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Fluffy destroyer of worlds

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Everything posted by Fluffy destroyer of worlds

  1. No because it was on the 2nd year of a PCP deal. Miss the Yeti a lot and maybe when/if the rumoured baby Yeti is launched I will swop the vRS. Mind you if shmbo can get used to a vRS - currently all she has had experience of is a couple of smart fortwo's, then who knows I might persuade her into a fully grown Yeti. She adored the Yeti but was totally against having to drive it due to its 'vast size'.
  2. Well my Furby vRS has arrived and with huge reluctance I have handed back one of the best cars I have ever had. Going down to one car meant having a small automatic, a Yeti could qualify on the latter point but as far as the wife is concerned it could never be considered as small so with great reluctance Snowy had to go. As a result Lookers (lately Hobin’s of Bury New Rd Manchester) have an immaculate Candy white 140 Tdi Elegance to sell. It has polished Annapurnas, underbody protection, mud flaps, side protection film etc, rubber mats, black leather and the LED boot light upgrade (damned useful). Left the roof rails black to complete the mock Tudor effect and I have even left the Brodit mount in for the SatNav of choice (never remotely impressed with the inbuilt Columbus Nav). Just over 23k miles new on a 60 plate it’s had one service at 18k (on the variable schedule) and has been utterly faultless, not so much as a squeak or a rattle. The Dunlops are barely worn as I had winter rubber on for 4/5 months for each of the two years I have had it (winter boots now sold). Despite my best efforts I never had to add a drop of oil as it simply didn’t use any. Out of 40+ cars I have owned it is one of just two that has had zero defects during my time of ownership – the other was a Punto GT Turbo of all things! It needs/deserves a good home; Lookers are asking £17,995 for it. I presume there is some room for haggling in that!
  3. No problem Simon - I am also a Simon btw i'll try and PM you with address details though the ancient office browser I am using hates anything to do with Briskoda, might have to wait till I get home
  4. 225/50 R17 94v are the size. I am in North Manchester - Blackley to be more precise.
  5. 4 winter tyres to fit standard 17” alloy on any Yeti for sale. Sadly I am having to change my Yeti for a car that is both automatic and more compact as we are going down from a two car family to a one and the wife much that she loves the Yeti can’t contemplate coping with its bulk or it’s manual-ness (she has a smart fortwo). Happily the new car will be a spanking new Fabia vRS which is a nice compromise, nevertheless the Yeti will be sorely missed. Not wishing to go down the admittedly ideal route of Winters on 16” steelies I chose to purchase 4 Matador Nordica winter tyres and simply put them on the Annapurna alloys in November and change back to the Dunlops in April. Matador for those who don’t know, are a sub brand of Continental and the tyres have been an utter revelation in icy/snowy/wet conditions. So much so that the first thing I will be doing with the Fabia is to sort Winter tyres out for that. I experienced no noise or fuel penalty as compared to the standard Dunlops but I did discover an amazing ability to safely motor through icy/snowy conditions, especially during the winter of 2010/11. My Yeti is a 4X4 but I swiftly came to the conclusion that the 4X4 element was useless unless you had the grip to exploit it and Winter tyres certainly give you that. I reckon I have done about 5,000 miles on the Matadors and they appear as new though they were purchased in November 2010. I am asking £100 for the 4, buyer to collect.
  6. Utterly brilliant with me especially after the atrocious experience I had at Claybank. A friend with a Mazda would agree with you though, maybe it's just the Skoda side of the operation.
  7. I lean towards the estate too but it was a flat Nein from the Fuhrer. I found the Yeti ride/handling compromise to be well nigh perfect, hard to imagine its even better on 16's but I don't doubt it. Previous to the Yeti I had an imported 156 GTA Selespeed and that was lowered on Eibachs and had Konis FSD's and a Q2 diff to boot. The vRS won't come close to that in the 'go' stakes but it should provide a more than acceptable half way house that will also suit the Fuhrer - she was utterly terrified of the Alfa and despite the transmission would go nowhere near it. I find the Fabia's looks somewhat 'gawky' but endearing, no issue really. I needed something in the Skoda stable that was automatic, robust, roomy, economical and fun. The vRS seems to tick all the boxes. We shall see.
