Yeti at 4K

[Noige]

Hi all, been away for a while, very busy and just discovered that my Yeti has covered 4K miles in 2 months so now seemed like a good time to give first impressions:

The good

Engine is great, really pulls well and loosening up nicely. Mpg averages 48-50

Gearbox which was a bit baulky is also becoming silky smooth

Interior flexibility is superb, now I have the hang of the seats; had bikes, dogs and all sorts in the back an all sort of combinations

Off road not really tried yet, but the odd verge and field seems fine

Grip on wet roads is excellent

Lights are wonderful - I like the use of fog lights when turning and the lighting when you stop/get out/lock provides great coverage for the path to the house door

Radio is really good - you can actually hear it at 80 on the motorway

The bad

Ride frankly is not great which is disappointing given all the hype, smooths out potholes, but a bit hard and jiggly overall. Particularly poor in the back.

My wife (5ft 3) finds the seats uncomfortable especially the headrest angle which is not adjustable whereas I at 6 foot have no problem

[redandwhitepauly]

Again wonder if we are on a tyre related issue here ???

:|

[Macdemon]

Hey, welcome back Noige :yes:

Nice report, thanks. Kitten and I are collecting our SM on 1st Sept on the new '60' plate

[the_raz]

Again wonder if we are on a tyre related issue here ???

:|

Or even a tyre pressure related issue - have you checked that your pressures are correct? I read somewhere (this forum??? ) that the pressures can be about anything on delivery.

[Macdemon]

Or even a tyre pressure related issue - have you checked that your pressures are correct? I read somewhere (this forum??? ) that the pressures can be about anything on delivery.

They should be checked at the dealer's and adjusted as part of the PDI prior to customer collection.

That's what I would expect. :yes:

[redandwhitepauly]

They should be checked at the dealer's and adjusted as part of the PDI prior to customer collection.

That's what I would expect. :yes:

Yes what I mean is that from previous conversations maybe he would get a better ride quality on 16" tyres ??

[Agerbundsen]

They should be checked at the dealer's and adjusted as part of the PDI prior to customer collection.

That's what I would expect. :yes:

You are probably correct, but the dealers have a habit of adjusting the tyre pressure to the maximum load condition, which is too high for normal use, particularly 3 bar in the back.

Edited 18 August, 2010 by Agerbundsen

[geordiebroon]

I thought my tyre pressures were spot on. Having checked them with a pencil gauge I find that they were all 2.4 not 2.2. This was my fault not the dealers.!! Looking back Yeti was smoother ride until I started adjusting pressures for towing:rofl:

I have now let a lot of air out!! Thanks for the reminder the_raz.

John

[Noige]

Thanks for the thoughts. I did check the tyre pressures and they were all over the shop. They are now 2.2 all round, but unfortunately it hasn't improved the ride.

What does improve the ride is having a good load at the back; its almost like the rear springs are too stiff, having some weight in the back really improves things. I suppose its all a bit of a compromise.

Incidentally I forgot to add one other plus on the good side and that is how quiet the Yeti engine is. I gave a ride to a friend with a Volvo D5 estate this week and he was commenting on how quiet the 4cyl engine is compared to the Volvo 5cyl

[YetiSP2]

My Yeti at (almost) 4k.

Hopeless.

[Agerbundsen]

Thanks for the thoughts. I did check the tyre pressures and they were all over the shop. They are now 2.2 all round, but unfortunately it hasn't improved the ride.

What does improve the ride is having a good load at the back; its almost like the rear springs are too stiff, having some weight in the back really improves things. I suppose its all a bit of a compromise.

Incidentally I forgot to add one other plus on the good side and that is how quiet the Yeti engine is. I gave a ride to a friend with a Volvo D5 estate this week and he was commenting on how quiet the 4cyl engine is compared to the Volvo 5cyl

Those Volvo 5 cylinder Diesels are well known to sound like an old Fordson Tractor - My 1985 Mercedes 250TD was very distinct in it's sound at idle, but in a very comforting and cosy way - I sorely miss it.

OTOH, aftetr the 1st service, the map must have been updated on the Yeti - smoother and more power at the low end and better mileage, but also more of a diesel sound at idle.

[Noige]

My Yeti at (almost) 4k.

Hopeless.

HI SP2, I wondered what was behind your comment so I had a look at your other posts.

When my Yeti arrived I switched off the running lights via Maxidot.

I have used no oil as at 4K

My missus who doesn't like the seats or ride has commented on how quiet it is at speed including the lack of engine and wind noise

I have no rattles

I have had no other problems of any sort - the whole thing seems very solid (a bit too solid on the ride)

I love some of the design touches - even the shopping bag holders that stop the wine rolling about in the back

Sounds like you must have got a Friday car - hope you can get stuff sorted soon.

[Agerbundsen]

It looks to me that the complaints of too stiff a ride are all related to the 17" wheels on the UK Elegance versions.

I do not experience a harsh ride, in fact, much more compliant than my previous Octy 2 Combi with 15" standard size tyres in winter and 16" in summer. If I understand it rioght, there is a no cost option to get 16" alloys on the Elegance in the UK.

When mine was ordered, I had no doubt that the winters should be the standard 16" alloys offered with the Ambition in DK. The Elegance with 17"ers is not marketed here.

I really thought that the summer tyres would be on 17", but I did not like the looks of those skunny boots on the Yeti, and got a super deal on the 16" with the original tyres delivered with the car. I have not looked back and would not consider 17" today.

