Two days into my ownership, and based on my experience so far I know I've bought the right car.

It arrived with 29 on the clock and is now showing just over 400. Had an enjoyable run out to the Cotswolds yesterday, and down to Sussex today, with the intention getting some decent miles onto the car before the more mundane day-to-day usage kicks in. It's just had its second tankful of Shell unleaded, and the MFD is showing an average mpg of 38.8.

Any concerns I may have had about the 1.2-litre engine's ability to cope with varied driving have been allayed. The DSG seems to work well with this engine, and I was pleased to see that the car was happy to hold on to 7th gear on significant motorway inclines at around 70-75mph - I had been expecting it to need to shift down. I'm only using "D" for the time being, so can't comment yet on how it differs in the "S" setting. I'll try a more spirited driving style once the car has a few more miles under its belt, but so far I've been avoiding any sharp acceleration or high-end revs. Engine and road noise seem well suppressed, and the car has a solid and well-planted feel about it.

The cabin is a rather pleasant place to be, with the Gobi Sand colour scheme giving it a visual lift and providing a good contrast to the black bodywork. The quality of the dashboard plastic is better than I was expecting it to be, so I have put the plan to have it re-trimmed in nappa on hold. The finish of the faux-aluminium trim panel is also better than I recall from my brief test drive back in January, so that will also probably stay put for now. The plastics used on the door trims and lower centre console are less pleasing, so these will be receiving some attention at some point. Likewise the seats - as others have noted, the standard leather is nothing to write home about, but it's not just the quality of the leather itself; the way the panels have been stitched together is a little hit and miss in places. I feel a full nappa re-trim is on the cards.

Also pleased to see the subdued green back-lighting for the switchgear, after having had my eyes seared by the red illumination in an Audi A1 hire car I had while waiting for the Yeti to arrive. Having the MDI connector installed in the dash-top tray is a godsend, so I'm now very glad that I missed out on the factory-fit option. Bit miffed that I didn't get the opportunity to specify the DAB-enabled Columbus unit, but while I can still get Radio 4 on FM it's not a problem. The 12-speaker 'sound system' seems to be something of curate's egg; it copes well with much of the music on my iPod, and many of my reference pieces sound particularly mellifluous even at significantly higher volumes than I would normally use, although I did need to spend a bit of time getting the tone and fader settings to my liking. However, some tracks seem to present too great a challenge to the lower-range speakers, inducing an ear-bendingly discordant buzzing noise. At first I thought the speakers might actually be defective, but having satisfied myself that they are handling certain other tracks very well, I need to look further into why they're not coping with some particularly low bass notes. Could possibly be down to the quality of the specific recordings themselves.

In general, build quality seems to be very good. I noticed a persistent rattle coming from the rear passenger compartment on the drive home from the dealership, but having anchored the rear seat belts in their buckles this seems to have abated. Still get a bit of noise when traversing potholes, but that may just be down to something in the glove compartment or top tray. If it persists once I've eliminated those possibilities, I'll mention it to the dealership.

I have a few niggles, but nothing serious enough to dull my enjoyment of the car. For instance, if you try leaving the car in D at a junction, putting the handbrake on and releasing the foot brake (pretty much standard practice with a modern automatic), the engine starts to race, so instead I either just sit on the brake or slip the gear lever into neutral. The multimedia touchscreen can be rather slow to respond, particularly when scrolling through long lists on the iPod, but I'm beginning to adjust to it. I think they've missed a small trick in not providing a better way of holding the variable boot floor in the upright position, where it would act as an effective bulkhead against the rear seat backs - particularly handy if using the central section in the armrest position. The manual says to support it using two of the shopping bag hooks in the boot compartment, which is OK but means that it does not sit as near-vertical as it might otherwise do, and is also a little too free to move about.

And one minor issue is making my pseudo-OCD work overtime: the fact that the symbol on the Columbus unit's on/off switch rotates with the knob means that it's hardly ever sitting straight! For the sake of my sanity, I've taken to using the steering wheel volume control instead (which is more convenient anyway). I also find myself pressing the "Radio" or "Media" button in the hope that the unit will switch itself on in response, only to find that I have to first use the on/off knob, followed by the relevant switch.

