Hi All

Have decided my bmw is going in the new year and have got a short list of the above. I thought I might list what I see as the plus and minus points of each vehicle and hopefully some of you guys may have changed from these to a Yeti and could offer your experiences. (Note I have not driven any of these as yet!)

I am looking at a diesel as a do 20k a year.

1.Yeti

+ Build quality, performance from 170bhp, economy, kit on elegance, dealer reputation, exclusivity, clever 4x4 technology.

- Some idiots still look down at Skoda, waiting list at 9 months or so, options such as sat nav push price up, no sun roof option at the minute.

2. X Trail

+ Size and space, kit on tekna includes sat nav reversing camera and panoramic roof, intelligent 4x4 system, has just been face-lifted,not as popular so maybe discounts .

- Price - list around K28, heavy so not as quick as a Yeti, 18" wheels must compromise ride, poor residuals.

3. CRV

+ Honda reliability, kit on top spec model, good residuals.

- Very common now, limited 4x4 ability, price, lack of discounts by honda, 18" wheels.

4.Tiguan

+ VW build quality, top engines and performance, residuals. (Similar to Yeti)

- Price, costly options, looks.

5.Sportage

+ Warranty, looks (saw one at the weekend looked fantastic!) kit on top model.

- Lack of power, residuals, image of Kia.

Thanks for reading all comments greatly recieved.

Michael.

Be aware your VAG choices will have delays around the same times, due to Audi getting priority on parts.

There was a post here from a a member who spoke to VW & Audi sales & found that Audi had no delays, but VW did, along with Skoda

Edited 2 November, 201015 yr by lfc958

I owned a 2006 xtrail ,very good overall,but ponderous on road handling( aimed for more offroad applications I think).Disasterous depreciation. Honda and Sportage both look competant , but a bit too large for me . I was also told by Honda that there were long delays for their admittedly excellent diesel . Tiguan,Similar on paper but less flexible and much more expensive...(you're welcome to see mine ......when it comes later this month.... Ian. ) :yes:

Edited 2 November, 201015 yr by bilun777

Micky - I think you have probably summed up the pluses and minuses really well on your own. The main difference is probably size and handling. The Yeti will be friskier and more car like than the others so is easier for day to day driving, ridiculously easy actually. If you need to carry more baggage, people etc then probably one of the others would suit you better. In that sense you can either count the Yeti in or out quite quickly. If you don't carry a lot then the Yeti will outperform all of the others. If you need the space then it slips back.

With regards to the options, I suspect even loaded up it will be less than the others, KIA excepted I would guess. A tip top Tom Tom can be had for £150 so why waste £1,500 on a built in version?

In terms of lead time everyone mentions that the Yeti will have an extra production line come January so that should help. If there is no lead time then what does that say about a car? Incidentally a colleague at work placed an order for an Audi TT in July and his current delivery date is end of Feb so Audi buyers also have to wait a while for the better cars in a range. Good things come to those who wait etc. I appreciate a long lead time is no fun but if you bought a car that you were not that fussed about purely to save 2 months lead time would that not nag at you every time you sat in it?

Comparing the Yeti with the X-Trail. The Yeti is:-

Better on handling.

Better on fuel consumption.

Better on comfort.

Same on performance - the XT was pretty nippy if pushed.

Worse on interior room and boot space.

Probably worse on Off Road performance - the Yeti has less ground clearance.

There was a post here from a a member who spoke to VW & Audi sales & found that Audi had no delays, but VW did, along with Skoda

I don't think so... They had in AutoExpress the other day that some of the cars with the longest delays are Audis. Especially the A3.

All five those cars will give you excellent service I'm sure - few cars these days have any serious issues. So ultimately go on looks and dealers. Which one you feel the best in and which dealer gives you the best service and is closest to your house/office.

Micky - I think you have probably summed up the pluses and minuses really well on your own. The main difference is probably size and handling. The Yeti will be friskier and more car like than the others so is easier for day to day driving, ridiculously easy actually. If you need to carry more baggage, people etc then probably one of the others would suit you better. In that sense you can either count the Yeti in or out quite quickly. If you don't carry a lot then the Yeti will outperform all of the others. If you need the space then it slips back.

