Its on order!

[soupafly]

Well, I've finally bitten the bullet and ordered my next car.

After a long process of selection and whittling down the shortlist, the contest started to hone in on the Tiguan, Audi Q3, Freelander and Yeti. I started the process back in November as I have particular needs shall we say and knew I needed to thoroughly test out the car before ordering. All versions were automatics as that is what I need next.

Firstly the Freelander. Lovel driving position and smooth suspension that made the journey comfortable. I didn't think it ws very good on bends and hated the huge discrepancy in real mpg compared to combined figure (and I was driving for economy). Even the salesman said 'yeah, they are bad on fuel'. I also disn't like the gearbox.

The Tiguan next. Love the gearbox, really do. It is a tad smoother and slicker IMO than the 6 speed VAD gearbox. I also thought the stop start function was funky, but wonder about the additional strain effects on component life, plus the thermal cycling (which isn't good for metals). I really actually wanted the Tiguan to be the one but unfortunately it wasn't. After a good long test drive (45 mins) I had proper back ache after driving on those typical rural post winter potholed roads at speeds of around 50. The suspension is not anything near ok for me over anything other than a very good road surface. Also, the seats I found too harsh really. Whilst pretty, I thought the boot space didn't really please considering the height/size of the car. Sadly, the Tiguan was a definite no-no. I will add, I also liked the electronic handbrake but don't like the prospects of something else to go wrong.

The Q3 next. Same gearbox as the Tiguan, same lovely gearbox. This time with more horses under the bonnet. Great to drive. However, I'm 6' 3" and felt the cabin was verging on claustrophobic. I had sufficient headroom with the car seat correctly positioned, but it feels like a small interior. The seats were OK. It had sport seats. I liked that they had bolsters to keep you in whilst cornering. Around town, the suspension worked well absorbing the bumps, although I could have done with a tad more softness in the seat back. Out on the motorway however, the ride was bouncy on roads with gentle undulations. Even my wife said enough as the onset of sea sickness began. The Q3 is pretty inside and bland outside, again IMO. The rear boot space was more for luxury than practicality. It was lined with lovely carpet but the space was small. No good for lugging bikes around for example! The price tag with the options I needed placed it getting on for £10k more than the Yeti (there are no discounts on it whereas the Yeti does have discounts if one looks).

So, the Yeti. I actually tested it early on, wanting to cross it off the list because of the brand (I remember the old ones and the stigma attached to the brand). Actually, it was really comfortable on all road types, great little gearbox (albeit a gnats thingy more jerky in gear changes than the Q3 or Tiguan). I loved the interior tardis like space and the functionality of the whole thing. Most of all, the build quality felt so good and such a strong car, I really ended up liking it and it's quirky exterior looks are fun too. In my eyes there is something modern day SWB land rover about it.

So, the Muscovado Elegance 2.0Tdi (140) 4x4 DSG with sunroof, leccy seat and spare wheel is ordered and now a wait until September I suppose. Still deliberating over colour .

Really want those Mattehorns but SUK say I can't have them :( Oh well. Still happy and waiting

[BossFox]

Good choice and interesting reporting of it's competitors.

Ours has often been refered to as a mini-Landy.

[BigHusky]

Good review of the competition. I have driven my brothers 2006 Freelander in the past but none of the above mentioned cars. I found on entering the car, I would always bang my head |!

One thing that's really strikes me about the Yeti is it's incredibly tight turning circle. I haven't seen it mentioned on this forum? ( I may be wrong) but friends who have been passengers often comment on this. Anyway, I hope yours comes soon, I'm averaging 53mpg in my 2WD Yeti at the moment and it's usually got passengers and dogs in too

[andyspan]

The wait will be worth it, pass the time on here it does help!

[The Plumber]

Really want those Mattehorns but SUK say I can't have them :( Oh well. Still happy and waiting

Hi,

congrats on the order, sad to hear SUK are digging their heels in again over a simple code change on the order 'form'. Would push them again, in my case I went round them straight to the manufacturer as I preferred 16" alloys to 17's.

Note that SUK have stated to Auto Express that they will consider customer changes to wheels after I highlighted my case.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/160051-if-you-are-about-to-order-a-yeti-things-to-think-about/page__st__120

See post #123

Best of luck,

TP

[soupafly]

Thanks for you pointers TP. I will look into finding the Czech Skoda email address and ask directly.

I saw an earlier post on white worm and the potential for these wheels to suffer from it. Do people mean aluminium oxide corrosion? I see lots of posts suggesting that the skoda badge suffers with this too.

[The Plumber]

Thanks for you pointers TP. I will look into finding the Czech Skoda email address and ask directly.

I saw an earlier post on white worm and the potential for these wheels to suffer from it. Do people mean aluminium oxide corrosion? I see lots of posts suggesting that the skoda badge suffers with this too.

