Picked it up from West London today. Helpful and friendly handover from the dealer who supply DrivetheDeal (although, as mentioned before I didn't use DtD). He obviously couldn't explain everything but covered the basics and took me round the block for 15 minutes in it. (Also had half a tankfull in it!) Drove it (admittedly, quite cautiously at first) 170 miles back to the West Country.

My observations....from the bad to the good.....

It sounds like it has an exhaust blow at the front and there's a strange burble/almost a misfire sound from the exhaust...won't pursue it further on here till it's been to the local dealer - time to see whether buying from a distance and getting local warranty/servicing work is a good idea. I'm going get him - the local dealer - to service and repair it from now on, and offer to pay him to make up fresh plates with his details on and show his window sticker to show willing.

The boot is smaller than my Jazz. Not just supposition - it is smaller. My old boot floor protector needs trimming to make it fit the Yeti and my bag of bits only just fits height-wise whereas it had space above it in the Jazz. Not a problem for me - but I'm just saying.

The DSG isn't as smooth on take up as the CVT but seamless on the move....a bit clonky from standstill in fact, by comparison. The manual features are fine and easy to use. Further use will allow a better opinion...early days just now.

There's less cubby hole storage than the Jazz. Not a problem - but, again, just saying.

Those wiper blades look a bit specialist (or expensive??).

I need a weeks course to grasp all the features behind the buttons....it's alright for the gadget-literate but I'll need to RTFM intensively.

The radio's fine to my ears....when I find out how to adjust it. Ditto the Air Con. The Maxidot is a mystery at the moment (I noticed there's imperial mpg and metric k/m shown together...will read up on it).

It looks cracking in Muscovado. (I have cloth seats which are OK for me).

It's nippy! Very impressed with the performance from a 1.2. Makes the Jazz feel positively tardy. Great, confidence inspiring, roadholding. Soaks up speed bumps compared to before. Not exactly super smooth round town with potholes abounding but fine on the open road. Excellent gearing at cruising speeds - very relaxed and high geared. Often looked down to see just 2000rpm at very respectable road speeds.

The driving position's great. Visibility's excellent. Seats are comfortable and supportive (no backache after 3 hours or so...for me that's good). Easy to slide in and out of due to the height (although need to get sill protectors to avoid kicking the sill)....(can anyone link to the recent post about that).

There's more metal in front of me.....better accident protection and bonnet visible from drivers seat. (A recent local head-on RTA killed one and injured the other - they were in a Matiz - the other car was a MG ZT on the wrong side of the road, by all accounts) and two years ago exactly the same thing, also locally - two dead in a Scenic.....The Yeti is apparently one of the safest, so that's a plus point too.

Tax and insurance are very reasonable. (Insurance just over £200 PA). Service costs remain to be seen.

Loads more stuff to scrutinize and make comparisons with the topics discussed on here.

Of all the models available to the dealer, he personally favoured the DSG Diesel with SatNav and roof.

Maybe in a years time?

Congratulations and well done sir. NIce to see a "as I see it" observation of the Yeti. Most on this forum are besotted with their vehicles and seem very protective and sensitive about their choice of transport.

Hope you enjoy your Yeti

The DSG is a bit clonky at first, but after some time (few hundred miles) the gearbox learns your driving stile (or the other way round), and then it's smooooooooooth. I just got our new DSG Roomster on Friday, and noticed that the gearbox is not as smooth as in the 10 000 miles driven Yeti.

Congratulations and well done sir. NIce to see a "as I see it" observation of the Yeti. Most on this forum are besotted with their vehicles and seem very protective and sensitive about their choice of transport.

Stop picking on my little Ivor!!!!! ()

Good post, Oldstan and glad that you like the car. Although mine is a manual, there was a definite 'loosening up' of the engine and ride during my long return drive to France and back - with about 3500 on the clock now it feels quite different from the first few hundred miles and I expect that to improve even more.

