Well I have now had my Yeti for some time. I did more miles than most in a month and truth be told more than I thought I would or will keep up with. It is just such a lovely car that the Mazda and V5 stayed at home. Though neither of them have winter tyres and the Mazda especially is a handful as it is rear wheel drive…

But back to the Yeti. I had my A2 for nine years as nothing could match its spread of abilities. I love cars and car design and know pretty much all that is going on in the industry. So from the mule stage I’ve been following the Yeti’s birth. But never actually thought I’d buy one to be honest. Only when I started reading the specs and realised it had the clever Roomster seats that can be changed and left at home did my ears really perk up. And then the clincher was that the sunroof could open and it was not a Cashcow-Peugeot-Roomster fixed fishbowl affair.

One thing I still don’t quite like is that black rear bumper. From the day I first laid eyes on this car on the Internet (the 3rd of March 2009 according to my email records) I said (to my car mad friends via email) the rear bumper looks like a total afterthought in not being painted. There is a black valance on the front bumper and this line is continued along the side skirts and then at the rear bumper this line jumps up. Why? Well to save something to do for the first facelift I imagine. But then by looking at the dimension pictures in all the Yeti brochures you see that they colour coded the side valances as well as the entire rear bumper - which is also wrong in my book. (Having this black line under any car helps slim the visual bulk). But I suspect that is what they will do come the first facelift - though I hope not. I asked my dealer and James if it could be colour coded but alas the rear bumper is of a different texture than something that can be painted so it would always have looked slightly different. So I had to let this be… But I was hoping for something like this:

Then I found this forum and my expectations for the Yeti just grew. It does things in the Germanic way I know and like. There is an underlying logic to everything it does. (Some we don’t quite get but I’m sure if we get to read the German list requirements of why the sunroof blind closes at night we will all say, yes, that does in fact make sense!) So everything is as easy to operate as I had hoped. Bar the hopeless cruise control stalk that shares its position with the indicator. I guess Golfs and Passats have this same arrangement too. Oh to have a Mercedes separate cruise stalk…

Handling exceeded expectations I have to say. I only had the 17†wheels on for about 500 miles before getting the winters on. But even on those the ride was years and years better than the rock hard A2. Yet it still went around corners like it was on rails! And some of the speed bumps around my house I can now take at about 40 whereas in the A2 you could do no more than 20mph. LOVE that. They are also much quieter than the winter tyres.

There are tons of things I like. But then I think most of you guys bought your Yeti for the same reasons. I won’t dwell on them. The seats are amazingly comfortable, the electric seats have far better adjustment than the non-electric passenger seat, I like the memory for the mirrors and seat set to each key, I like how the passenger mirror drops when I select reverse, I love how the Bolero fades a track to nothing when you skip to another track, I love the one click indicators, I love the DSG box that just knows when to gear down as I go down a hill, that changes gear without me noticing, I love the rear seats’ versatility, I love the sunroof – and boy is it HUGE, I love the SD card music, the Bluetooth audio streaming, the Park Assist and the pictogram showing the front and rear parking sensors on the Bolero, I love that only the driver can really see how fast he is driving. The list goes on and on and on...

But there are a few minor niggles too.... I don’t like the tiny boot. For such a relatively large car it is pathetically small. Furthermore I could not fit everything I had had in the A2’s lower boot around its space saver spare back in the Yeti!!! Blame the wrong-way-around spare for one thing, but all those foam boxes take up a HUGE amount of space in themselves. Maybe I must just leave THEM at home!

Other niggles include what seems to be the same thing I HATE on my iPhone: one volume that controls everything. Why, oh why?! So first thing I did was set the Bluetooth pairing volume. But then you can’t hear people when they call you and you turn up the volume, only to be deafened next time the phone pairs again. Tedious changing of this volume up and down all the time... Sticking to the Bolero it must be the slowest CD changing radio on the planet with the most daftest incomprehensible CD load and eject buttons known to man. Hate that thing’s CD function with a passion. And then with all that screen real estate it can’t even show the time… Grrr. And no one but the driver can see the time in the car.

They also penny pinched by not moving the bonnet release from the left to the right of the car. And I really don't like how the heated mirrors don't have a timed switch. More penny pinching.

