Sporky McGuffin

120bhp in a Yeti is not of any significant interest to me. There are already lots of slow options!

On my pre-FL Elegance the mirror has, if I remember correctly, always returned to normal position when I turn off the ignition.

They used to be included (along with a dimming driver's external mirror) if you took the electric seat. Mine (pre-FL) tilt on reverse if you leave the selector in the L or R position - they tilt the selected mirror. As for reading the manual, it's not easy to find things in there, so I've no problem with people asking questions here.

I believe it is just a higher power output, but I don't know if that's just mapping or if there's a different turbo or owt.

Ah; you're right. I still think of that as being the CR170 for some reason - probably because Skoda are stuck with the CR170 (not that it's not a good engine, it's just that it'd be nice to have the newer one!).

And the CR170. Which probably won't be available in an Octavia Scout (though I'm prepared to be proven wrong there).

Only to the intellectually challenged. It's pretty tragic.

The car is the one not stuck in a 70s timewarp where marketing departments think that cleavage sells cars.

Just remembered something I liked about the GLA - the air vents. They're not very pretty (strange round things) but they work brilliantly - you grab 'em and wiggle 'em to point where you want the air to go, and twisting them sets how much air comes through. I found this very satisfying compared to the usual lever-and-slider arrangement. An odd thing to be so strongly struck by, certainly, but they worked really well. So simple and elegant.

I think I may have overstated my feelings about the Q3 a little - it's not ugly enough to put me off completely, but I do feel it's misproportioned. The Yeti, original Forrester, Freelander are all very good shapes in my book. Blocky. Practical. The slopier SUV/crossover style is OK but not as useful. I don't transport an awful lot of big boxy stuff, but it is handy from time to time.

The Q3 is, to my eyes, an absolutely horrible shape. There's something utterly wrong about it - the proportions are just "off" somehow. The Q5, possibly, but the local dealer is pretty awful - I've twice been utterly ignored when trying to get some help. The Discovery Sport (as I believe the replacement for the Freelander will be called) looks a possibility. You're absolutely right about the headroom though - the company Passats most of my day-job colleagues have feel very "cosy" - bordering on slightly claustrophobic. I think the black headlining in the GLA250 didn't help. The Macan had it too but didn't feel quite as enclosed, and both had panoramic roofs. 'Course, even a full spec Yeti would be enough less expensive than the Macan or GLA45 that I could afford a very decent laser cutter. And that'd make money rather than losing it... Dagnammit, what I really want is a Yeti with the engine from the Golf R or the CR240 from the next Passat, the heated and cooled seats from the Superb, maybe a heated steering wheel, and some massively oversized wing mirrors. It's not that much to ask!