  8. I know exactly what you mean re the Yeti and its size but convincing the better half is an exercise in futility. I will stick my neck out and say the Yeti is THE most relaxing drve I have ever had not a quality to be sniffed at on today's roads. The smart is the second in the Fluffy household. The first was very much loved but this one - a Highstyle special edition has been pretty hum drum and has simply not had the character to hide its many obvious shortcomings. The plan was to replace the smart with either a Panda TwinAir duologic or a Citigo AST Elegance but word has it that the AST transmission rivals the smart's in it's naffness and then the withdrawal of a parking space worth at least £15 a day forced a rethink on the fleet anyway.
  9. Threeshoes is spot on. Rally green vRS Furby with the usual black wheels/black roof combo to be ordered. Seems that delivery times are almost as bad as with the Yeti so looking at Sept/Oct. At first I was going for the vRS estate but Fuhrer concerns over it's immense length....! Yet to actually order the furby, hopefully sort that out tomorrow now we are both in agreement. Anyway, the Yeti will indeed go back to Hobins - when the vRS arrives obviously. It will go back with 4 winter tyres. It's a std Elegance with the exception of polished and unblemished Annapurnas and the under body protection kit. So far it has done a mere 17500 miles and been utterly faultless to boot. Hobins were positively salivating at me trading snowy in. I was shown a new market survey showing the Yeti to be the 2nd best performing depreciation wise on the market. Q5 was first with the Abarth twins 500/500c 3rd and 4th. Seems plenty of room in the Fabia but the race bikes will have to go al fresco. Should cope with the pike fishing gear just fine though. First purchase will of course be a set of winter boots, those I found to be far more important than 4wd. I shall miss the Yeti despite the undoubted charms of the vRS, we both shall. My 40th car and firmly in the top 3 best cars I have ever owned.
  10. Well somewhat prematurely my beloved Yeti – ‘Snowy’ (the Fuhrer names all worthy cars) has to go. PCP not actually due to expire until Nov 2013 but the Fuhrer has lost her car park space and that combined with one or two other factors means that having two cars would be madness. What I do not want however is for the better half to loose her ability to drive; took me ages to persuade her into a smart fortwo! No chance of her driving the Yeti despite the fact she adores it because a) it is simply too big – in her opinion and if man/woman was meant to drive a car with 3 pedals he/she would have 3 legs. Of course there is the DSG but ‘a)’ is insurmountable and I dislike DSG’s without the flappy paddle option (of course I know you can retro fit it but still leaves the fact that she won’t contemplate manoeuvring the Yeti’s vast bulk…. So, both the smart and the Yeti have to go and a compromise in between has been found. Yet to sign the paperwork but Hobins in Manchester have been their usual helpful selves. Gold star for the first correct guess.
  11. I too noticed the similarity between the Yeti and the Panda 4X4. The Panda (all variants) is actually very reliable and routinely does very well in European reliability surveys; strangely it has never caught on to the same extent as the Punto/500 in this country. As a keen skier I have also noticed that virtually the entire postal delivery system of Alpine Europe seems to depend on this little car it really is rather capable off road and remains to this day the only car ever to make it to Everest Base Camp. It’s not just Yeti owners that have noticed the similarity though; check out the CAR review on the 2012 my Panda with the 85bhp TwinAir motor. The conclusion actually mentions the Yeti. Actually quite fancy a 2012 Panda when the wife chops her fortwo this coming October. But only if the Citigo doesn’t cut the mustard for some obscure reason.