One last tiny Audi thing I miss is clicking buttons. Every Audi’s buttons click from the window to the radio to the climate control. Thus you always get an audible confirmation that you did in fact do what you had intended. Not the end of the world but one of those small things few people notice in an Audi.

One thing I thought would be much, much better is the fuel consumption however. I’m no granny when I drive but I did expect a bit better fuel consumption than the 33mpg I get now… 42 on the motorway is just about acceptable, but a 33 average is a LOT lower than what I’m used to. But then I did know any car would be worse than the A2! I’m no fool.

Would I buy another one? In a heartbeat. Am I recommending it to everyone? Oh yes. Do my friends and colleagues like it? Oh yes, they can’t believe how amazing a car it is but then when they hear it was near £30,000 before discount their eyes do water and the “but it is a…†words do get uttered. But one and all like it I have to say. As do I. It is the best car I’ve ever owned and thus far I’ve only scratched the surface of what he is capable of.

Nice, balanced review that

Surprised at that fuel consumption figure!

Steve

Good write up Johann. In agreement with all you mention apart from the sunroof, who in their right mind want one of those.. (if I could have ordered one I would have done, and added another £1000 ish to the purchase price. Yes, Elsie's list price is high as it is very similar to yours.

The fuel consumption I too am slightly disappointed in, but there are many things conspiring against us at this time of year which I mentioned in another thread, but can be summed up in, tight engine, winter tyres, heavy right foot, cold weather, long warm up times for the CR engine, all electrics stuff on for long time and so on. I'm faring a little better. Lets see what the remap does for economy over time. I was getting 42 also on the motorway, and not a great deal less driving around South London- 35-40 generally, but lower if really heavy traffic.

I think the Columbus is much better than the Bolero (biased I know). I'm on my 2nd one - had one in the Octavia before. I can set it up to 'audible' click, but not the rest of the buttons in the car. I wish I could get the columbus to start up on zero volume.

The cruise control is the same as my old Octavia, so I'm used to it and have no problem with it, other than you can no longer just up click to increase by 1 Km or down click to decrease by 1km. I miss that.

Love the seat. So comfortable over long distances - again on friday on my 8 hours of sitting in the seat I was fine when I got home, which can't be said for my eyes after the concentration due to rain for almost the whole journey there and back.

The lack of a full size spare as per my recent thread on my incident is a pain. I'm wondering if a 215/60 R16 will fit. Otherwise I might raise the floor with some spacers so I can have a full sized spare.

The boot is tiny with the spare. We went shopping on Saturday and couldn't fit it all in the boot - had to use the rear footwell as well. I'm getting used to where to put things in the boot, it is not brilliant, but I can live with it. As this is a car for young families (I don't yet know of any who own one who are in this category yet) a small boot is.......dire and will put off some pope. I was spoilt coming from the Octavia with it's huge boot. Maybe a Scout which is now available with the Diesel & DSG.

The bonnet release is annoying.

The park assist is fun and can scare some passengers

Like you I love the Snow Monster, and at the moment would replace it with another without a moments thought - like The Plumber and somebody else on the forum.

I will recommend it to all and sundry.

But, on reflection maybe I won't........I love the exclusivity almost as rare as an Aston DB9, maybe rarer.

Mike

Thanks for another excellent post Johann

Personally though a big fan of the unpainted rear bumper; both our Fabia's which are painted look a bit shabby due to bag scuffs etc. particularly the dark Pacific MkII. Looking at getting an OEM bumper protector for her which is a unpainted panel that sticks on the top in the boot opening. Covers a greater area than the silver strip you get for the Yeti.

Regards,

TP

Thanks for the report!

Disappointed by the Yeti's drinking problem. The Yeti's shape is not very aerodynamic so I suppose economcial driving means 78mph...

...do you do much engine braking to improve the MPG? Do you drive mostly with the rear seats out to save your Yeti working so hard to accelerate?

I guess you might as you mentioned the feature of seat removal...

Regarding the boot space, I managed to fit a full sized suitcase upright with three further full sized suitcases on their sides stacked in the boot despite the seats being in position and there being a false floor with the spare wheel underneath! For somebody like me who parks in cities, the bootspace in a car length of only 4.2m is superb.

