Before I take the plunge and buy a diesel dsg, can current owners give me an idea of what the road noise and wind noise is like in their Yeti's.

I have test driven both a 110 diesel 2wd and a 1.8 turbo 4wd, but only up to 50ish due to time and speed limits. What are they like for cruising on the motorways for example?

Thanks for your input.

Mike

Hi Mike

I've a 170 Diesel 4*4 and have now done in excess of 6000 miles since the end of April. Like you I was aware of some commentators talking of both wind and road noise being intrusive, and was moderately apprehensive about that when I took delivery.

In the event, neither has been a problem of any magnitude whatsoever. The only comment that I would make is that the car tends to "pitter" when the road surface is a bit rough, and that is more of a sensation than a noise.

My mileage has included a weekend hike up to Inverness from S Wales and back at decent speeds on A roads and Motorways, so that test would have highlighted any weaknesses. The rest of my mileage has been A roads, B roads, and C roads of varying degrees of awfulness! No problems at all, and compared to a Megane, and even the mighty Touareg, of which I had a couple, this little gem stands way above either.

And as a further comment, the engine sounds are not intrusive either - at whatever level or acceleration.

George

PS - and it isn't because it is all drowned out by my singing as i drive either!!

Before I take the plunge and buy a diesel dsg, can current owners give me an idea of what the road noise and wind noise is like in their Yeti's.

I have test driven both a 110 diesel 2wd and a 1.8 turbo 4wd, but only up to 50ish due to time and speed limits. What are they like for cruising on the motorways for example?

Thanks for your input.

Mike

Whilst I like my new Yeti, 110bhp 2wd Elegance, it hasnoticeably more noise from tyre noise, to the extent the radio has to be quite loud, compared to my previous Superb mark 1. I have not noticed any particular wind noise issue, however my daughter recons there is a whistle from the front passenger door seal

The ride is also much firmer than the superb and it is not as economical on the motorway, presumably from wind resistance.

The Yeti is more economical on short low speed journeys, and in town than the superb 1.9tdi, but I used to get an average of 52+ on the motorway cruising at a real 73mph from the satnav, the yeti will only do 49 at that speed.

Coming from a Roomster 1.9 TDI to a 1.2 TSI Yeti the difference in in-car noise at motorway speeds is HUUGE!

I'm not sure about the engine sounds of the diesels, but at least the small petrol enging is just whispering even at motorway speeds, and the wind noise is also (in my opinion) hardly noticeable. The only sound source I have noticed is the tires (Dunlops 225/50 17 inch), and that sound is heavily dependant on the quality of the road; on rough roads the tires make some noice, but on new and soft surface the tire sound can hardly be heard.

So when it comes to noice levels the SM gave me (another) positive surprise.

Judging by other threads they do tend to vary.

My own experience is that the Yeti is very quiet with little road or wind noise and a very refined diesel engine. Definitely quieter than my previous two Octavias and they were pretty good.

Other people have reported rattles and squeaks that I have only experienced if I have left loose items in the boot. Otherwise seems very well built.

Some tests have mentioned choppiness to the ride and I can see where this comment might come from on certain sorts of roads. The car rides and handles really well but has a strange nervousness on the occasional 'b' road surface. It copes with bumps and broken roads well but it's almost like the damping gets caught out where there is any sort of washboard like surface. Freshacre mentions 'pitter' and I think that comment somes it up.

It's only a tiny negative against a huge number of positives for the Yeti.

I have just done my 1st 1,000 miles in my 2.0d 4 x 4. I would say the road noise and ride are better than my previous car, a 2.0d Volvo S40. The car absorbs bumps well whilst still being firm, ie it does not float but neither do you get jarred. The suspension deals with poor roads very well.

Strong winds are a little noisy at high speeds but that is likely to be the roof rails as much as anything. It is certainly not painful. On a normal day I find the car very easy on the ear and if you do ever hit a smooth piece of tarmac, fantasy time I know, then the car really does glide with no noise. For the shape of the car I am genuinely very very pleased with the low noise levels of the car as I am quite sensitive to road noise and I would not have chosen the car had it been otherwise.

I think you have to take reviews with a huge pinch of salt, annoying though that is. The best car I owned for many years was a Citroen Picasso, wonderful for moving two young children around, and that used to get murdered in reviews. The most impressive thing about the Yeti for me is its ride and how it drives. Try one and see.

I have just done my 1st 1,000 miles in my 2.0d 4 x 4. I would say the road noise and ride are better than my previous car, a 2.0d Volvo S40. The car absorbs bumps well whilst still being firm, ie it does not float but neither do you get jarred. The suspension deals with poor roads very well.