Yes moisture getting under the lacquer and causing corrosion. Re badges similar issue moisture getting in around the edge causing white trails to appear on the chrome effect outer edge. Some badges are fine others not; case of pot luck.

Just noticed its started to effect the rear badge on our 2010 Fabia.

Oh Skoda Auto's contact is;

[email protected]

TP

[rockhopper]

Good review of the competition. I have driven my brothers 2006 Freelander in the past but none of the above mentioned cars. I found on entering the car, I would always bang my head |!

One thing that's really strikes me about the Yeti is it's incredibly tight turning circle. I haven't seen it mentioned on this forum? ( I may be wrong) but friends who have been passengers often comment on this. Anyway, I hope yours comes soon, I'm averaging 53mpg in my 2WD Yeti at the moment and it's usually got passengers and dogs in too

The tight turning circle has been mentioned before. It is amazing. Almost as tight as a London Taxi. I need it around London!!!!

[soupafly]

skoda.cz contacted and now awaiting a response.

[My_Yeti]

Welcome to the Yeti crowd!

I have never tested the Q3 (or seen one for that matter yet). I have not tested the Tiguan either, but after seeing it, I know the interior quality is the same, bar soft touch door caps in the front.

Q3, Tiguan and Yeti are built on the same (well very very similar) platform, you mentioned a couple of points about how each drove. Just wondering how you would rate them (1, 2 and 3) in terms of ride quality, handling and noise level?

Also: Yeti Turning Circle

[soupafly]

The Audi sales chap told me the Q3 was built on the forthcoming A3 platform. Just how much that differs from the Tiguan and Yeti I do not know.

I liked the interior quality of the Tiguan (not the bendy foam surround around the instrument cluster though- too soft). I agree, the Yeti seems to be built to the same high standard (I was a bit cruel to the yeti dash and it absorbed a thump well... sorry Yeti lovers!). The thing that struck me though is that the Yeti body panels seemed more old school solid than the Tiguan ones. When I tapped the Tiguan, they sound hollow and thin whereas the Yeti seemed to 'gong' like a heavy church bell in comparison. I might be over exaggerating but you catch my drift. The Q3 is a prettier interior than all and is also well put together (that said the first one I drove had a rattle from near the light switch).

So in answer to your last question, here is a summary of ride quality, handling and noise.

Handling Ride Quality Noise Overall Yeti 5 5 1 25 Tiguan 3 1 3 9 Q3 3 3 5 45

However, the attributes of the car which are important to me are not limited to these three dimensions and all things aren't equal either (otherwise I'd have got the Q3 if all things were equal and if I were only interested in these 3 attributes)

[soupafly]

It is not possible to insert a table then!

[soupafly]

Hopefully this will explain my choice in car and answer your question as to how I rank the three cars.


If you're interested, here is my more detailed assessment of my three shortlist vehicles. I multiplied up the scoring and each weighting factor to get an overall mark. I used a weighting value between 1 and 10. I used a 1,3,5 marking system for each car to try and draw out some distinction in the final scores.


I'm not saying this will be right for everyone's needs, it was just right for me. Appearance didn't feature....... I don't even comb my hair in the morning!

[freedie]

I lurv spreadsheets! Working on one now... despite being a tad pickled like.

[BigHusky]

The tight turning circle has been mentioned before. It is amazing. Almost as tight as a London Taxi. I need it around London!!!!

Yes I see! I don't blame you for getting the automatic, for driving around London, Newcastle's bad enough

[My_Yeti]

The Audi sales chap told me the Q3 was built on the forthcoming A3 platform. Just how much that differs from the Tiguan and Yeti I do not know.

I liked the interior quality of the Tiguan (not the bendy foam surround around the instrument cluster though- too soft). I agree, the Yeti seems to be built to the same high standard (I was a bit cruel to the yeti dash and it absorbed a thump well... sorry Yeti lovers!). The thing that struck me though is that the Yeti body panels seemed more old school solid than the Tiguan ones. When I tapped the Tiguan, they sound hollow and thin whereas the Yeti seemed to 'gong' like a heavy church bell in comparison. I might be over exaggerating but you catch my drift. The Q3 is a prettier interior than all and is also well put together (that said the first one I drove had a rattle from near the light switch).

So in answer to your last question, here is a summary of ride quality, handling and noise.

Handling Ride Quality Noise Overall Yeti 5 5 1 25 Tiguan 3 1 3 9 Q3 3 3 5 45

However, the attributes of the car which are important to me are not limited to these three dimensions and all things aren't equal either (otherwise I'd have got the Q3 if all things were equal and if I were only interested in these 3 attributes)

Hello! Thanks very much for the table. I do the same thing when I buy a car, its the best way to choose according to how good it is!