Glad you also like the colour - I agree! Especially on these sunny mornings, the gleam of Muscovado is quite something. Did you go for the Gobi interior, too? I've had no dirt problems with that so far, despite chucking bags etc. on the back seats while on holiday and ferrying daughter/son-in-law around in blue jeans over Easter weekend! Without a sunroof, the interior lightness is quite impressive.

Happy Yeti-ing!

Great first post Oldstan.

You'll need more than a week with the manual.It needs an Interpretor,not Intensive reading.

The DSG is a bit clonky at first, but after some time (few hundred miles) the gearbox learns your driving stile (or the other way round), and then it's smooooooooooth. I just got our new DSG Roomster on Friday, and noticed that the gearbox is not as smooth as in the 10 000 miles driven Yeti.

True, ours feels much better now.

It's a bit of both I believe. You and the gearbox learning together.

Many thanks to those kind souls who troubled to reply.

Will look forward to the forthcoming period of getting to know one another's characteristics (if it gets to know some of my strange habits and customs it'll respond by breaking down in a dark Devon Lane in a thunderstorm and locking me out).

It's cloth interior, so nobi Gobi. Choice was between blue and black, so went for the latter. Looks OK to me but can see why others would like to lighten up with Gobi.

Just love sitting higher than before. Does wonders for my inferiority complex - I can look down Metro's, Fiesta's and MX5's now... (that was meant to be a joke BTW).

It's definitely more comfortable than the previous car and the seats and driving position really are excellent. I'll get to like it more and more, I'm sure.

I just topped it up and the return from the smoke to here plus a few miles of to and fro gave an exact brim to brim figure of 37.5mpg. Expect that to improve with time.

Don't like the middle boot release button...as per previous posts, I believe. It lets you lock the keys in if you dropped them in the boot whilst loading up....and if you don't slam it shut it won't let you unlock the hatch without pushing it shut with both hands.

Haven't yet been accosted by other Yetivista although I was followed by a white one for miles on the A303 yesterday...who eventually passed me without even so much as a wave, toot or letter of appreciation.

There a very few this way so will maintain an air of exclusivity and discreet good taste until the masses realise how good they are negotiating the roads here, which resemble Beirut more than the South West as you might have expected it to be. (That was another attempt at humour, BTW).

Wiper blades? Set 128 from Halfords for front £19.99, just done mine today, really easy and identical to the originals.

Wiper blades? Set 128 from Halfords for front £19.99, just done mine today, really easy and identical to the originals.

Now that's handy to know...I'd have bet they were dealer only. Ta for that.....(Do they do the rear too?)

EDIT.... Just spotted this in connection with wipers...

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/215232/halfords_flat_wiper_blade_set.html

The Bosch are reported to look identical to the Halfords....

Edited 1 May, 201115 yr by oldstan

Can't find the rear on the web site and not in point of sale reference book, will do some chasing up.

Now that's handy to know...I'd have bet they were dealer only. Ta for that.....(Do they do the rear too?)

Careful - I bought some Bosch wiper blades for my old X-Type, and although they worked OK they thumped annoyingly on every stroke. I eventually got fed up and fitted the official Jaguar items (which weren't actually that expensive) and the thumping was cured. And, clearly visible under the stuck-on Jaguar part number label was the word...BOSCH!!

So unless there was a huge price difference (which I doubt), then I would go with the dealer parts. Anyway, the "aero" wiper blades on both our Yeti and my XF are still fine after two winters and over 20,000 miles, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Mark

"So unless there was a huge price difference (which I doubt), then I would go with the dealer parts. Anyway, the "aero" wiper blades on both our Yeti and my XF are still fine after two winters and over 20,000 miles, so I wouldn't worry too much".

"Can't find the rear on the web site and not in point of sale reference book, will do some chasing up".

All recvd. with thanks.

I've just had my fronts replaced at the dealers. Paid more than the Halfrauds price, but I would have nearly a 100 mile trip to get to one of their shops anyway.

Thanks for replies re. wipers.

