Hi, I'm a newbie here, having ordered my 2.0 TDI CR S 110 4x4 last week.

I have read some comments that the higher driving position leaves you unsighted to the rear and that the parking sensors are therefore necessary. I've never needed them in previous cars, what do people think?

My only extras so far are a spare wheel and the off road button.

Welcome Chris,

Many people will have the opinion of " I have never had xxx or needed it", but driver aids are just that - there to help you, would you go back to having a car with no ABS, power steering, electric windrows etc etc? why not? I coped perfectly well with my first Mini that had non of the above.

Providing you use them as an aid rather than relying on them 100% then why not?

The added cost will also be likely less than repainting a bumper.

Years ago I was driving a mondeo, the type you always saw with crunched bumpers because they were made from eggshells! (97-01ish) I was reversing into a space in a carpark that had a short post at the back but nothing either side to easily judge how far back you had travelled, anyway it was unusual. I was being extremely cautious because the post disappeared from view early in the manouever, so cautious that when the soft bumper touched the post I didn't feel it and 2-3 inches later crunch! as the bumper split under the pressure. The cost of repair was about the same as a set of parking sensors. I decided, from then on that sensors are a useful aid to save you further cost and inconvenience and wouldn't be without them. The skoda ones integrate superbly with the radio too.

Welcome Chris,

The added cost will also be likely less than repainting a bumper.

Erm, Gizzard, my SM has black placky bumpers!

And to the OP - yes. Get them. Now.

And, ahem, never look back.(a-haha), yah?

I have found them very useful in tight parking spaces, you can park in tighter spaces than without, with less likelihood of hitting anything. As mentioned above, they are aids.

Mike

Edited 5 December, 201015 yr by rockhopper

Erm, Gizzard, my SM has black placky bumpers!

Never mind - you could always upgrade to something more modern next time

Hi, I'm a newbie here, having ordered my 2.0 TDI CR S 110 4x4 last week.

I have read some comments that the higher driving position leaves you unsighted to the rear and that the parking sensors are therefore necessary. I've never needed them in previous cars, what do people think?

My only extras so far are a spare wheel and the off road button.

Hi & welcome

My wife, who at 5ft 10in is shorter than I made three relevant comments on our Yeti test drive:

1) she had difficulty seeing low objects at the back

2) it was a little difficult to tell exactly where the front was

3) the parking sensor display on the Bolero radio was really helpful

I could see more of the front, but would confirm the need for the rear sensors.

(We opted for the front sensors as well.)

I too have managed without rear parking sensors until the Octavia Estate that our Yeti is replacing, and find them very helpful.

We have some minor cosmetic paint damage to the Octavia's back bumper - cost to repair £220 - and the bumper isn't even distorted or cracked. A new bumper plus the painting and fitting would have been rather more. And then there is the possible damage to somebody elses vehicle.

They are but an aid, and if you are infallible on reversing using the exterior mirrors - the internal mirror isn't very helpful for low objects - then you don't need them. (Cheaper than a bumper repair though.)

Good luck with your Yeti order.

Hi, I'm a newbie here, having ordered my 2.0 TDI CR S 110 4x4 last week.

I have read some comments that the higher driving position leaves you unsighted to the rear and that the parking sensors are therefore necessary. I've never needed them in previous cars, what do people think?

My only extras so far are a spare wheel and the off road button.

Hello Chris. As per the concensus here......YES! GET THEM!.

I'd never had them before and hadn't thought them necessary, but having bought a new Jazz and come very close to reversing in to a stout stone wall (No excuse - it was big enough and ugly enough to see from a 100 yards) I would now consider them to be as invaluable as, say,......my butler, or my dhobi wallah.

The cost is negligible and, seriously, you'll not want a car without them after you've got them. Just for reassurance they're terrific and possibly a life saver if a vertically challenged toddler or an errant hedgehog strayed in to your path as one backs out of one's numerous garages scattered around the estate.

And the older you get the harder it is to twist your neck round to see where you're going! Also consider the optional arthritis detector on S trim and above.

I would have said get the £55 Light assistant option in order to raise the height of the interior mirror and improve your view out of the screen but that's SE and above. That's more a consideration if you're tall and/or like your drivers seat adjusted high up.....I'm 12' 7"" and also like to have the seat high so did have this option added to my order.

Never had parking sensors before and I was entirely ambivalent about them being present on the Elegance spec. I was of the opinion 'I have never had a parking issue before so why do I need them now?'

Of course now I think they are absolutely brilliant....!

I suppose the excellence of the system on the Yeti is no small part of my new found confidence in them as well.