Wheel and tyre details are beow.

[The Plumber]

It looks to me that the complaints of too stiff a ride are all related to the 17" wheels on the UK Elegance versions.

I do not experience a harsh ride, in fact, much more compliant than my previous Octy 2 Combi with 15" standard size tyres in winter and 16" in summer. If I understand it rioght, there is a no cost option to get 16" alloys on the Elegance in the UK.

When mine was ordered, I had no doubt that the winters should be the standard 16" alloys offered with the Ambition in DK. The Elegance with 17"ers is not marketed here.

I really thought that the summer tyres would be on 17", but I did not like the looks of those skunny boots on the Yeti, and got a super deal on the 16" with the original tyres delivered with the car. I have not looked back and would not consider 17" today.

Wheel and tyre details are beow.

Hi Agerbundsen,

both the SE and Elegance have 17" alloys as standard and unfortunately no option to switch to 16". Moon alloys are not imported here either, only 16" alloy option we have is the Spectrum as fitted to our 'S' trim; not personally a fan of this design so steels for me :|.

Have e-mailed SUK on this matter but they are not interested.

Regards,

TP

[shrub]

I have the 16in Spectrum wheels and think that they look good. Ride is still a bit jiggly on poor surfaces but on the acceptable side. The pay off for some of this firmness is the very stable and secure handling which continues to make me smile. I don't believe that the extra flex in the 60 profile tyres detracts noticeably from the handling.

[YetiSP2]

Those Volvo 5 cylinder Diesels are well known to sound like an old Fordson Tractor - My 1985 Mercedes 250TD was very distinct in it's sound at idle, but in a very comforting and cosy way - I sorely miss it.

OTOH, aftetr the 1st service, the map must have been updated on the Yeti - smoother and more power at the low end and better mileage, but also more of a diesel sound at idle.

That's damning with faint praise really. I had a D5 engined V70 a few years ago, before I saw the light and had 200k of trouble free miles in Japanese diesels. The D5 was an unreliable, gruesome, rough, noisy lump of rubbish

[shrub]

That's damning with faint praise really. I had a D5 engined V70 a few years ago, before I saw the light and had 200k of trouble free miles in Japanese diesels. The D5 was an unreliable, gruesome, rough, noisy lump of rubbish

Interesting. I worked for Volvo when the D5 engine was launched and remember it fondly. Bit rough sounding compared to the German six cylinder units but impressive in its day. I also worked for Honda for six months where my experience with the Civic 1.7 CTDI was a lesson in how not to build a diesel. Tiny power band and poor refinement. In fairness to Honda, this was their first diesel hatchback in the UK and we are talking about 2002. The engine was also a modifiied isuzu design although no less Japanese as a result.

[Agerbundsen]

I have the 16in Spectrum wheels and think that they look good. Ride is still a bit jiggly on poor surfaces but on the acceptable side. The pay off for some of this firmness is the very stable and secure handling which continues to make me smile. I don't believe that the extra flex in the 60 profile tyres detracts noticeably from the handling.

Hear, hear

[Agerbundsen]

Interesting. I worked for Volvo when the D5 engine was launched and remember it fondly. Bit rough sounding compared to the German six cylinder units but impressive in its day. I also worked for Honda for six months where my experience with the Civic 1.7 CTDI was a lesson in how not to build a diesel. Tiny power band and poor refinement. In fairness to Honda, this was their first diesel hatchback in the UK and we are talking about 2002. The engine was also a modifiied isuzu design although no less Japanese as a result.

For Isuzu, read Truck.

[kenfowler3966]

Some of the comments on here worried me a bit as I have now had the can nearly 2 months and done nearly 3000 miles, and had not yet checked the oil level or the tyre pressures

Fortunately yesterday the oil was exactly on the top mark, and the tyres were set to 2.2 bar all round. I dropped the rears to 2.1 which is suggested for a lightly loaded 2wd car.

So no oil consumption to date and the tyres were set correctly to normal use by the dealer on delivery.

I too think the elegange is a little bumpy, particularly compared to my last car, a skoda superb which also had wider optional 17" wheels fitted. The extra weight of the car and the softer suspention meant it wafted along hardly noticing bumps. The Yeti was much smoother, and quieter when we took it on holiday full of people and luggage, than in normal lightly loaded use.

I had expected the Yeti to be more economical than the 130bhp superb, but it is not so clear cut. The Yeti is much more economical on short urban commuting and shopping trips, rapidly reaching an average over 50mpg on the maxidot, whereas the superb struggled to see35 to 40 on this type of journey. On the motorway though at an exact 73mph as checked by the satnav, which is my normal cruising speed, using the cruise control as much as possible, the superb used to do about 53 to 55mpg, whereas the Yei is achieving 48 to 49. Drop the yeti to 65 or so though and it quickly ascends to 55mpg or more. On holiday, with 3 people on board driving at sightseeing speeds it was over 70mpg at times!

The big problem is the Yeti seems to want to be driven fast, it is very precise on cornering and loves to nip through the traffic, whereas the Superb was a car that liked to be driven in a stately manner, and disliked cornering hard!

The ride is improving though with use as items bed in and the engine is much more responsive. I am not a great believer in strict running in, occasional burts of power held to bed in the pistons and avoid a ridge developing at a low rev point in the bores, clearly zero oil consumption in 3000 miles suggests this is working fine.

Edited 21 August, 2010 by kenfowler3966