Expatman

I can understand that, but the Yeti would have spent many thousands of hours in development of its suspension, road holding, safety etc. I get concerned when major changes are made to a vehicles suspension, centre of gravity etc, all without comprehensive testing in real world safety conditions. There are many higher riding vehicles available in their original form designed for situations you describe, those are designed for higher ride height - unlike a modified Yeti. I am sure it will be okay in most situations but it is the critical situations where the roadholding could be compromised with who knows what results that should worry other road users.

But why - just why? It makes a great car look ridiculous - something out of Dukes of Hazard. Dear oh dear.

The 2023 Toyota Corolla Touring Sports 1.8 Hybrid 5dr estate with a sill height to ground of 375mm would seem to be a good fit for you. Excellent reviews and plenty of room inside. In terms of swapping an older Yeti I wouldn’t give up on trying a trade-in when you find a replacement. Even older Yeti’s are in demand and as you have all papers etc. it is surely worth getting a trade in valuation - saves a load of hassle what with time wasters, test drives, finance etc. I ended up trading in my Yeti when I eventually swapped it (still one of best cars I have owned) and probably lost about £300-£400 over what I could have got privately BUT all I had too do was drive it to the dealers, sign a few papers and drive away in the new car. No hassle, no worries.

A trip to a breakers yard would seem the best option. Can’t see why you just can’t change the pad but you would need to properly dismantle to see how the pad is secured to the door card. Breakers yard should solve it.

Fine but I found that after market shocks did not drive or ride as smoothly as the original Skoda shocks. Ended up swapping the replaced Bilstein shocks with genuine Skoda shocks and everything returned to a more comfortable ride.

From bitter experience I would advise you to buy the official replacement Skoda shock absorbers.

I am with you in that the Yeti is a very difficult car to replace and had one of the last 2017 1.2 DSG SEL Drive’s with memory drivers seat, heated windscreen etc. It was my second Yeti and loved it ......... but driving a more modern engineered car one couldn’t help noticing that technology had advanced since the Yeti was launched in 2009. Thought long and hard and tested many, many alternatives including the Skoda Kamiq which was supposed to be a Yeti sized contender - it isn’t, its just a modified VW homologation that is a big disappointment. Why Skoda didn’t model the Kamiq on an updated Yeti seems nuts to me, instead of retaining all the best attributes of the Yeti in a more modern design all VAG models are simply variations on a narrow theme now. After many road tests and great thought eventually changed Yeti for a MINI Countryman, a bit 'left field’ like the Yeti but has all the modern technology available - but easily turned off if I want. Generally I leave it all ‘on’ as it is unobtrusive while driving yet does offer some real advantages - the semi autonomous driving mode is great on long motorway journeys - combines variable speed control with autonomous steering (keeps car mid lane automatically) and in stop go traffic it stops and goes totally automatically - sounds silly but it is great in actual traffic situations. Comfortable and quieter ride than Yeti as well. The Yeti was probably my favourite car of the many I have had over 60 years of motoring, but technology and safety levels move on and realistically we must move on with those advances while appreciating the beauty of the previous generations - like the Yeti.

Never a problem with the 2 1.2 DSG Yetis I owned. Brakes were excellent.

I doubt there are motors to fold the mirror in non folding mirrors. You will probably need to get hold of a pair of mirrors with motors then sort out the wiring - and that could be a real problem!

The financial road tax penalty of buying a car with invoice price >40k is something I wouldn’t live with. You end up paying an extra £410 a year for the first five years, so that’s £600 per year minimum - EVEN IF YOU BUY IT SECOND HAND within those 5 years. I simply refuse to be ripped off by the government that much!

Are you going to try one - incidentally I am in my late 70’s and soon got used to the Countryman and tech aids after selling my Yeti.

Semi automatic driving is basically what it says! On any road with defined edges, which a camera can identify, once activated the system will steer the car to keep it mid lane and also activate advanced cruise control which controls acceleration and braking to maintain a safe distance from the car in front up to your set speed. If the lane of traffic comes to a halt the system brings the car to a stop then as traffic starts moving it accelerates up to your set speed keeping a safe distance from the car in front. This is great in stop and go traffic as the car smoothly starts and stops automatically. The system requires you to keep your hands on the steering wheel, otherwise it beeps at you and flashes a warning to get you to put your hands back on the wheel. I honestly thought this was gimmicky until I tried it, also worried about its ability to see road edges and other cars in front. However it is impressively accurate and great on journeys to enable driver to relax and keep your attention on the road while not having to make continual speed/steering inputs. The other part of this is that on the Heads Up display as well as seeing speed etc the system warns you of any sharp bends coming up with a visual display and actually counts down distance to the bend, on windy roads I am not familiar with this is a very welcome assistance. Other systems too numerous to mention but it just highlights how things have moved on over the last ten years. I know it looks “big” but it shrinks around you and drives like a smaller car. Very mini’ish! Go try it.

I had exactly the same problem as you - what to replace my Yeti with. Test drove too many possibilities, the Lexus LBX was very nice but my wife found the passenger seat uncomfortable or we would have bought it. However, was passing a MINI dealer so thought might as well have a look at the new Countryman. Looked good (as long as you can accept that it certainly isn’t mini), took it for a test drive and eventually bought one - Base C model with level 2 option. Had it for 4 months now and really like it, returning 47.5 MPG (brim full to brim full basis). Comfortable, quiet, quick with useful driving enhancement systems including semi automated driving. Only by driving a modern car do you realise how far design and development have moved forward since the Yeti was launched in 2009. Try one!

Have a look around for a Car Electrics centre - or whatever they call themselves - I am sure they would do the work for you if you discussed it with them first.