Strong winds are a little noisy at high speeds but that is likely to be the roof rails as much as anything. It is certainly not painful. On a normal day I find the car very easy on the ear and if you do ever hit a smooth piece of tarmac, fantasy time I know, then the car really does glide with no noise. For the shape of the car I am genuinely very very pleased with the low noise levels of the car as I am quite sensitive to road noise and I would not have chosen the car had it been otherwise.

I think you have to take reviews with a huge pinch of salt, annoying though that is. The best car I owned for many years was a Citroen Picasso, wonderful for moving two young children around, and that used to get murdered in reviews. The most impressive thing about the Yeti for me is its ride and how it drives. Try one and see.

Thanks for the interesting post. Having moved from an Octavia that I had for 5 years to a Volvo V50 purchased last July and having covered 25000m I am still thinking about going back to Skoda and probably a Yeti 140 Tdi4x4.

I find the Volvo supremely comfortable, the servicing dealer has been good in Carlisle, the suppling dealer in Ayr poor. The car is good at covering big miles but falls on rural back roads where I do a lot of my driving. I am a bit dubious of the build quality and fuel consumption (2.0D) isn't grear at around 42mpg.

How do you find the Yeti seats V's the S40?

Edited 28 July, 201015 yr by loskie

I have just done my 1st 1,000 miles in my 2.0d 4 x 4. I would say the road noise and ride are better than my previous car, a 2.0d Volvo S40. The car absorbs bumps well whilst still being firm, ie it does not float but neither do you get jarred. The suspension deals with poor roads very well.

Strong winds are a little noisy at high speeds but that is likely to be the roof rails as much as anything. It is certainly not painful. On a normal day I find the car very easy on the ear and if you do ever hit a smooth piece of tarmac, fantasy time I know, then the car really does glide with no noise. For the shape of the car I am genuinely very very pleased with the low noise levels of the car as I am quite sensitive to road noise and I would not have chosen the car had it been otherwise.

I think you have to take reviews with a huge pinch of salt, annoying though that is. The best car I owned for many years was a Citroen Picasso, wonderful for moving two young children around, and that used to get murdered in reviews. The most impressive thing about the Yeti for me is its ride and how it drives. Try one and see.

The last sentence says it all " Try one and see " a test drive to see if YOU are happy is worth more than a million words, for what it is worth wind and road noise is perfectly agreeable to my Old Yetioin ears.

Opinion seems quite divisive on this subject. My experience after two months with the Yeti are as follows;

1.) Road Noise - actual noise is not intrusive at all but surprised to find that the suspension seems to be as firm as it was on my Audi TT and that had the sports suspension option fitted. You do feel it when going over bumps and I've had a couple of passengers mention this. This doesn't mean to say the ride is uncomfortable, however, it's not and the offshoot, of course, of a harder suspension is the fantastic handling of the beast - it goes round corners like it's on rails.

Another big factor is tyres. I have the Dunlop SP1 50 series on 17" alloys. Those on the 16" 60 series will almost certainly get a smoother, quieter ride.

2.) Wind Noise - Yes, this is noticeable, a little intrusive but fairly easy to live with. Having said this, I have the roof bars and luggage basket fixed to mine. I have not experienced driving it without these on yet. Surprisingly, when I took the luggage basket off, wind noise appeared to increase slightly. I think this is because the aerodynamic design of the luggage basket helps channel the flow of air more efficiently.

3.) Internal Noise - Fortunately, the car seems to be mostly devoid of any internal rattles or squeaks. It creaks when the body flexes but my other cars did that and it's certainly not to a level that bothers me.

4.) Engine Noise - This diesel is supremely smooth and quiet. Cruising at average speed, you simply can't hear it above the wind and road noise. At times, you could possibly convince others it was a petrol engine. Top marks!

Some people are more sensitive to noise than others. Personally, I've never got that phased out by a few rattles and squeaks on the odd occasion. I don't get in the car purposefully listening for the slightest creak in the dash or knock from behind. Stick any stuff in the back, glove compartment or wherever and you're instantly opening yourself up to more noise, you'll never escape it entirely unless you buy yourself a £300,000 soundproofed Rolls Royce.

In summary then, there aren't any noises from the car which would put me off buying another one.

Edited 28 July, 201015 yr by davecarter

Thanks for the interesting post. Having moved from an Octavia that I had for 5 years to a Volvo V50 purchased last July and having covered 25000m I am still thinking about going back to Skoda and probably a Yeti 140 Tdi4x4.

I find the Volvo supremely comfortable, the servicing dealer has been good in Carlisle, the suppling dealer in Ayr poor. The car is good at covering big miles but falls on rural back roads where I do a lot of my driving. I am a bit dubious of the buils quality and fuel consumption (2.0D) isn't grear at around 42mpg.

