Swapping my R32 for a Yeti - am I mad or what?

[900000]

Have I not seen reports of track days where Yetis have seen off quite a lot of comparable cars? :think:

Fred

Comparable? Nope... the four wheel drive system meant we saw off some 250hp Fabias that just can't put the power down in the twisties. Oh it was fun. Straight: they over take me. Corner: and I'm up his behind again. Come out into the straight: Fabia goes off like a rocket. Corner: I'm there... and so on and so forth. With a bog standard 140 DSG. Rockhopper and Bossfox's tuned Yetis managed to keep up in the straights slightly better than I could though.

[FlintstoneR1]

That looks rather like the Old Hairpin at Donnington???? The track, not the driver that is!

Nice "stance" - even with the dog guard still in the back. What did the pooch think to the track day?

Edited 25 June, 2013 by FlintstoneR1

[900000]

That looks rather like the Old Hairpin at Donnington???? The track, not the driver that is!

Nice "stance" - even with the dog guard still in the back. What did the pooch think to the track day?

That pic is from Castle Combe. And no pooch! LOL The guard is there to stop my camping gear flying forward when I pack vertically.

[Yeti_Man]

I happen to think a 140 yeti is 'quick'. Certainly quick enough for any task it could realistically be expected to do as a crossover vehicle. I'd class my Yeti as 'quicker' as its able to leave a lot of fwd cars with sporting pretensions behind. It's what you are used to and understanding that in most circumstances or road conditions, 'quick' is enough.

[FlintstoneR1]

That pic is from Castle Combe. And no pooch! LOL The guard is there to stop my camping gear flying forward when I pack vertically.

Ah Ha! Fair do! And there was I thinking I knew Combe, having driven round it in RS2000s umpteem times on Owners Club track days when I lived in Chippenham. Guess there's some more concrete gone up since I was last there? But then that was over 15 years ago now (feeling OLD!) Plus I was always concentrating on the black bits, not a photographer's viewing angles (M'lud!).

[Duck_Pond]

I'd say my Yeti is nippy, quicker when low on fuel so a bit lighter than normal. All depends on the definition of "quick" which is a personal thing and obviously based on experience. My Impreza Turbo was what I'd call fast, whereas it wasn't as ludicrously fast as a friend's Fireblade, for example.

It's all relative. The 140 engine in mine seems to offer enough entertainment for 95% of my driving day to day, and mostly the other 5% would be bordering on being a muppet or acting dangerously anyway. So perhaps it's best that option isn't there...

Cars before the Yeti were a Toyota Celica GT, Subaru Impreza Turbo, Fabia vRS (130 PD), Though I had the Scooby at the same time as the Fabia...

[FlintstoneR1]

Never really liked diesels even though I had a BMW 330d for a few years.

However, when the Yeti demo 2 litre diesel showed up with most of the extras I wanted, I bit the bullet and decided to try a

newer diesel. I test drove them both and decided I could live with the diesel. No regrets. Never going to be as quiet and smooth as a petrol engine but the mid-range torque of the 140 bhp diesel almost makes up for it.

Absolutely! It's that in-gear "push" that does it for me, in regular road conditions. And this is from someone who owned a series of Escort RS2000s for many years, and co-drives rally cars for my adrenaline fix.

A word of warning about the Monster though - "Our Lass" loves it so much that I hardly get to drive it! Admittedly it was bought two months ago, to be mainly her car, replacing a Grand Scenic and a string of other medium MPVs before that. She disliked the Scenic on several levels, not least the electronic parking brake (as did I when it came to repairing it!). But it was a good load carrier. I reckon the team who designed the Yeti's (and Roomster's?) rear seat options had recently had a good look at a Scenic not long prior - but this time decided to do the job properly and use decent materials in an even more versatile design.

"Her" Yeti is described as "The best car you've bought for me since the last RS2000!" Quite an accolade IMO. Now she grabs the Yeti keys every time. So beware - you may have to put a padlock on yours if you want to use it yourself!