  12. I tend to only look at car magazines for the pictures and news nowadays. I subscribe to Autocar and regularly get CAR and EVO – both excellent for very different reasons. As to the objectivity of the reports it’s getting to the stage where you can’t even take an average as opinions differ so widely. I wouldn’t even keep What Car or Auto Express in the small room for emergencies. Auto Express seems to be merely an extension of a Volkswagen handbook and What Car is so gloriously inconsistent (as already mentioned on this thread) that it’s almost worth buying for comedic value alone. I read the Qashqai v Greenline report whilst on the shelf in the newsagents beneath our towering edifice (if they will persist in ripping us off because they have a captive clientele then I will exact my revenge somehow..) I knew the Nissan was going to win before I turned a page and I wasn’t disappointed. I have not driven a Greenline but I have driven a couple of Qashqai’s and found them to be totally anodyne/inert/soulless – like most Nissans – GTR excepted. Nice pictures though….
  13. Exactly, mind you although only slightly different I do prefer the Skoda styling. I wonder if VW will get into a strop because people buy the Citygo rather than the Up? In view of the 'issues' VW had with people prefering the Superb to other pricier VAG fare.
  14. I find the MiTo - 'challenging' on the looks front - especially for an Alfa. I just didn't get on with the new VRs - perhaps I couldn't forgive it for not having a stonking big oil burner under the bonnet. I expected to be pilloried from hill to burn for chopping my beloved GTA - a pretty special one with Q2 diff, Koni FSDs and Eibach springs plus it was a Sillyspeed (very different to the 4 cylinder system I hasten to add) but no, turns out a lot of the GTA boys (and girls) run VRs Octavias as 'everyday' cars, seemed to be no stupid snobbery at all. Odd that some of my friends run VW and Audis and STILL won't vaguely consider a Skoda because of the badge, utter madness. Desperate for a go in the auto Citigo. Wife at end of tether with a dull fortwo which has been nowhere near as fun as her first (mark 1 ) smart car. Citigo looks ideal. Again, why would you buy the VW version? beats me!
  15. Hmmm, nothing but positive comments from AlfaOwner contributors when I chopped my GTA for a Yeti. They are on there if you look hard enough. As any fool knows the MiTo is a Punto in drag and the 159 is or rather was a very pretty Saab chassied overweight Vauxhall. The Fabia is ok but none of its current engines currently compare to the MultiAir 170 jobbie. Bit of a disappointment compared to the old Furby, not the best in a crash either, only 4 starred in the NCAP ratings if I remember rightly. VRs lost it’s USP by going petrol, big shame that. Better get used to Alfa being part of VAG, gonna happen in the next 3 years if Marchionne’s Chrysler plan bombs.
  16. Not for me. Despite appreciating that the previous Kuga was - like most Fords - an enjoyable drive the 'Hinari' interior and dreadful frangible build quality meant it never got a look in when I came to purchase the Yeti. Another 2 years before I change 'Snowy' and already I have a list of possible replacements. Another Yeti - probably not a diesel though as I hate the TDi 140 motor. VW Bulli (the combi replacement) Mazda CX5 SkyActive Citroen DS5 (always had a soft spot for big Citroens and whilst this does not fulfil any of my usual needs the interior is so fantastic I just want one) Alfa SUV Total pie in the sky at the moment but after 14 totally reliable Alfas the thought of a good looking MultiAir engined Jeep re-hash has some appeal. At the end of the day can't see me getting anything but another Yeti though!
  17. Silver is spot on. My previous steed a 156 GTA had auto wipers and it actually stated in thehandbook the reason you had to reinstate the operation was in case of frozen wipers. I viewed the whole idea of auto wipers (and auto lights) with much scepticism (especially on the Alfa - lol) but on that and the Yeti I have been pleasantly surprised as to how well they have worked. Not sure I would go down the 'park assist' route though, that's taking automation into the realms of spookiness.
  18. The Fuhrer does all the car naming, fior a quiet life I do not interfere. 'Snowy' is a Candy white Yeti and 'Gordon' is a Metallic Brown smart fortwo, so called because a)he is fiscally prudent and b)Brown as in Gordon. I'll get my coat, and yes you could argue about the 'fiscally prudent bit'. My previous steed was a much loved Alfa 156 GTA, that was called 'Lucretia' (Borgia) because it was drop dead gorgeous but likely to poison the world (very high CO2 output). A Mitsubishi CZT earned no name at all because it was terminally dull - again I didn't argue. A Honda Civic Type R was christened 'Hari' as in Kiri because although it was later thrashed by the Alfa performance wise it was at the time the most scary thing the Fuhrer had ever been in. I don't pretend to understand such anthropomorphism but I don't mind in the least.
