Cripes- thanks to all for the replies. I will be using winter tyres as I have done for many years on 2 and 4 wd cars- amazing difference. Thought about Xenons but I am so p**ed off with being blinded by the damn things I couldn't do it ! I will be ordering next week- thinking about off road kit . Anybody got the Amazonian Green- seems to be rare but looks very appealing to me.Will be delighted NOT to have rain sensing wipers and electronic handbrake- both on Tiguan and both bloody useless!

Gone and done it ; ordered today- suspect will be in a very small minority in Amazonian Green but I think it will look the business. Trusty Tiguan till Feb / March delivery. Unfeasibly pleased with myself and although Tiguan not been perfect a bloody good trade in price.

Gone and done it ; ordered today- suspect will be in a very small minority in Amazonian Green but I think it will look the business. Trusty Tiguan till Feb / March delivery. Unfeasibly pleased with myself and although Tiguan not been perfect a bloody good trade in price.

So which model and what spec did you go for in the end?

I think the Amazonian Green looks good. Reminds me of my Mum's Fiesta that I learnt to drive in back in the late 70's

So which model and what spec did you go for in the end?

I think the Amazonian Green looks good. Reminds me of my Mum's Fiesta that I learnt to drive in back in the late 70's

140 SE TDI 4x4- heated seats , spare, or button; tempted by some other knick knacks(heated screen etc) but resisted!

Just noticed what you said about the automatic rear wiper. It can be turned off on Maxidot, one of the first things we did, as it was driving us mad on a long trip where the rain was driving towards the front and the rear screen was often dry!

Ah - thanks for that info - that, at least, will calm me down a bit!

Hi - looking to replace Tiguan Sport- which has been good apart from appalling ride on silly 18" wheels and rock hard suspension. Do not really like 4 x4s but do need one (location- NY Moors - and interests- fishing shooting motor sport etc) . Looked at Kia Sportage- actually very nice but far too big. Rav 4 - truck like. Qashqai- ok but underwhelming. Oh and Kuga but good though car is the local Ford dealer is so appalling I cannot risk it. So - test drove a Yeti 110 TDI and loved it- much better ride than VW , feels so much lighter and love the styling - and wacky name...

So my spec isTDI 140 in SE trim; heated front seats, spare wheel and off road button. Amazonian green.Sounds good to me- anybody think I am missing something I will regret later?

I was thinking about a Tiguan in Escape spec any comments would be welcome.

Cheers

Just noticed what you said about the automatic rear wiper. It can be turned off on Maxidot, one of the first things we did, as it was driving us mad on a long trip where the rain was driving towards the front and the rear screen was often dry!

The wiper may be a small thing, but when its chased from side to side by a nervous barking hound, it suddenly becomes a big distraction!

Good to know it can be disabled (the wiper, not the dog).

For the rear wiper to work by itself I thought that:

1) The front wipers have to be physically wiping.

2) You select reverse.

As far as I am aware unless you turn the rear wiper on yourself it should never come on if you are driving forwards?

For the rear wiper to work by itself I thought that:

1) The front wipers have to be physically wiping.

2) You select reverse.

As far as I am aware unless you turn the rear wiper on yourself it should never come on if you are driving forwards?

If the fronts are on whilst driving forwards, the rear will wipe occasionally.

For the rear wiper to work by itself I thought that:

1) The front wipers have to be physically wiping.

2) You select reverse.

As far as I am aware unless you turn the rear wiper on yourself it should never come on if you are driving forwards?

From the manual:

Automatic rear window wiper*

If the windshield wiper lever is in the position 2 or 3 , the rear window wiper carries out a wiping process every 30 seconds or 10 seconds at a speed above 5 km/h. When the rain sensor* is active (the lever is in the position 1) the function is only active if the front window wipers continue to operate (no break between each wiping process).

Activation/deactivation

The function of the automatic rear window wiper is activated/deactivated in the information display* in the menu:

· Setup

· Lights & Vision (Lights & Vision)

· Rear wiper

Edited 3 November, 201015 yr by 900000

Interesting, this is different to my Octavia.

Just out of curiosity, if you manually activate the rear wiper does it wipe continuously or is it intermittent?

If it's intermittent then this would appear to defeat the purpose of the automatic wipe mentioned above?

If it wipes continually I quite like the idea, this means that you get to chose whether you want the rear wiper on continuously (flick the switch) or intermittent (leave the switch in the off position).

However I guess it’s not perfect if you just want to leave the dam thing off!

Interesting, this is different to my Octavia.

Just out of curiosity, if you manually activate the rear wiper does it wipe continuously or is it intermittent?

If it's intermittent then this would appear to defeat the purpose of the automatic wipe mentioned above?