Well done on your reporting of Yeti ownership - it gives those of us future owners a more realistic idea of what to expect!

Re consumption, does anyone have some drag co-efficient figures for the Yeti, compared with say an Octavia hatch or estate?

Re consumption, does anyone have some drag co-efficient figures for the Yeti, compared with say an Octavia hatch or estate?

A quick search via Google shows the 2005 Octavia drag coefficient to be 0.308 where as the Yeti's is 0.37 and the Greenline Yeti is 0.361.

Elsie is a Barn Door

A *&^%$%£$ fast barn door

Mike

Useful info. Might explain the fuel consumption issue, at least partly! Have been impressed with the Octy fuel consumption by comparison; probably slight more economical than my previous Fabia vRSes, despite being bigger, heavier and more practical

Slightly off-topic, but it does show that aerodynamics make a difference

Oh yes I forgot to mention the exclusivity. I LOVE that most of all I think. I had it in the A2 and now again - and more! Driving to Yorkshire this past Saturday (in a VW Transporter) we saw five A2s heading there and one Yeti. Coming down we saw two A2s and no Yetis! But then just over 19000 A2s potentially roam the UK still and less than 5000 Yetis. So makes sense.

As to seats out: they stay firmly in place! Only to be left at home when space is needed.

given i dont have a spare, i find the boot extremely big'...and my radio has the time on it too...doesnt yours johann?

Edited 10 January, 201115 yr by lee67

given i dont have a spare, i find the boot extremely big'...and my radio has the time on it too...doesnt yours johann?

Hi Lee,

in respect of duplicating information such as time and temperature the Swing radio (E & S) is better than the Bolero (SE & Elegance), as it unfortunately does not display this, although I do like the graphics of the latter; much clearer for park sensor positioning.

Regard playing of music; that's not used much other than traffic reports in the winter, so either would do me.

TP

Edited 10 January, 201115 yr by The Plumber

But there are a few minot niggles too.... I don’t like the tiny boot. For such a large car it is pathetically small. Furthermore I could not fit everything I had had in the A2’s lower boot around its space saver spare back in the Yeti!!! Blame the wrong-way-around spare for one thing, but all those foam boxes take up a HUGE amount of space in themselves. Maybe I must jsut leave THEM at home!

Great write-up Johann, I'm hoping Yeti ownership has a level of enjoyment similar to A2 ownership. You might remember we had some discussion on the Yeti boot and it's one thing I'm still not utterly convinced about; however, the combination of a spare wheel and one of the seats split down with three of us on-board means it shouldn't really be an issue. Still, bigger than the Kia Soul Marie wants!

I keep the third seat in the house as I rarely take more than 4 people including me. Gives the rear passengers more shoulder room.

Mike

Sigh

It was the small boot rather than the limited choice of engines for 2WD/FWD DSG that really swung the wife again the Yeti.

Me I reckoned we could manage, plus I find the Octavia too low for my frequent embarkation/disembarkation, the Yeti was much better there.

I must say I am a bit "gunked" by the fuel consumption as quoted above though.

cheers

M

PS

You will note that I still see myself as a future Yeti owner, hence my lurking on here

Great write-up Johann, I'm hoping Yeti ownership has a level of enjoyment similar to A2 ownership. You might remember we had some discussion on the Yeti boot and it's one thing I'm still not utterly convinced about; however, the combination of a spare wheel and one of the seats split down with three of us on-board means it shouldn't really be an issue. Still, bigger than the Kia Soul Marie wants!

Well as we learnt from that post on the A2OC the Yeti's boot is in fact bigger than that of the A2. This sketch from the French brochure always helps:

The A2's boot is 390 litres and I don't know how much after you fit the false floor... (say 310 litres?) So the Yeti's is slightly bigger at 322 litres without pushing the seats forward.

It is always dark when I get home and weekends I'm mostly busy/away so one day when the sun is out proper and I have time I will organise the under boot better or throw out the space consuming foam boxes. I will also fit the new rear indicator bulbs, as well as attempt the auto boot open modification for which the springs arrived just before Christmas.

As to the Kia Soul: I thought their boots are only slightly bigger than that of a MINI 3-door?! Which means briefcase luggage only and only a Barbie-doll baby buggy will fit.