The one I specced came to £53, which is a bit steep. However, the indicative leasing costs weren't anything like what you might imagine. Anyways. The GLA. I am aware that there is an element of unfairness to these comparisons given the huge price range across the three cars, but to me each could do what I need so compare I will. For reference, still on the list are the V40 Cross Country T5 AWD, the XC60, the new Lexus one and the Jaguar CX-17 if/when it ever arrives. Other suggestions welcome. I tried a GLA250, petrol, auto, 4WD in the AMG sport trim. Which was the downside; it's just too low. Not enough ground clearance, and a slightly firmer ride than I'd like but not awful. The normal suspension looks adequate to my needs (which are crossing the occasional building site, a few rough unmade roads a year and not getting stuck in snow). I believe there's an option coming shortly to raise the whole car another 30mm as well. Boot again not as practical as the Yeti but an OK size; the seats drop easily to nearly flat (no step or ridge but I'd guess at a 5-10 degree incline compared to the boot floor). The interior was a touch plusher than the Yeti, a few more soft surfaces, but not in the Macan's league. Not as ergonomic as either; the aircon and heated seat controls are too low to see easily while driving (though I imagine one could get used to their positions) and I couldn't work out the Command interface beyond changing radio station. Also the gear selector (park, neutral, drive, reverse) lever is on the right steering wheel stalk, while there are two left stalks, one for cruise and one for wipers and indicators and full beam - that would take some getting used to, and I did indicate and flash the headlights trying to work the rear wiper. Ahem. The steering wheel had a pointless flat bottom and odd buttons (some of which partially replicated the Command wheel), nice clicky flappy paddles though. OK overall. The seats were mixed; better lateral support than the Yeti but not as good lumbar support; after an hour and a half my lower back was getting just slightly sore. The electric seats are, I'd expect, better in that regard. Good wing mirrors with plenty of "kick" at the edges, but again a teeny-tiny back window. The B-pillars are a bit further forward so the rear 3/4 view is better than the Yeti. The windscreen felt very slitty and the rear view mirror blocks a lot of the view out - not sure I liked that. Very much like being in a normal car - there were hatchbacks on my test drive where the driver would be looking down at me! I did (as mentioned) about an hour and a half of fairly mixed driving including some bumpy narrow country lane type stuff. Generally very good - loads of grip, 40mpg overall and a pretty tight turning circle. Bit tricky going from drive to reverse with that weird stalk gear change though. There's a strange electronic parking brake by your right knee, which I assume is meant to replicate the release on a C-Class with its weird foot operated parking brake? It worked well though; automagically releases when you touch the go pedal. The Macan had a better system in my view; as well as a centre-console pull-up-button-thing to set or release the parking brake you could also double-tap (just gently) the footbrake to engage "hold" which I thought was very neat. The radio is a bit tinny. Not Toyota awful, but not as good as the Yeti's standard, let alone the upgraded Yeti one or the Macan one (which, without doing a proper comparison, is at least on a par with the 10-speaker Yeti system). The GLA did have the same thing as the Macan, which I think is an emergent consequence of having an auto gearbox; for gentle acceleration it's fine, but ask a bit more and there's a definite lull before the gearbox kicks down and power arrives. Again, better in sport mode, and I should have tried the paddles more. The AMG GLA45 is due in in August so I'm booked to try that. It has the gear selector in the middle console (yay) but is lowered even further, so the Mercedes chap is checking if the AMG can be had with the offroad package (which gives 30mm more clearance) or the standard suspension. If not then it's not going to be any use to me. Getting back in the Yeti the two things that struck me (again) are that the Yeti needs better wing mirrors and more lateral support on the seats. However, I think I'd rather another Yeti than a GLA - we'll see if the AMG improves on that. I am increasingly of the opinion that the Yeti is an unusually good car - not that I didn't think that already.

I don't think "stupid" is fair. It's a car you'd otherwise have to wait 12 months for; you can have it now for a premium. To some people that's worth it. Anyways, I absolutely accept the point that the Macan is much more expensive than the Yeti - the spec I'd go for is very nearly double the price of the spec of Yeti I'd go for if buying now. But to me (and, I appreciate, not to others) it's still a competitor in that it's one of the cars I'm considering next, along with the Yeti. It didn't strike me, though, as vastly larger. A smidge bigger in each direction, perhaps, but not like the huge Kia Sorrento I had as a courtesy car. Whether it's worth the extra has a lot to do with whether you've got the extra. On the assumption that I could raise the money, I'd rather have the Macan as a do-everything-I'd-like than a Yeti and an Elise, for example. Or a Cayman and a Panda 4x4, or any number of other combinations. With the Evoque I wasn't convinced it was worth the extra over the Yeti; with the Macan I was (though not so convinced that it was worth finding the extra, just that it was worth it if I had it!). That said the Macan does make the GLA45 look like a budget option, price-wise at least. I should probably add that getting back into the Yeti after the Macan, the things I felt ought to be improved on the Skoda are the wing mirrors and the seats.

Tomorrow the GLA250, in advance of the GLA45. I will report back.