I'd completely agree with this. There's no doubt that the Yeti is relatively short (the compactness is something I positively like) and so the space behind the rear seats (and with these seats up) is limited, especially with the spare wheel option in place. But there's still some perfectly useful space there and, unless you regularly travel more than 2-up (or maybe that should be 3-up, given the option to split the rear seats), there's always the option of folding one of the rear seats to liberate more space. I've made the decision that the available space is perfectly adequate for our needs.

The Yeti is far more car-like to drive in its handling and road-holding. We're just getting rid of a (current-model) diesel CRV and it's a slow and cumbersome bus compared to the 170 Yeti.

I think, actually, you've answered your own questions!!

Yeti it is!

I owned a 2006 xtrail ,very good overall,but ponderous on road handling( aimed for more offroad applications I think).Disasterous depreciation. Honda and Sportage both look competant , but a bit too large for me . I was also told by Honda that there were long delays for their admittedly excellent diesel . Touran,Similar on paper but less flexible and much more expensive...(you're welcome to see mine ......when it comes later this month, Mike. ) :yes:

Thanks Mike I may take you up on that after Christmas.

Edited 2 November, 201015 yr by Micky H

Micky - I think you have probably summed up the pluses and minuses really well on your own. The main difference is probably size and handling. The Yeti will be friskier and more car like than the others so is easier for day to day driving, ridiculously easy actually. If you need to carry more baggage, people etc then probably one of the others would suit you better. In that sense you can either count the Yeti in or out quite quickly. If you don't carry a lot then the Yeti will outperform all of the others. If you need the space then it slips back.

With regards to the options, I suspect even loaded up it will be less than the others, KIA excepted I would guess. A tip top Tom Tom can be had for £150 so why waste £1,500 on a built in version?

In terms of lead time everyone mentions that the Yeti will have an extra production line come January so that should help. If there is no lead time then what does that say about a car? Incidentally a colleague at work placed an order for an Audi TT in July and his current delivery date is end of Feb so Audi buyers also have to wait a while for the better cars in a range. Good things come to those who wait etc. I appreciate a long lead time is no fun but if you bought a car that you were not that fussed about purely to save 2 months lead time would that not nag at you every time you sat in it?

Hi Yes I agree £1500 is a lot, but I have a thing about things on the dash in my cars and hate to see loose wires everywhere! Also for me the hard drive (20gb to store music on) is a must after having i drive on the bmw.

Has anyone driven a top spec diesel sportage?

Edited 2 November, 201015 yr by Micky H

Micky - I know people like a built in sat-nav as it is neater and if you are happy to pay that it is fair enough. Wires everywhere are a pain.

The Bolero system, standard on the SE, allows you to put an SD card in there. I think you can go up to 16GB, someone here can confirm that, and it works really well. I just have an 8GB card as I am not a big music person but I am sure you can go bigger than that.

Micky - I know people like a built in sat-nav as it is neater and if you are happy to pay that it is fair enough. Wires everywhere are a pain.

The Bolero system, standard on the SE, allows you to put an SD card in there. I think you can go up to 16GB, someone here can confirm that, and it works really well. I just have an 8GB card as I am not a big music person but I am sure you can go bigger than that.

Thanks for that! I did not know that mate.

Edited 2 November, 201015 yr by Micky H

I have to say I quite like the Sportage, but I also understand there is only 1 model in the range, albeit being top of the range, limits the choice.

If you are looking at the X-Trail, which cost 28k, then have you considered the Q5, similarly priced, and should be a nicer car than the X Trail.

I find that if you started pricing up the Tiguan, then there is only a small difference between that and the Q5.

How about as an alternative choice - the Dodge Nitro - massice discounts from Broadspeed etc. or the Dodge Journey - I think the offer starts at 14k at a local Dodge dealer - Diesel, Sat Nav etc (I think?)

Thanks for that I did not know that mate.