So all in all, a very positive start to Yeti ownership, and I'm looking forward to getting more miles in the bag. I do have a couple of questions, though:

a] Is it possible to get the door mirrors to just fold in by default when locking the car, rather than having to keep the 'lock' button pressed?

b] Is it possible to get the locking/unlocking process to work silently, rather than giving out little chirps (which sound rather after-market and unnecessary to me)?

Nice write up - interested to hear how you feel in a few '000 miles time.

With regards the bass sounds, I suspect the door cards are quite thin and they might be vibrating.

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To get rid of the chirps, assuming you have mfd, find the option marked ATA and deselect it.

With regard to:

"I have a few niggles, but nothing serious enough to dull my enjoyment of the car. For instance, if you try leaving the car in D at a junction, putting the handbrake on and releasing the foot brake (pretty much standard practice with a modern automatic), the engine starts to race, so instead I either just sit on the brake or slip the gear lever into neutral." -- that is not the way the DSG box works! You must hold the car on the footbrake, which disconnects the gear drive, and NOT on the handbrake which the DSG box fights! If you want to hold on the handbrake then you must slip into neutral, if you don't then you put undue strain/wear on the clutch mechanism. There is a section of the Handbook which explains this in more detail. In truth you really don't need to use the handbrake - or Parking brake as it should be called - except for parking because on hills the "hill hold" system will hold the car stationery as you pull away; no need to use the handbrake at all..

Incidentally I have the 1.2 TSi DSG Elegance and like you was pleasantly surprised by the power of the 1.2 engine, coupled with the 7 speed DSG box it makes a great combination, quiet, smooth and ample power for motorway driving. After 12 months I am averaging a true 41 MPG with a mix of driving. I rarely use anything but "D" except when I need to blast past trucks etc. on bendy A roars. The Gobi leather looks as good as new and the only cosmetic change I made was to substitute the dashboard trim for the woodgrain effect version, it melds the gobi dash into the black lower dash seamlessly.

Edited 5 May, 201313 yr by Expatman

In truth you really don't need to use the handbrake - or Parking brake as it should be called - except for parking because on hills the "hill hold" system will hold the car stationery as you pull away; no need to use the handbrake at all.

Though if you're going to be stopped for any period of time it's good etiquette to use the handbrake rather than the footbrake in order to avoid dazzling the car behind you.

^^^^^^^^^^ wot he says!!

I HATE people who stop at traffic lights and keep their foot on the brake pedal!!

Everybody does it in London.....keeping their foot on the brake that is.....it is extremely rare for a driver here to use their handbrake.

A TapaTalk enabled phone was used to write this...

To get rid of the chirps, assuming you have mfd, find the option marked ATA and deselect it.

Many thanks for that - I'd seen the option, but it hadn't clicked that ATA stood for anti-theft alarm. Have since realised that I could have found this in the owner's manual.

that is not the way the DSG box works! You must hold the car on the footbrake, which disconnects the gear drive, and NOT on the handbrake which the DSG box fights!

Indeed. I realised this the one and only time I tried it. I take your point about hill hold, but that only manages the transition between releasing the brake and setting off. As mentioned, I have now adapted to just holding the car in the footbrake for short periods (ie: up to around 20 seconds) or slipping it into N and using the parking brake if stationary for longer periods.

The Gobi leather looks as good as new and the only cosmetic change I made was to substitute the dashboard trim for the woodgrain effect version, it melds the gobi dash into the black lower dash seamlessly.

This is the type of modification I've been considering, but with a genuine wood veneer rather than woodgrain effect. Happy to live with the standard panel for a while, though.

Everybody does it in London.....keeping their foot on the brake that is

Not quite everyone...

Not quite everyone...