If it wipes continually I quite like the idea, this means that you get to chose whether you want the rear wiper on continuously (flick the switch) or intermittent (leave the switch in the off position).

However I guess it’s not perfect if you just want to leave the dam thing off!

From the manual:

Wiping the rear window pane

– Push the lever away from the steering wheel into position 6 - the widescreen wiper will operate every 6 seconds

Automatic wipe/wash for the rear window pane*

– Press the lever from the steering wheel forward into the sprung position 7, the wash system sprays immediately, the windscreen wiper starts wiping a little later. As long as you hold the lever in this position, the wiper operates as well as the wash system.

– Letting go of the lever will cause the windscreen wash system to stop and the wiper to continue for another 2 - 3 wiper strokes (depending on the period of spraying of the windscreen). The lever will stay in position after releasing it 6.

So it only wipes continuously if you keep holding the stalk in the forward position. The rest of the time it is intermittent.

Thanks Johann,

Seems kind of strange to me that if you physically select the rear wiper to be on it's intermittent, yet if you leave it switched off but have the speed related setting activated it is also intermittent.

Ah well, guess it's a convenience thing!

Thanks Johann,

Seems kind of strange to me that if you physically select the rear wiper to be on it's intermittent, yet if you leave it switched off but have the speed related setting activated it is also intermittent.

Ah well, guess it's a convenience thing!

My Opel Astra and Renault before both also worked in the exact same way. One click and it does intermittent and hold the stalk to get constant wiping but always with water squirting as well. You only look through your rear window intermittently so really no need for the wiper to wipe all the time! Especially since even in the rain it usually has less water on it than the front windscreen if indeed any water at all - hence some people switching the automatic method of as described above.

I agree, there are some cars though that have the option of the rear wiper wiping continuously. The Nissan Micra being one, I'm not sure if you have the option of on and intermittent though. Just an observation.

It's one of my pet hates when wipers are working a dry screen. I spend quite some time in stop start traffic and often see drivers sat in their car staring out of a dry windscreen with their wipers on.

It makes me wonder if they really are unaware it's stopped raining, if they are simply not paying attention, whether they just don't care or simply can't be bothered to turn them off!

Maybe this should be a new topic but since this one has turned to wipers, I'll go ahead. While looking around the Yeti, I noticed that the front wipers arms when parked are not semi tucked under the bonnet edge a la Octavia. My question is, can the arms be lifted in the normal way or do they have to be set to the service position (i.e. ignition on, then off & wiper stalk pulled down) as with the Octy ?

My question is, can the arms be lifted in the normal way or do they have to be set to the service position (i.e. ignition on, then off & wiper stalk pulled down) as with the Octy ?

Bassa: it is as per the Octy doing the routine as you described since the wipers cannot be lifted fully from their bottom most (parked) position as the bonnet is in the way.

Bassa: it is as per the Octy doing the routine as you described since the wipers cannot be lifted fully from their bottom most (parked) position as the bonnet is in the way.

Thanks for the confirmation, I hoped it was not necessary as they are not tucked under the bonnet edge so much as with the Octy.

Shame- always found it a little irritating - obviously a VAG thing.

I was thinking about a Tiguan in Escape spec any comments would be welcome.

Cheers

Tiguan- more expensive than Yeti; build quality on mine felt brilliant but several warranty items- new propshaft and juddery clutch woes. Fanatastic in snow on winter rubber .Cabin lovely - especially at night.Cracking stereo. Feels too big ; good cruiser and actually v good off road. Auto wipers and handbrake useless and irritating; ride appalling in Sport spec; my 140 TDI does 33-39 mpg.Tyres too big - 235 /18 FFS! And expensive. Yeti feels far nicer to drive and ride is immeasurably better. Overpriced compared to Yeti. If I wanted something as big I would have new Sportage.

I had test driven a lot of vehicles before plumping for my Yeti. After several test drives, I had virtually fixed on a Tiguan in fact. I have been a pretty loyal VW driver for a long time, and count a local sales guy as a friend after many happy deals. I have loved driving DSG equipped VAG diesel vehicles! However, eventually - albeit without Grayson's real hands on experience - which is as good as it gets - I made my decision because:

1. I preferred the ride and the appearance of the Yeti

2. I was happy it would do all I needed off-road.

3. I liked the concept of the off-road pack, and off-road button, versus the rather cosmetic Escape spec

4. I was going to have to pay nearly £4K more to get similar spec, based on the trade-in deals I was given

5. To get what I wanted I had a 5 month factory order wait, versus immediate availability of an ex-demo Yeti in the right spec, lucky boy that I was

There were other things I liked in the execution etc, but they were the main ones. I had a very diasappointed VW sales guy to tell...

Nothing about the Yeti has yet caused me to seriously question my decision.