Well as we learnt from that post on the A2OC the Yeti's boot is in fact bigger than that of the A2.

Agreed, although I'd add the word 'barely between 'fact' and 'bigger' - not sure I'd manage without the roofbox for camping trips. As for the Soul, it would be a smaller car not a larger one. The main reason I don't want to get one is as my A2 gets older we need a car big enough for camping etc. to go abroad with - having a Soul then replacing my A2 with something larger isn't an option - replacing my wife's car with a Yeti and keeping my A2 is

Agreed, although I'd add the word 'barely between 'fact' and 'bigger'

Oh I grant you that!

AND I realised that the 322 litres seems to be with the seatbacks in the forward (uncomfortable) position in the Yeti! So with the seats pushed back all the way and the seatback in the "reclined" position the boot is in fact 310 litres or the same as the A2... Thus minus the under boot storage lost due to the boxes and a real spare (instead of the A2's smaller space saver) I AM worse off indeed...

But then I can still use my 380 litre Kamei and have done (or more correctly, have had to!)

But to anyone coming from something bigger than an A2 - and especially coming from a Scout / Octavia Estate - the boot will be a huge disappointment. The Yeti should have been 100mm longer at the back I feel.

Agreed, although I'd add the word 'barely between 'fact' and 'bigger' - not sure I'd manage without the roofbox for camping trips. As for the Soul, it would be a smaller car not a larger one. The main reason I don't want to get one is as my A2 gets older we need a car big enough for camping etc. to go abroad with - having a Soul then replacing my A2 with something larger isn't an option - replacing my wife's car with a Yeti and keeping my A2 is

With reference to Rockhopper's comments about removing the centre seat can anybody tell me whether this increases the road noise inside the cabin, as the "boot" area is now no longer closed?

Thanks

The Yeti should have been 100mm longer at the back I feel.

And loose its rear approach angle.....for off road use, but as you won't be using it off road, not having the rep......

But I do miss the big boot of the octavia, I could just throw everything in the boot. In fact the SM boot is not dissimilar to my old E39 Touring boot.....that was only 410 litres, so same size as SM's without a spare. That was too small for a family week away.

Mike

With reference to Rockhopper's comments about removing the centre seat can anybody tell me whether this increases the road noise inside the cabin, as the "boot" area is now no longer closed?

Thanks

The boot area is not very closed with all the seats in place. Not noticed any more road noise with only 2 seats in the back.

Mike

The boot area is not very closed with all the seats in place. Not noticed any more road noise with only 2 seats in the back.

Mike

Same here. I've driven with the middle out, or just with the middle one down as an armrest and the road noise does not seem to be any different.

As with many features of many cars I guess the issue of boot size will divide Yeti owners. For my part, now that the children have left home and have their own homes (so carting student stuff around is over!), the Yeti boot will be plenty big enough for me and my wife. In fact, the Octavia Scout boot is larger than we need, really, and makes it that much harder to park in what seem to be increasingly small bays in many car parks (despite the fact that cars are tending to get bigger and bigger). I had a Golf 4motion recently, which was ideal size-wise but overpriced and sat too low to the ground - which is why I switched to the Scout. For me, the compact size of the Yeti allied to the ground clearance is one of its most appealing facets in a market sector where most cars are unnecessaril (for me, at any rate) big.

For me, the compact size of the Yeti allied to the ground clearance is one of its most appealing facets in a market sector where most cars are unnecessaril (for me, at any rate) big.

Well put. Living in congested London I agree. The Yeti is a perfect size to park - or let himself park! So I actually appreciate that he is NOT that 100mm longer. But even so why can a Cashcow have a significantly bigger boot AND a full size spare on the same footprint?! The boot is perfectly useful as you say but family friendly it is not.

Well put. Living in congested London I agree. The Yeti is a perfect size to park - or let himself park! So I actually appreciate that he is NOT that 100mm longer. But even so why can a Cashcow have a significantly bigger boot AND a full size spare on the same footprint?! The boot is perfectly useful as you say but family friendly it is not.

I haven't ridden in a Cashcow - I certainly didn't even consider buying one for a variety of reasons - but I have heard comments that rear seat legroom is much less than in the Yeti so presumably that is where the extra boot space comes from, in part at least.