane assist I think. On the other hand the Kamiq is a bit roomier and apparently slightly plusher. It also has a 9.2” satnav screen to the VW’s 8”, and the digital dash (I believe only on the VW’s R-line spec). I agree 18” alloys are not necessarily an advantage! I’m looking forward to seeing the Kamiq in the metal to see how it appeals.

Got my copy of What Car yesterday, and they review the 5 door Citigo Greentech against the Pug 107. They really liked the Citigo, and their conclusion contains the words 'arguably better than the Up' (their small car of the year). Good to see such a positive remark from a mag that seems to love VWs!

As said above, this engine has been around in various forms for years in the VW group. Slightly strangely, it's still used in the Polo and Ibiza, while Skoda 'replaced' it with a 85 bhp version of the 1.2 tsi over a year ago. Not sure why VW and Seat haven't, but for what it's worth, What Car's favourite version of the Polo is the 1.4.

Yes. i wonder how many Golf estate buyers know they're getting a facelifted Mk5 rather than an estate version of the Mk6 hatch? Mind you, how many would then consider the mechanically near identical, better value, more practical Octavia estate?

I was surprised, but sceptical, to see that the latest What Car summaries section lists a price for a DSG option against all the SE Plus engine sizes! I'm assuming this is an error, but wonder if they've got wind of something. Incidentally in the same edition they test the 1.4 SE against the Quashqai and Mini Countryman. Yeti comes in the middle after the Quashqai. Generally well rated: engine gets lots of praise for performance, but predictable WC criticism of the 'jittery' ride. It seems only What Car have this thing about the ride: I've never seen it mentioned anywhwre else, including on here!

I've read in another thread that the 7 speed DSG coupled with the 103kw engine in the Tiguan is a modified wet cluth ie it's not the dry clutch now capable of handling higher torque

+1. A 2wd with a more powerful engine would meet a gap in the range, which several comeptitors address.

Thanks James. Some of the family friendly extras would make useful 'nice to haves'!

Hi James have you heard any news on the 'family' spec seen on the skoda-Auto site? eg folding tables on back of front seats. Might these be available as options in the UK if not a trim level? Thanks

i think the rumours might refer to a largish MPV. This also seems more natural Skoda territory than a large 4x4 (though a stretched Yeti seems credible).

I realise I'm not really answering your question, but I'd ask what you'd use your Yeti for during the 50 weeks when it's not snowing? As several posters here have said, 2wd with winter tyres is probably better than 4wd without (and a lot cheaper!). So do you need/want 4wd drive enough to pay the premium? And do your needs require diesel power (it looks from your preferred order that you'd put power over dsg as a preference). It's perhaps worth saying you'd get similar economy and the convenience of dsg in both 1.2 tsi, and 140 tdi, but at £4k less in the former, and with cheaper fuel,insurance and tax Lastly, if you're not bothered about dsg, why not consider the 1.4 tsi as a compromise and get a bit more power, still for a lot less than the tdi

Thanks again A couple of useful lines of enquiry, perhaps for the dealer as well as me. I'm aware these are subtle rather than dramatic changes (at least at the moment) and I might be noticing some things I hadn't noticed before, just because I'm now consciously on the look out, but I think it's helpful to see more rather than less if it helps a diagnosis. At the moment it's more that I'm aware of the change, rather than that things are really bad, but I feel the changes must be evidence of something. I didn't mention that the car has recently had it's first variable service (essentially an oil change) but the changes didn't start straight after so haven't attached much significance to this, and the perceived slight loss of momentum and scrambling/juddering on take off from the rear wheels pre-dates this. I'm grateful for the advice and suggestions.

Thanks for your helpful replies. I'll get it invesigated by the dealer. It's in warranty so given the posts I've now read about the mechatronic unit (if that's the problem) I'd be sensible to act sooner rather than later! Thanks again

Hi I'd welcome any advice you might be ableto give. My 1.8tsi dsg has done about 19K. I've started to notice some subtle but unwelcome changes in the quality of the car's drive and can be summed up as less progressive acceleration in gear and a jerkier DSG. At the moment they're probably only really noticeable to the car's regular driver (me) so would value some ideas before I take it in for investigation. In summary, the changes are: 1. loss of ‘momentum’ felt almost as soon as pressure is taken off accelerator(almost as if slight braking applied) 2. harder to get smooth starts from standing and amount of throttle needed is harder to predict accurately at low speed 3. sometimes no response to small pressure, and then an increase in throttle can lead to sudden down changes in dsg (as if in kickdown) instead of previous progressive in gear acceleration and imperceptible up-changing as previous 4. going up incline at urban speeds can cause sudden down changes 5. dsg changes more frequent and noticeable especially 1st – 4th 6. slightly noisier gearbox at low speeds 7. braking also seems less progressive; most braking seems to occur in top couple of cm of pedal movement It may be worth mentioning I've also experienced loss of grip/juddering scrambling for grip from rear wheels but have attributed this to the cold weather and I realise it may be unrelated. I haven't particularly changed my driving style by the way. As i say, these are fairly subtle changes from the car's previous characteristics, and I fear a driver testing it would feel things might be within normal parameters, so any thoughts on possible causes would be much appreciated. Thanks very much

I agree the colour choice is a bit conservative, and a real issue for my wife! I have hopes for the new Lava Blue. I hope it's not just a trendy term for grey!

Pretty much everyone on here likes their Fabia whatever engine size. The SE spec offers pretty much all the essentials and can be upgraded by value packs. On the other hand I doubt you'd recoup much of the pack outlay at resale I'm sure you've looked at prices, but re value for money, the 75 is a fair bit cheaper than the 90, but the 90 is only c £200+ cheaper than the 105(though I guess there are further savings to be made on insurance). In performance terms, the 75 is further behind the 90 than the latter is behind the 105 in terms of torque, and the 75 has a narrower peak band. So I'd be tempted to think that if performance matters to you I'd consider the 105 for the small premium over the 90. If it doesn't I'd be tempted by the 75, and spend the saving on going for a higher spec!

Hi Does anyone know if stop-start can be combined with the tsi 105 with DSG? Thanks

Also interesting to me is that both articles comment on the high quality of the ride in the standard car, which has been my experience in the Yetis I've driven. Yet some commentators, notably What Car, have found the ride jittery. Makes you wonder.

I haven't driven a Yeti with this engine, but it's a gem in the Octavia. And with 200 nm of torque it's by no means short of pull (about the same as the old 1.9 tdi 90 bhp diesel had). Pity no DSG available with it (yet?!)