Bolero can take 32GB SD cards according to the manual.

How about as an alternative choice - the Dodge Nitro - massice discounts from Broadspeed etc. or the Dodge Journey - I think the offer starts at 14k at a local Dodge dealer - Diesel, Sat Nav etc (I think?)

The Dodge brand has just been discontinued in the UK. So no more Nitro or Journey models hence the huge discounts to get rid of the last remaining stock. And truth be told they were both atrocious cars for interior quality and handling. So unless you get it for an 80% discount I'd really never ever venture anywhere near either.

Have you considered a freelander? My girlfriend has just bought herself one and I have to say I was very sceptical at first, but since she's had it I'm a convert. Great drivign position, good diesel fuel economy, room for 4 adults and true 4x4.

In fact part of me wishes that she'd want to swap it for the vRS

If you are widening out the net then a Mitsubishi ASX may also be worth looking at. Oh the fun of a car hunt.

I have to say I quite like the Sportage, but I also understand there is only 1 model in the range, albeit being top of the range, limits the choice.

If you are looking at the X-Trail, which cost 28k, then have you considered the Q5, similarly priced, and should be a nicer car than the X Trail.

I find that if you started pricing up the Tiguan, then there is only a small difference between that and the Q5.

How about as an alternative choice - the Dodge Nitro - massice discounts from Broadspeed etc. or the Dodge Journey - I think the offer starts at 14k at a local Dodge dealer - Diesel, Sat Nav etc (I think?)

Hi

A diesel Q5 with leather and a few options would be about £33000 which is way too much for me. Likewise a similar freelander would be late 20's.

I have heard you can get a new X Trail tekna for around £25,000 that includes all the toys. However I have seen pre-facelift models that are 6 months old with around 5k on for £21/22,000 which makes more sense to me.

I wish there was a few more used diesel Yeti's around but have had this conversation with James from Allams and he thinks that they will be very few on the market for the next year or so. Especially those fitted with options like columbus etc.

Take the Sportage seriously.

I'd buy it for it's looks and warranty alone!

Take the Sportage seriously.

I'd buy it for it's looks and warranty alone!

I would seriously consider the Kia Sportage. I drive a Yeti 1.8 SE but for the last 2 weeks have been driving the wifes Sportage First Edition. Its done about a thousand miles now and I am really impressed with it. The kit it comes with as standard puts mine to shame. The voice recognition for the bluetooth phone, the reversing camera built into the rear view mirror, and the leather interior would all be welcome on my Yeti. And it really is a looker from any angle especially in black with the chrome exterior trim. The engine and gearbox I cant fault and its averaging 38mpg. The ride isnt as good as the Yeti at filtering out lumps and bumps though, but think thats down to the 18 inch wheels. But you do get a full size alloy spare wheel! Now for the things I dont like, the steering lacks feel and is nowhere near as direct as the Yeti. And the 18 inch wheels generate a bit of noise on certain motorway surfaces, also the drivers seat is a bit flat and could do with more support. As a purchase with your own money it makes alot of sense, cheap road tax and that 7 year warranty. So which do I prefer? It has to be the Yeti its more of a drivers car and the interior is quality. I knew when I bought the Yeti 1.8 tsi I was going to get hit at the pumps and high road tax but its worth it. The Sportage replaced a X-trail 2.0dci which although was great in the snow we had lots of problems with the DPF filter with her commute into Manchester.

I’ve driven (and sold) X Trails and nearly bought one a few years ago (went with a 123D instead ). It has loads of toys and isn’t too bad on road, but it is more an Off Roader than Soft Roader imho. The Honda and the Yeti are probably best on road and also can do a spot of mud plugging if required. A friend of mine has run a Sportage (facelift just came out) and even though he is pretty loaded, he is about to buy another one, rather than an Audi or Landie, he rates them that highly.

If it was my money and I didn’t want to ‘off road’, I would go for either the Honda or Skoda and likely go with the Skoda overall as it’s probably the better value for money of the two. If you do intend to go off road, I would get an X Trail without hesitation.