............almost everyone..... :lol:

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Bobs corner for me Graham :wonder: ; also rarely use the handbrake either, with having HHC I just come off the foot brake engage and away

Although I wish the Skoda HHC worked like the Tiguan and held the car for as long as you wanted, rather than just a couple of seconds.

Bobs corner for me Graham :wonder: ; also rarely use the handbrake either, with having HHC I just come off the foot brake engage and away

Although I wish the Skoda HHC worked like the Tiguan and held the car for as long as you wanted, rather than just a couple of seconds.

I wonder if it can be tweaked in VCDS?

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Everybody does it in London.....keeping their foot on the brake that is.....it is extremely rare for a driver here to use their handbrake.

It seems to be rare everywhere now - a shame, as it seems very inconsiderate, especially once it's dark.

Everybody does it in London.....keeping their foot on the brake that is.....it is extremely rare for a driver here to use their handbrake.

I have found that like trying to find a new song on the stereo to play, the action of put the transmission into P and applying the handbrake directly controls red traffic lights changing them to green negating the need to wear out the transmission system and allowing the brakes to cool a little. I have experimented for over ten years and this works every time, even more effective the more central you are in London!

Bobs corner for me Graham :wonder: ; also rarely use the handbrake either, with having HHC I just come off the foot brake engage and away

Although I wish the Skoda HHC worked like the Tiguan and held the car for as long as you wanted, rather than just a couple of seconds.

Any beer left then Tim, as I will be joining you

Although I wish the Skoda HHC worked like the Tiguan and held the car for as long as you wanted, rather than just a couple of seconds.

I think that VAG would only allow this with an electric parking brake, for safety reasons. I really appreciate what VAG call auto-hold, but I've noticed that it is configured so that if the driver's door is opened, it will automatically put the parking brake on. There are some other circumstances where this happens too: IIRC when the ignition is turned off and the car is held on auto-hold.

And one minor issue is making my pseudo-OCD work overtime: the fact that the symbol on the Columbus unit's on/off switch rotates with the knob means that it's hardly ever sitting straight! For the sake of my sanity, I've taken to using the steering wheel volume control instead (which is more convenient anyway).

Glad it's not just me.

Anyone in the passenger seat adjusting the volume via the knob drives me up the wall.

Glad you like the car! In answer to your two questions:

A: I don't know since I don't have this on my car. But as far as I know you can only do it from the fob or from the mirror switch in the car.

B: Already answered.

Another tip: You can also switch the radio on and off by pressing the left roller button for 2 seconds or longer. So you never need move that on/off button on the radio itself from your "OCD" position. So you can GLUE it in that position so no-one else can use it and only the steering wheel roller does the on/off/volume.

Another tip: You can also switch the radio on and off by pressing the left roller button for 2 seconds or longer. So you never need move that on/off button on the radio itself from your "OCD" position. So you can GLUE it in that position so no-one else can use it and only the steering wheel roller does the on/off/volume.

Thanks - that's a feature I hadn't yet discovered.

Having the MDI connector installed in the dash-top tray is a godsend...

...although today I discovered a downside to this. While driving along the M25 the iPod stopped playing just as a track had ended. I assumed that it must have been the last track in that playlist, although I was sure there were more. Once I'd left the motorway I pulled over for a closer look, and found (for the first time ever, I might add) that the iPod had shut itself down due to excessively high temperature. So on the few sunny days we get here each year, the top tray is not the ideal place for an iPod.

Annoyingly, the thought that items stored in the tray might get quite hot had occurred to me before I had the MDI fitted there, but I went ahead with it anyway for the sheer convenience of it. I shall now be looking into fitting some kind of insulating material to the underside of the tray's lid.

Everybody does it in London.....keeping their foot on the brake that is.....it is extremely rare for a driver here to use their handbrake.

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One reason could be that they are in stop/start mode with auto transmission and it requires that you put your foot firmly on the brake pedal and hold it there to switch off the engine. If you put the parking brake on and release the brake pedal, the engine starts again.

It's the way it works on our new Audi and it is a bit annoying, because I also hate being dazzled by the brake lights of the car in front (rarely a Toyota ), especially at night.