Simply Yes......It's the best visual display on screen that I've seen. :yes:

My first ever reversing sensors - came with spec. Now I know how useful they are I would order as an extra if necessary

I have found the sensors to be a bonus but I would not pay extra for them. The joy of the Yeti is that what you see out of the window is pretty much the back of the car, there is minimal overhang, so parking is quite simple. What the Yeti parking sensors do very effectively is they give you extra confidence in very tight spaces.

They were on the car when bought.

They are usefull.

Would I buy them; probably.

My Monster is my first car with these beepy thingies... Must say every friend I know that ever got them said once you have them you just can never be without. And I'm a convert now as well. The front and back beeps can be set to sound different so you know where to look. And the Bolero screen shows you exactly what is going on. See the attached for what it looks like on a car with both front and rear sensors and for a car with just rear sensors.

Edited 6 December, 201015 yr by 900000

like several comments above, i always thought of them as a gimmick.

i have changed my mind.

even though i am quite tall (5' 11") it is very difficult to see just where that bollard is when reversing towards it, as the rear window is high up.

anything less than about 4' 6" tall can be easily missed.

i imagine it would be quite costly if you misjudge it?

1st thing i did was reverse up to my garage door until the bolero display showed the orange bars and went nuts, got out and had a look just to check how much room i still had left.

about 6 inches is the answer but it could vary from car to car.

in short, if you can afford 'em, get 'em

Yet another good reason. We as drivers are supposed to be all seeing. Take a supermarket car park and shoppers lugging bags to their cars. 'Cos the Yeti sensors look to the side as well as the back you are warned of anybody going to walk directly into the reversing path.

AND whereas I agree that you can see anything tall enough to be in your rear window, the sensors pick up low walls and curbs not visible through the rear window.

My rural location requires me to drive the 9' wide lanes with the expectation that I will need to reverse many yards to let a tractor/trailer past (not tractors on their own - they can reverse as well as me!) so the sensors are there to warn if I am going off track or about to hit a sheep.

...And the Bolero screen shows you exactly what is going on. See the attached for what it looks like on a car with both front and rear sensors and for a car with just rear sensors.

Impressive looking - had a BMW E91 hire car with sat nav that did something similar. One of our A2's has sensors, the other one doesn't - it's the one with sensors that I managed to touch against an object as they were foxed and I relied on them... Considering the A2 is one of those cars that is supposed to be hard to see out of the back of, I've never thought it needed sensors. Suppose it's one of those things that's handy, but I'd never probably pay extra for them.

As for damage to the bumper caused by minor touch parking, at least you don't pick up your brand new car with four or six holes in the back bumper - sensors tend to look ungainly, even painted or grey like the bumpers. The only ones that look decent are those on the BMW E46 - they sit in a black 'grille' under the rear bumper and you can barely see them.

a sheep.

Sheep. Sheep? Did you, Terfyn, mention sheep? In Wales?

I refer you to ANY other Freshacre posts!!

Whilst still in one complete piece........

Baa

Baa

mint sauce

I've had my Yeti for about 6 weeks, and am now wishing I'd had the sensors on the front too. The fact is I seem to over estimate the front length - which is the right way, of course, but I'm frightened that if I try and recognise that in my manoeuvering I might start hitting things. :(

I find the back sensors on the Yeti almost indispensable: you definitely can't see anything low down at the rear.

I've had my Yeti for about 6 weeks, and am now wishing I'd had the sensors on the front too. The fact is I seem to over estimate the front length - which is the right way, of course, but I'm frightened that if I try and recognise that in my manoeuvering I might start hitting things. :(

I find the back sensors on the Yeti almost indispensable: you definitely can't see anything low down at the rear.

Especially not somnambulant sheep, waiting to be churned into chops'n'chips'n'mint sauce

Especially not somnambulant sheep, waiting to be churned into chops'n'chips'n'mint sauce

Lamb curry......mmmmmmmm

Lamb curry......mmmmmmmm

Baa

BAA

I've had my Yeti for about 6 weeks, and am now wishing I'd had the sensors on the front too. The fact is I seem to over estimate the front length - which is the right way, of course, but I'm frightened that if I try and recognise that in my manoeuvering I might start hitting things. :(

I find the back sensors on the Yeti almost indispensable: you definitely can't see anything low down at the rear.

I totally agree. Never had 'em before, thought they were an accessory for incompetent drivers, but now I've got them, I would most definitely specify them again. Just wish I'd got the front ones too!

My kids thought I was mad ordering front sensors (rear ones are standard on the SE) but if it stops us demolishing the front trim once we will have saved money - and its not that easy to judge where the front is.