I have to say I am not surprised that the Q3 has better noise insulation!

On another note, the next generation (which I presume the sales person meant the facelift coming this year) has the same platform as the present Golf, Octavia and Yeti, which means strictly speaking Q3, Tiguan and Yeti are on the same platform!

Enjoy your car! I am sure you have made the right choice (also considering Yeti is holding up its value extremely well: see link

[freezin]

I lurv spreadsheets! Working on one now... despite being a tad pickled like.

I was working & tweaking one for weeks based on my company car scheme and the financial benefits of coming off / staying on it.

It didnt account for various potential unforseen personal circumstances (but you can never legislate for those) nor did it forsee the company car/cash alternative be restructured, skewing the 5 year figures by £2k+... is nothing straight forward

Thank god ive structured it in such a way that you can easily change the variables to Work out repayments, payback periods and fuel benefits based on car/cash alternatives, MPG & Pence per litre.

Its a proper dullards task but i quite like the challenge and its quite rewarding when everything cascades through from a minor alteration.

[soupafly]

I wasn't aware of a facelift Yet coming out this year. Does anyone know when, specs, pictures?

[rockhopper]

On another note, the next generation (which I presume the sales person meant the facelift coming this year) has the same platform as the present Golf, Octavia and Yeti, which means strictly speaking Q3, Tiguan and Yeti are on the same platform!

The Yeti I understand does not share the exact same platform as the Tiguan. It uses the same one as the Octavia Scout. It uses different rear end to the Tiguan. Think it is Passat. Whereas the Tiguan uses Golf I believe. The Yeti platform might be the 'same' but it is highly modified and doesn't share much in common with the Tiguan.

Skoda seem to be free to modify stuff to their requirements, which could be why the Yeti seems to win more awards than the Tiguan. :lol:

[freedie]

which could be why the Yeti seems to win more awards than the Tiguan

[The Plumber]

All MY10 Yeti's use the Tiguan 'floating' rear subframe to support the rear suspension and Haldex for the 4x4. MY11 the 2wd had the complex Tiguan frame (and associated saddle fuel tank) replaced with a much simpler (and cheaper) Golf V subframe (hence the change in exhaust design).

Other parts of Tiguan can be found in the drivers seat (depending on trim level).

The floorpan is predominately Golf V derived, with the upper body (obviously) and boot floor being Yeti.

http://www.briskoda....ti-dna-my10-11/

TP

[rockhopper]

Thanks TP. I had forgotten about that topic.

[900000]

Sadly the Audi salesman is totally wrong on the Q3's platform. Bless. The new platform is the MQB and will come out first on the new Audi A3 ( http://www.autoblog.com/2012/02/23/more-pictures-of-the-2013-audi-a3-say-hello-to-the-internet/ ) soon to be followed by the Golf VII. The Q3 does NOT share a platform with the new A3.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MQB_platform

As to colour: stick with Muscovado. It is a lovely colour in my book. "Enjoy" the wait.

[soupafly]

/quote]

Hi,

congrats on the order, sad to hear SUK are digging their heels in again over a simple code change on the order 'form'. Would push them again, in my case I went round them straight to the manufacturer as I preferred 16" alloys to 17's.

Note that SUK have stated to Auto Express that they will consider customer changes to wheels after I highlighted my case.

http://www.briskoda....t/page__st__120

See post #123

Best of luck,

TP

Hello again TP an Briskodia users

I took your advice today after thinking long and hard about my needs and decided I need 16" wheels with taller profile tyres for a softer ride. I checked for checking sake with my dealer whether he could downgrade to a 16" wheel on the elegance. He said he couldn't but knew of one instance where a customer had it done as a 'one off' through SUK.

This gave me confidence that SUK would do it for me.

I called SUK shorty after, explained my genuine need due to health reasons, explained that this website/forum said it was possible and told them hat my dealer knew of one instance when they had don it in the past.

The result, a stonewalled response for Phil, their customer service advisor. I went over and over the facts and he had denied it could ever be possible and insisted it couldn't be possible no matter of he circumstances. I am thoroughly disappointed. The level of customer service is as low as the worst.......it is Ryanair standards. He went on to say he didn't recognise tis site as being anything I should rely on. I'm really pretty gobsmacked to be honest.

I left the notion with feel that he doesn't really leave me with much option but to cancel my order and go elsewhere. I didn't really want to do that but if this is an indication of the level of customer service whilst they are trying to delight a customer with a new car, what on earth will it be like when I have it and god forbid, get a problem?

Did I just get the wrong guy on the wrong day and someone else will be helpful or is this how this company operates?

[900000]

Did I just get the wrong guy on the wrong day and someone else will be helpful or is this how this company operates?

I think you got the wrong guy. Phone again and ask for Will Fisher. He knows about this forum and have helped many people.