Dunno, but it's awfully good. On a whim yesterday I popped into the local Porsche garage (next to the sorting office where I had a parcel to collect) to have a look at the Macan's boot. It's pretty big, but not as useful a shape as the Yeti's if you carry big boxy stuff. The seats drop to flat very simply. A very pleasant salesy chap popped up on request and without provocation offered a test drive; I made it clear I wasn't likely to buy one in the near future but he wasn't put off (nor pushy) so I thought it'd be rude to decline. I will be comparing my experience to the Yeti throughout. So; impressions from a 1-hourish test drive. The seats are fantastic; the demonstrator had the full-fat 18-way comfort plus seats. Nice deep adjustable bolsters so you felt nicely nestled but not encased. The one in the showroom had the 14-way ones which were perfectly decent too. Not a huge amount of space for rear passengers (about the same as the Yeti but smaller doors, I think. That said, I rarely have passengers so that doesn't bother me. Interior looks a bit of a button-fest at first but they're sensibly grouped. Nice steering wheel with a similar layout to the Yeti's (not surprising as it's Q5 based). Every control feels solid and reassuringly expensive, every non-control surface is covered in something soft. Much better wing mirrors than the Yeti with really good rear 3/4 view. Tiny central rear view mirror though - like the Evoque's in that respect. I tried the Diesel S, and it confirmed my suspicion that 6ish to 60 and 240bhp is more than adequate for me. It was incredibly quiet when cruising, made a lovely growly noise when pushed. Quite a lag from flooring the pedal to it doing anything, which seems to be a combination of the auto box and the engine mapping; with the sport and sport plus modes it was close to instant. Ride was similar to the Yeti in that it doesn't just waft over everything but isn't irritatingly jiggly or uncomfortable. Very flat in corners. I don't drive like a lunatic in general but it felt very planted and grippy, even more so than the Yeti does. I'm not sure I could really explain how, but the Macan does not feel like a Q5 to drive. Much more interesting, more communicative steering and felt more connected to the road somehow - and the ride is better too. I think the "it's a Q5 in a frock" brigade are way off the mark. It actually felt a lot like the XF I tried a couple of years ago. Overall I really liked it - it's a bit pricey to consider for the moment, but there's a 12-month waiting list and my mortgage should be done in 18 months. The leasing prices are surprisingly keen. The dealer was great - I turned up in jeans, t-shirt and scruffy shoes as I was off to the workshop later and they didn't bat an eyelid - even said to come back at any point for another test drive. It's nicer inside than the Evoque and has vastly more go for about the same fuel consumption (assuming both trip computers are similarly accurate/inaccurate). I can see why there's a waiting list.

250 Koruna is about £23. Though it looks like it's actually 19,900Kc, vs 13,900Kc for metallic. That's about £411 vs £588, so £177 more to get those extra colours than a metallic. That doesn't seem so bad to me.

Done well, it can mean a more comfy ride, a better (well, higher) view out and less chance of grounding in moderately deep snow or on roughish roads where the issue is ruts, potholes and bumps rather than traction. To me the SV isn't a Yeti competitor, but I can see that to others it is. I do wonder, though, if people in that group might be better served by the Roomster than the Yeti anyways...?

That's the problem with the inferwebz - it's hard to tell what you're mocking.

From most of the articles it'll be a one off concept, never to see production. Let's face it, if it did enter production, Skoda UK would certainly be kind enough to decide that we don't want it.

Washing up liquid will strip the wax off the paint, making it harder to clean next time. As I understand it, the better cheapskate approach is just water and a microfibre cloth - being careful that you're not scratching the paint with any bits of muck stuck in the cloth.

I'm not sure about the roof, but change the rest of the yellow to bright orange or powder blue and I like it. Especially the seats.

I think that's a good list - very close to mine. Bit more power - I'd rather a 200bhp diesel but a petrol around 200-240 would do very nicely. DSG as an option. Which I'd probably take. "Better" seats - a bit more side support and ventilation. Updated audio system that can read an entire SD card, not just the first 2000 files (that one baffles me!). A bit more length just in the boot, and the removal of the stupid lip/flap between the boot floor and the rear seats. A heated steering wheel. A couple more soft bits - the door cards and the door grab handles spring to mind. Or, starting from scratch, something like an Ibiza or Fabia estate with (again) 200-240bhp, DSG, AWD, another 50mm of ground clearance and a really nice interior. It'd be small but able to carry plenty of stuff, quick but not too thirsty. The VAG group has all the bits - it'd be like an Audi S1 Allroad.

Aye - I know exactly what I want, but no-one makes it. The Yeti is darned close though, and a very decent place to be until one of the manufacturers wises up to the potential market (of one) that I represent.

And the ride height - that was an important factor for me as my company Avensis sustained a number of injuries crossing building sites and forest tracks. Also the extra ride height makes a big difference when trying to move on snow.

Even if they detuned it to 220PS or so it'd still be nice. I'm sure the Yeti can handle more power; the CR170 is very decent but just a little more... and then a little more...