pinkpanther

Good morning.......

A few photos from today's walk........

The lockdown / enforced reduction in mileage and recent cold weather have not been kind to my Yeti It's now typically regenerating the DPF every 100 miles and I've had issues with the oil level rising, presumably due to it becoming diluted with diesel (from uncompleted regenerations). MPG has also nosedived to mid 30's - see below: I generally do 20k miles / year, so haven't previously had any issues running a diesel car long-term. Still a truly excellent, capable and dependable car, but with its relative lack of value I suspect I'll keep it for a rainy day

I've been thinking about getting one of these - what do you reckon to this? hotUKdeals link

Another consideration is the residuals on the SX4 are (relatively) poor when considered alongside the Vitara. I paid £18.5k for a pre-reg (0 miles) 2018 manual 1.4 boosterjet all-wheel-drive SZ5 and after almost 2 years / 30k miles AT values it at £10190 Part Ex or £11990 private sale.

I went with the SX4 S Cross as it offered considerably better value than an equivalent Vitara and is a bit more roomy. The 1.4 boosterjet engine is excellent, although I have no experience with Suzuki automatics.

Friend of mine captured this sunset in Clevedon recently Bridlington this morning.......

I do like a good reflection (Rufford Park and Chatsworth) ........

Spent ages trying to get a photograph of these fast moving little blighters Not the best, but you get the idea!

Astonishingly lovely sunrise this morning. The colour came and went in the space of minutes.

As previously mentioned rear brakes can stick, but other than that I'm not aware of any intrinsic faults with the Citigo, Mii, Up!

They certainly hold their price well, as do most small cars in the current climate. I paid £7500 for a pre-reg SEAT Mii design (5 door with Beats audio) February 2019 and AT reckons it's still worth £7k at 14k miles!!!

I've used Michelin cross climates on several cars and can highly recommend them (both in summer and winter). They proved so good I sold my winter tyres / steel rims!! Will look to fit these to my Mii with the continentals wear out. Mine are 185/55/15.

The "fleet" - I did also have a lovely old S-type Jag, but got bored with endlessly putting fuel in it.

I remembered I'd written a little about my SX4 experience here: https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/463233-im-now-yeti-less/

I thought I'd comment on my experience wrestling with the Yeti replacement conundrum. I've had 4 Yeti's now (1 1.2 TSi, 1 2.0 TDi 110, 1 2.0 140 and my current 2.0 170). When my previous Yeti 2.0 TDi TdF 140 BHP (with a Shark remap) reached ~85k miles I decided to make a change and test drove all the usual alternatives, but found none really fitted the bill. I did think of keeping the Yeti, but them spotted a Suzuki SX4 S-Cross (when purchasing a SEAT Mii for my daughter) and after a spot of research (and test drive) decided to buy it. It was a pre-reg (4 months old) but had sat in the showroom and had just a handful of miles when i collected it. We've owned the Suzuki since February 2019 and in that time have covered 26k miles. The car averages ~40 MPG (see here: https://www.fuelly.com/car/suzuki/s-cross/2018/pinkpanther/895445). It has required a replacement rear axle, due to uneven tyre wear. I had noticed a droning from the rear end and noticed the outer edges of both rear tyres were becoming feathered. I read on-line both the Vitara and SX4 suffered with a misaligned rear axle and mentioned it during the car's second service. I had expected a "they all do that sir" response, but instead a replacement (along with 2 new Continental tyres) was approved by Suzuki and fitted within 1 week. My particular car is a SZ5 1.4 petrol (AWD), so features heated leather, LED headlights, keyless entry, Sat nav (easily updated to include Android Auto), Panoramic roof, Auto-dimming rear view mirror and Autonomous cruise control / emergency breaking. The headlights in particular are excellent and far superior to the Xenon's in my current Yeti Elegance. The 1.4 Boosterjet engine is rated a 140 BHP and felt very similar to the 150 BHP 1.4 TSi Yeti L&K I test drove. It is relatively quiet and cruises at 2500 rpm @ 70 mph. I found Suzuki's in general have a relatively tinny / lightweight build quality, but aside from the replacement rear axle it has proved reliable over 26k miles. Headroom with the panoramic roof is especially limited in the rear, but it's a sacrifice I'm happy to make for the large expanse of opening glass. After owning the SX4 for >1 year I actually purchased another Yeti (on here) and remembered just what a great car they are, especially in 4x4 170 BHP form The service intervals for Suzuki are 9k miles / 1 year, so given my relatively high mileage it's soon due to undergo it's 3rd service, before it's 2 years old. The frontal styling of the SX4 is certainly challenging, but as a pre-reg (for just over £18000) it offered a well specified petrol manual 4x4 at a decent price and I now plan to run it for a few more years. I did take a look at a Dacia Duster, but by the time I'd specced the top 4x4 model it was barely cheaper than the SX4 and the interior was considerably poorer than the Suzuki, The Yeti is definitely a difficult car to replace, so much so that I had to have another one!

Very nice👍 I'm on my fourth Yeti (1 1.2 TSi, 1 110 TDi, 1 140 TDi and current 170 TDi). Great cars.

Many thanks for the advice.

This one is close to me (and looks very original / clean) but I think it's too expensive. Red was always my favourite colour for a vRS Autotrader

Apart from a Yeti (I've had 4!) and 2 Roomsters the Mk I vRS was the only car I bought again. I did try both a Mk II and Mk III vRS, but thought they'd lost something compared to the Mk I. I remember asking the dealer what would happened to the climate control, electric rear windows, leather and spare Alloy.

I do keep checking Autotrader, but nice ones are such a rarity (and I don't have the necessary skills to restore one back to it's former glory)

Saw this recently and remembered just how much I miss my Mark I vRS. I had two of them, the last being an 05 in red. Furious driving (YouTube) Truly excellent car 👍

I had mixed results with the cheaper generic OBDII devices, but found the Carista unit to be widely compatible (VAG DPF, Torque etc) and reliable. Link to Amazon