How do you find the Yeti seats V's the S40?

The S40 seats were the best I have ever had. No matter the size of the journey I never had aches or stiffness at the other end. I have not yet done a really big trip in the Yeti so it is tricky to judge. The Yeti feels comfortable but I don't think the seats are as good as the Volvo, you tend to sit on the seat whereas the Volvo tended to mould to you and really supported you.

I didn't use the Volvo dealer in Newcastle as their pricing was ridiculous, I just used an independent for servicing. It is just the luck of the draw regarding your dealer and mine was greedy. Skoda always seem to do well in surveys but you will probably know that already having had an Octavia.

I found the Volvo a bit jarring on poor quality country roads, something the Yeti is better at. It was, as you say, wonderful on long journeys but I suspect the Yeti will be equally good due to the high driving position and low driving noise. I find it a very easy car to drive. The 2.0d in the Yeti is also much better in my opinion than the Volvo engine. I believe from the Volvo forum that Volvo have not worked that hard on the engine, it is a shared engine with either Ford or Citroen and Peugeot and whilst the others have tweaked and worked on it Volvo have not developed it. The same can not be said of the VW CR diesel in the Yeti which is an excellent engine. Complaints about fuel consumption on the Volvo forum are regular with the V50 and I am sure the lack of engine development is part of the problem, money issues with Volvo. I had no problems in my 2 years with the S40, 34,000 miles, but 2 years leasing is not really testing the car out on that front. I enjoyed the car and would not put the boot into it.

I would happily recommend the 2.0d 4x4 Yeti in comparison with the V50 if you are not that enamoured with it. I think everyone who tries one is surprised at how well the Yeti drives and the lack of compromise that you are normally faced with in driving terms when you look at a 4WD car. I also looked at The Octavia and whilst it looks a cracking car with loads of luggage space the Yeti felt more fun and a little different. So far, I am pleased with my choice

Generally agree with everyone here - road noise is usually quite low (Dunlop SP tyres on 17"), but some surfaces do cause a roar. I think almost any other vehicle would too!

Wind noise is surprisingly low for the design. At motorway speeds, it runs very smoothly an quietly. Gusty winds will, however, create bursts of "wind noise", but I find it still quite acceptable.

The suspension is firm and, yes, it does feel as if it is running on rails around corners. If you drive it out of a corner, the Haldex kicks in noticably (lovely once you get the feel!); it can almost feel as if its rear wheel drive, but stays very stable.

BTW I'm getting about 46mpg overall (after 5000 miles), albeit mainly long runs, but mixed roads. I drive it too hard though. The localroads/M23/M25/A13 route I regularly use was very busy recently, so I dropped in with the lorries to keep my blood pressure down. The maxidot mpg indicated 53, and, as near as makes no odds, the time taken for a 75 mile run was hardly any different. Lesson for us all?

BTW I'm getting about 46mpg overall (after 5000 miles), albeit mainly long runs, but mixed roads. I drive it too hard though. The localroads/M23/M25/A13 route I regularly use was very busy recently, so I dropped in with the lorries to keep my blood pressure down. The maxidot mpg indicated 53, and, as near as makes no odds, the time taken for a 75 mile run was hardly any different. Lesson for us all?

Yes, but we wont learn it. As soon as the road clears in front of us the right foot just wants to go lower.

Edited 28 July, 201015 yr by EdmundBlackadder

Wind noise not an issue with mine. Bit of rustling if there is a cross wind but up to legal speeds very quiet.

Road noise varies, as others have said, depending on road surface. On a decent road the car is amazingly refined yet on a poor road surface there can be a fair amount of tyre / road roar. Of course, you could say similar about many cars but the difference in the Yeti is particularly noticeable. On a well surfaced motoryway the Yeti is very relaxing to drive. I think that the high set driving position helps though.

On a well surfaced motoryway the Yeti is very relaxing to drive. I think that the high set driving position helps though.

I fully agree. I also think that the hight of the SM makes the speed feel slower as you are further away from the ground. At least I really have to keep an eye on the speedo (or use the cruise) to stay within the speed limits. The fact that is also feels very stable and surprisingly unsensitive to crosswinds (compared to a Roomster at least) makes the SM a very relaxed car on long distance drives.

Thanks everyone for your input. You have put my fears to rest.

I am now just waiting for final quotes before placing my order.

I'm going for a CR140 DSG elegance in Cappuccino beige with black onyx leather, with park assist, heated screen, rough road package, tyre pressure monitor, spare wheel. I'll have a columbus fitted after delivery & find some rubber mats.

Mike