Whilst I'm in questioning mode...and bearing in mind I'm comparing it with the Jazz, which does have very well designed "Magic Seats" rear seating which folds easily to give a flat floor etc....why does the middle rear seat have to foul the centre console, even with the headrest removed, when folded?..and isn't it a shame that a car as potentially useful as this can't achieve a flat floor with the optional spare wheel due to the, roughly, 8" step up boot floor? Take the rear seats out to increase space and you have the back half of the area at one level and the front half about 8" lower. It strikes me you're better off keeping the seats in place and folding them down and at least you have a relatively level area for longish flat items. The sliding rear seat function is also totally useless with a spare wheel, due, again, to the step up.

Clearly the potential advantage of a real spare (ie. wrecked road wheel or shoulder puncture) has it's downsides as well......and why couldn't it have had a space saver... to save a bit of space?....the present one is speed limited, just like a skinny one - but nearly as wide as a road wheel....what's the advantage of that then?

Love the car, but don't these, well discussed, items seem a shame? All this is well covered on here, but until you have one in front of you it's difficult to imagine it properly and to comment. Hope it's not seen as damning the thing out of hand, I wouldn't know what else to get in the taller, crossover style of car, that fits the garage, looks appealing to me, is safe and is financially not too disadvantageous, (and has a local main dealer).

The rubber boot liner is OK but not particlarly well shaped at the back edge and clearly not designed for the spare wheel at the front edge, due to it not nicely fitting the space it was, apparently, designed for.

The light assist feature which moves the interior mirror higher up the screen is a bonus though and the longer I have it the more things I like about the car.

I didn't drive one due to the scarcity at the time, but even if I had, I'd still have ordered one and I'm holding my breath waiting for someone to say - why did you buy the thing if you've found so much to complain about - so thanks for not doing so......up till now, at least!

Bear with me...

Edited 2 May, 201115 yr by oldstan

The Skoda rubber boot liners are designed for vehicles without the raised floor.

As far as I'm aware if you have the spare wheel you should go for the fabric/carpet liner. Just bought one this week ... quite nice with the Yeti logo.

The Skoda rubber boot liners are designed for vehicles without the raised floor.

As far as I'm aware if you have the spare wheel you should go for the fabric/carpet liner. Just bought one this week ... quite nice with the Yeti logo.

I'm sure you're right. With benefit of hindsight I wouldn't have ordered it. I have a piece of tufted polypropylene matting from the other car which will fit 100% better when trimmed and weighs next to nothing by comparison. Bad move - can't get it all right.

Simple answer, Stan, sell the boot liner once you've fitted the replacement carpet.

I have the variable boot floor and also got the rubber boot liner as part of a dealer-fit package (mud flaps, mats, etc). Although you're right that it doesn't exactly fit, I find it can be wangled into an OK position and the raised lip and general rigidity has already proved useful when carrying home eg mucky bags of peat, bedding plants in trays and so on. I'd be inclined to keep it, Oldstan - it does a job, and is very easily cleaned, even if it's not a perfect fit!

Incidentally, that's one of the annoying pieces of non-design like others you've picked up, such as the middle rear seat/console, the lack of UK-specific and kph markings on the speedo, etc. Perhaps some of these will have been sorted when we move on to the next generation SM!

I've just had my fronts replaced at the dealers. Paid more than the Halfrauds price, but I would have nearly a 100 mile trip to get to one of their shops anyway.

Hi Llanigraham,

For your info, assuming you live in or about Llanidloes, there is an Halfords Superstore at Parc-y-Llyn, Llanbadarn Fawr, SY23 3TL 22 milies away.

Hi Llanigraham,

For your info, assuming you live in or about Llanidloes, there is an Halfords Superstore at Parc-y-Llyn, Llanbadarn Fawr, SY23 3TL 22 milies away.

Ta.

I'd forgotten about that one, bit it still needs a trip over to Aber, which is something we seldom do. We normally wait to do shopping like this until we go to see one of the kids, which isn't that often, especially when I only get one complete weekend off a month.