hazy

Have just had smoked salmon for lunch. A surprise gift from Thomson and Potter for buying a car from them. Nice touch!

As a keen amateur photographer, the arrival of my new Yeti gave me a photo project. Rather than just take photos of the car I have tried to photograph it in interesting locations, car in the landscape style. I chose three main locations, an abandoned bridge, the jetty on Loch Faskally and the ford at the top of Little Glen Shee. Yeti on the jetty. http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4774670526/ Loch Faskally with Pitlochry in the distance http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4774670398/ The back road near Pitlochry Golf Course http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4773846001/ Avenue of trees http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4774484760/ On the shore of Loch Faskally http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4774484646/ Wide-angle shots (10-20mm lens) http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4773845529/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4774483560/ Fill-in flash http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4774484324/ Beside Loch Tummel http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4773843389/ Off road http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4773843207/ Entrance to Clunie power station. That is a section of the tunnel. http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4773843087/ Hiding in the long grass http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4773842991/ Dam on Ben Lawers http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4774481672/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4773842601/ Ford in Little Glen Shee http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4774481258/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4774481420/ Abandoned bridge http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4773842871/ Hope you like them.

Initial thoughts now that the car is run in. Feels solid and well built. Engine is very quiet, slightly quieter than the 140 TDI that I test drove. The 140 averaged 50.1 mpg and my 110 2WD averaged over 55 mpg on the same route. The average MPG since I drove it off the forecourt is over 59 mpg, much better than I expected. http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4773842015/ This is despite quite an adventurous first 600 miles including going over Ben Lawers, the Devils Elbow and 70 mph down motorways in a gale. The car is more stable in cross winds than my last car. http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4773842601/ I tried changing a wheel as it is always better to know what to do as most punctures seem to happen at night in pouring rain by the side of a busy road. The kit provided is good quality. The jack was very impressive, stable and easy to operate. The wheel brace is marginal for undoing the wheel nuts and as I weigh only nine stone, standing on it doesn't make much difference, but I carry an extendable wheelbrace as well so that was not a problem. What don't I like? Mainly small things. The lack of markings at 30 and 70 mph on a 160 mph! speedometer. Should have a lower maximum and more intermediate markings. It is a pity that you cannot set the secondary digital display to MPH. Also the heater controls on the S trim are just three identical black circular knobs. The only clue as to what the settings you have made are tiny white squares behind a chrome rim, which also looks white. Should have some indication on the front of the knobs showing which direction they are pointing in. I am also finding the ride a little firmer that I expected. On smooth roads it is fine but on bumpy rural roads, which we have plenty of up here, the ride is 'busy' with constant movement. The SE models I test drove had 17 inch wheels with lower profile tyres so I expected the smaller wheels and higher profile tyres would be better, like the 1.2 TSI S which I drove which had a supple ride. Perhaps the ride will smooth out with time as my last car did. The Yeti rubber mats are good. They fit perfectly and have a raised rim to prevent melting snow running off the edge. The dealer-fit short aerial works really well. I had a short aerial on my last car and it spent most of the time searching for a signal in remote areas. The Yeti has never had a moment of fade or interference so far. Overall, an impressive car. My first Skoda. Peoples reactions to it are interesting. I haven't detected any snobbery towards the brand, in fact people can't wait to tell you how good Skodas are nowadays. I have had a visit from a passing Honda CRV and Nissan X-trail owner, keen to look over the car. They seemed impressed as niether had seen one before and didn't even know there was such a thing. Yetis are still scarce around here although starting to appear. I formed my first Yeti convoy with a green TDI 4WD the other day and saw two Yetis with Skoda Official Car stickers in Killin yesterday. I am sure we will see many more soon. My dealer had an allocation of 18 Yetis and had sold over 45 when I last spoke to them!

I spent nearly a year visiting Thomson and Potter between my first sighting of a Yeti there and taking delivery of my own one. You were always made to feel welcome with drinks offered and a chance to try out their demonstrators. The salesman I dealt with, Michael, knew the products well and there was never any attempt to push you into a sale. When I was ready to buy he sourced a vehicle for me very quickly, the dealer fit options were added and the vehicle was well prepared for collection. Thomson and Potter is a small garage situated in a small village. The staff have been there for a number of years. They provide a high quality personal service to their customers. Their challenge will be to deal with the extra business caused by the failure of the nearest Skoda dealer in Dundee, 18 miles away.

OK. The LHD car was the first Yeti I was in, taken last July, it was a CZ demonstrator. My own car is shown on the same forecourt almost a year later (with the number visible). The journey between these two vehicles was documented in my 'Diary of a Yeti buyer' post. http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4730945925/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4752759556/

I blanked out the number plate because everyone else on the forum seems to do it but you are right, I forgot the reflection. It is a J not an L and is registered locally, not in London. It is surprising where the 2WD will go in the dry.