  19. Will have another prod at the Maxidot. It is the first time a stealer has ever contacted me to arrange a service! could've knocked me over with a feather. I will have done about 12,000 miles by birthday time, nearly all motorway mileage or fast A road work. We use the smart for the scuttling around Manchester, and that is all it's fit for, not a patch on the original smart sadly.
  20. Thanks geordiebroon, I wasn't imagining a variable service interval then Being of the old fogey persuasion myself when it comes to oil I may book it in and see if I can get them to fit the winter boots at the same time, nothing ventured nothing gained.
  21. My beloved Yeti is coming up to its first birthday at the end of October and so far has been totally free of faults, hasn’t even used a drop of oil (it’s a TD140). As a consequence I haven’t given servicing that much thought. I was vaguely under the impression that the Yeti had a variable service mileage that informed the owner according to useage, I seem to remember seeing 18,000 miles once in the Maxidot whilst I was fiddling. Anyway, my dealer just rang wanting to book it in for its annual service. Now I have no objections to annual services – in fact from an oil change point of view I am more than in favour of them. I explained I thought it was on a variable schedule and he stated if it had the code QG1 noted on the manual it indeed was but if it was anything different it was annual. He seemed to think it was rare for a Yeti to be on an ECU knows best servicing schedule but certainly not impossible. My daily ride is a smart fortwo so I cannot investigate further till I get home, Just curious as to what has been the experience of those on here who have had there Yeti serviced?
  22. According to Autocar the flat four diseasil has just received a round of mods to make it more competitive economy wise, it is this engine that will appear in the XV. From what I can tell it appears to be more of a competitor to the Octavia/Allroad class than the yeti but I could be wrong. Only cars in the present space time continuom that I am interested in as Yeti alternatives are the Mazda CX5 Skyactive and the VW Bulli - they would really have to blow my socks off to compare with my beloved Snowy though. Just spent a week in the Lakes and managed just by removing the centre rear perch to fit in two race bikes, an inflatable Kayak (2 seater) eleventy one tons of hiking gear and the Fuhrer's clothes (normally contained in a following Articulated lorry....) Whatever follows the Yeti has a tough act to beat.
  23. That’s a dead ringer for my ‘Snowy’ – except I haven’t got a DSG box. Nothing against DSG, I would have had one like a shot if it had flappy paddles. Regarding Norway I have just got back from a very enjoyable ten days in Alesund/Loen/Balestrand. Fabulous place(s), very friendly locals who of course speak better English than wot we do… Saw about half a dozen Yetis mostly in Alesund. I actually thought if ever a car was designed for Norway the Yeti is it. I (and my wallet) can confirm that Norway can be rather pricey. Only just got back from Switzerland (before the rascals devalued against the Euro). Wallet now in intensive care.
  24. Struggled to think of something that really annoys me about my Yeti, seem to be on the same wavelength as the designers. I do catch the sole of my shoe for some reason on the clutch pedal whenever I come off the foot rest but I think that’s more down to me and my previous 3 cars all being flappy paddled and therefore clutch pedal-less than any odd spacing on the Yeti’s part. On the subject of sun visors I have no issue with the ones on the Yeti at all. I used to own a 1971 1750 Alfa Spider and was highly amused to find that when you folded down the visor on that it touched the rim of the steering wheel. Italians obviously more concerned with other – probably female distractions - if it was sunny, rather than the useful ability to see where you were going.