Rural Perthshire is looking good at the moment and makes a good backdrop for the new Yeti. http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4752168076/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4751527287/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4752167704/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4752167620/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4752167850/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51529540@N08/4752167518/ This is my first try at posting photos. Hope it works.

Registered my interest in the Yeti on the SUK website last July. Was taken for a ride in a Czech Yeti 1.8 TSI S (equivalent trim) in early August. (You can get the more powerful engines with lower trim in the home country). Was impressed with the car. Checked availability of 2WD TDI 110. Early cars were mainly 4WD and higher trim levels. Said to the salesman that I thought SUK had seriously under-estimated the UK demand at 3,000 vehicles p.a. Thought I would wait until supply was plentiful. Choice of colour from stock would surely not take long. How wrong can you be! Looked at the Scrappage scheme. No Yetis. Saw the 'Build your own Skoda' appear on the website (under construction). Thought this would excellent. as I could add the bits I wanted. Soon the offer was removed from website again. Had a test drive in a TDI 140 SE. Stalled it but liked the handling. Looked at the Swappage scheme. Yeti included! Still no stock availability. Yeti removed from scheme. Was given the keys to 1.2 TSI. Supple ride and keen handling but the biggest surprise was the lively acceleration, especially in the lower gears. Actually thought of buying the demonstrator after the 3 months were up. Borrowed a TDI 140 to try in my garage (30 miles away). Great overtaking in 4th. It went into the garage but the up-and-over door wouldn't shut. Salesman suggested a roller door. Fitted a roller door. Got quotes from 3 dealers. First was the cheapest, Internet prices but 10-12 week availability. From Forum members reports this would probably be nearer 12-14 weeks. The second claimed to be able to get one car that matched my spec and one that could be altered on the line. Quoted 3-4 week delivery for cars that hadn't been built yet. Neither of the other dealers could see these vehicles of their computers. Backed off. Dealer folded 2 weeks later. The third dealer was Thomson and Potter, who have been great throughout. Happy to help. No hard sell. Went in on the last day of May. Wanted to order a TDI 110 S 2WD with spare wheel in silver, Aqua blue or Storm blue. The salesman, Michael, searched on his computer and found a choice of colours available including 2 in Aqua blue already at Emden. Said it would take 2-3 weeks to arrive. SUK confirmed the order on the 1st of this month and the car arrived at the dealers on the 17th. It's been a long road but I have my Yeti at last!

We had the worst winter for 30 years here in Scotland. I asked a Skoda salesman how Yeti owners rated their cars performance in snow and ice. He said the 4WD owners were delighted with the traction and grip of their cars. 2WD diesel owners were surpringly happy with their cars performance. The weight of the diesel engine over the driving wheels gave them good traction. The 1.2 TSI owners were less happy with their cars traction in poor conditions, perhaps due to the lighter engine and the more revvy nature of the engine. I lived in Braemar when the record lowest UK temperature was recorded. I had a 2WD Citroen with variable ground clearance and a Land Rover. The Citroen was surprisingly good in snow drifts with the suspension raised. The narrow tyres and smooth underside allowed it to make good progress in deep snow. The Land Rover had a ladder chassis which tended to dig into the top of snow drifts slowing it down and occasionally stranding it on top. So for most road and farm track use, but not for snow more than 18cm deep, the 2WD diesel might be all you need. Advantages include lower cost, 5mpg more and slightly lower road tax.

I borrowed a Yeti to try in my normal sized garage because I thought it might be a tight fit. The good news - it went in OK. The bad news - the garage door wouldn't shut. The back of the car was too square for the up-and-over door to close. I have since installed a roller door and will get a shory aerial fitted when my Yeti arrives.

I asked for a Yeti TDI S 110 2WD with a spare wheel in Silver, Storm Blue or Aqua Blue. The salesman did a computer search which showed none available in Silver or Storm Blue but two in Aqua Blue that matched my spec and that were already at the departure port in Germany. One of them was booked for me on the computer. Because Monday was a Bank Holiday there was nobody at Skoda UK to clear the order but this was done on Tuesday. The salesman phoned on Tuesday to confirm the order with an estimated delivery time of 2-3 weeks.

Hi everyone, I have not owned a Skoda before but was impressed by the road tests of the Yeti. Ordered a TDI S 110 in Aqua blue with a spare wheel on Monday. The order was confirmed yesterday. Delivery in about 3 weeks. There were 2 of that spec available which were already at Emden, the German departure port. I have found this site very useful already for photos of the spare wheel layout and advice on a shorter radio aerial.