  25. Like so many I started off with a Mini- A very rusty Clubman, it never let me down (except at MOT time) and was wholly responsible for me getting caught by one of the first radar guns – nowt was forthcoming by way of a fine or ticket fortunately. I then had two Suzuki Sc100GX’s, tiny little things with a rear mounted engine. Very prone to spinning but great fun. Didn’t like starting on wet mornings however. I then started to get my fathers Alfa hand me downs. Sud Sprint Veloce (95bhp) owned two of these, utterly fab. Also had the Green Cloverleaf version which was eventually fitted with the Zender bodykit that Alfa themselves used a couple of years later (like to think I caused that). Also had the Ti QV as well – none of these two were as good as the early Suds. I then went all sensible and on Autocar’s recommendation purchased a Pug 205XS (the one down from the GTi) utter crap and as dull as ditchwater. For years I had been driving according to the mags a rusty/unreliable/poorly made/car suited to people shaped like an Ape. I learned never to trust magazines after the Pug debacle. Being slightly richer I purchased a 1750 GTV Bertone bodied 105 series Alfa (1971) with the intention of sticking it back together in the right order, never happened as I sold it the chap next-door who chopped a perfectly nice Golf Gti 1.8 16v for it. I then got a 1750 Spider (also of 1971 vintage) and kept it for 8 years, still a record for me. A truly wonderful car, I miss it even now. As an ‘everyday’ car I ran a Honda CRX, cracking little car which left me with great respect for Honda engineering. I part ex’d the Spider and the Honda for one of the first Fiat Coupes in the UK. Another belting car and to this date (clutching wood) the only car I have had a large bump in. I survived unscathed and promptly bought an early Punto GT Turbo. This was hilarious in a straight line and like the Mini was entirely responsible for my second brush with the law concerning a surplus of pace on a motorway. This time money changed hands and points were scored. The Punto proved incredibly reliable; in fact in the 3 years I owned it I had zero defects. It did like a drink however and it sadly made way for a Lupo 1.4s. This of course proved horribly unreliable and fell to bits. I then bought one of the first Mini Ones on sale, custard yellow. It was always surrounded by curious onlookers within the first 6 months of ownership. This too broke down 3 times but was utterly endearing. Next was one of the last Civic Type R ‘breadvans’ not the current monstrosity. Again another great Honda, do remember its Bridgestone tyres to be awful in the wet though. Needing something more practical I then purchased a Colt CZT. It was quick-ish but utterly soulless. Never gelled with it at all though it never broke in a major way even when the sump plug was not screwed in properly after a service. I got 100 miles out of it before a very panicky message came up on the centre console saying the engine was very hot indeed! By this time I had kind of twigged that whenever I bought a ‘sensible’ car of whatever persuasion I would end up fed up. I saved pennies hard and drove around for two years in the wifes smart fortwo – penance enough! I did learn to prefer flappy paddles as a means of changing gear though. I then found an imported Alfa 156 GTA Selespeed. Effectively brand new with zero miles. At this stage Alfa had ceased to make the GTA some two years previously. As the Sele box bore no resemblance to the much maligned one in 4 cylinder Alfas I took the plunge. Again I struck lucky. I consider the V6 to be the best the world has ever seen (Ok the NSX might just pip it but that was handbuilt) gearbox was a gem and the looks have yet to be equalled in a saloon imho. But it had to go. The hobbies of both my wife and self invariably centred around boggy fields, dirt tracks and torrential rain (fell running, ultramarathon running & Pike fishing) Alfa GTA’s are rubbish on such terrain. It is in fact a crime to subject such a car to these conditions I think. And so we come to the Yeti. A Candy white 4wd Elegance Tdi140. My first ever diseasil. I was worried it was a bit ‘sensible’, utter tosh ‘Snowy’ as he is affectionately known is now an indispensable part of our lives. It’s a horrible word but it fits our ‘lifestyle’ perfectly. It’s early days but so far it’s looking like it will give my old Punto GT a run for its money too in the zero defect category. A very different car to my beloved Alfas but just as endearing. Good job I am not a badge snob though, my Alfa colleagues were very supportive when I sold the GTA for the Yeti which is more than I can say for the BMW/Audi/VW brigade! Strange when 3 of those latter makes are siblings.
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