Still - my "other car" (see profile) is a BMW E46 330d! (spooky similarity time? :think: ) Bear in mind when those first came out all the critics raved about them compared to every other diesel and even the M3. And yes - on start up, it does sound like, err......a diesel? But then I learned to drive at 13 on farm tractors and the like, so the smell of diesel is in my veins. The Beemer has ooodles of torque too - till last Friday, when joining the slip road onto the Warwick by-pass and at max boost there was a very loud pop/bang and all those lovely torqs just disappeared out through a split in the inlet manifold that had just appeared, where the two halves of a plastic moulding are joined together along a flange. All is not "lost" though. A temporary fix with a few self tappers has restored some semblance of normality. And being a 330d there's plenty of good kit at the specialist breakers. Sound used manifold just arrived today, off Fleabay. For fitting next w/e.

Edited 25 June, 2013 by FlintstoneR1

[thehulkster699]

So you haven't driven one, then?

You are trying to compare a "sports" saloon with an SUV, which has different gearing.

Sorry but that comparison is meaningless, and more than a little disparaging to us Yeti owners.

Who was trying to compare a "sports saloon" with an SUV? I wasn't?

Also, please don't try and make me look like some troll who's bashing Yeti's. I have driven one. I test drove one before we bought a Kuga last year. I liked the Yeti, but the wife like the Kuga more - so that was that. But at no point in the test drive of the models I drove did I think they were quick.

It's amazing how people jump to a defence of something for no reason. The Yeti is a cracking unit. Yes. But, and again I'll throw my own Octavia Blackline VRS into this pot - these cars arn't as quick as people on here emphasise.

But yes, as mentioned by other's. It's all about perception. My father would think my VRS is quick.

[Llanigraham]

Because in every one of your posts you've mentioned how your Vrs is quick, but implied that the Yeti isn't.

To me that is a comparison.

And as many of us have said, "quick" is subject to different peoples perception.

I drive lots of different cars, from MX5's to Land Rovers, but the Yeti often is the quickest over a comparable journey, (and the most comfortable.) To me that is much more important than actual top speed.

[thehulkster699]

Because in every one of your posts you've mentioned how your Vrs is quick, but implied that the Yeti isn't.

To me that is a comparison.

And as many of us have said, "quick" is subject to different peoples perception.

I drive lots of different cars, from MX5's to Land Rovers, but the Yeti often is the quickest over a comparable journey, (and the most comfortable.) To me that is much more important than actual top speed.

I'm sorry - I don't know what you are seeing. Where have I mentioned my VRS is quick? I actually said "Even my 170 bhp lump isn't quick. I would describe it as "brisk once it's gotten going"

[Tuppy14]

Having had a Diesel 140 DSG Elegance Yeti for 2 years now I can say there is nothing to be said against the car. I also have a 300tdi Discovery and a 2.5 DSE Range Rover (the Yeti is faster, uses much less fuel, is equally good off road, but a bit more delicate) and cheap VED. It replaced a 260 hp Mazda CX7 2.3 petrol turbo 4x4 (huge VED and 22mpg, great in snow), which replaced a 150hp Mazda 6 sport (useless in snow), which replaced a 260hp Mazda RX8 (most planted car ever, but 21mpg and liable to cut out when given beans), all great cars, but I'd take the Yeti over any of them.

[FlintstoneR1]

That pic is from Castle Combe. And no pooch! LOL The guard is there to stop my camping gear flying forward when I pack vertically.

In that case then - I reckon the corner is Quarry (I think it was called?). Flat along the start-finish straight, flat through kink right and left over brow, stay left BRAKING for SqR..... (Spot the co-driver talk?). A moderately "big balls" corner I seem to recall, if you were to get it right among the many who spin onto the infield there. Before they put the two extra chicanes in, the real large spherical objects coner was "Old Paddock", by where the Kart track is. Flat from Quarry to there. Lift going in? Or flat IF you dare......just.

Or the pic could be Tower? Oh, buxxer - I'm Off Topic aren't I?

[expostmanpat]

Mall?????????

[900000]

In that case then - I reckon the corner is Quarry (I think it was called?). Flat along the start-finish straight, flat through kink right and left over brow, stay left BRAKING for SqR..... (Spot the co-driver talk?). A moderately "big balls" corner I seem to recall, if you were to get it right among the many who spin onto the infield there. Before they put the two extra chicanes in, the real large spherical objects coner was "Old Paddock", by where the Kart track is. Flat from Quarry to there. Lift going in? Or flat IF you dare......just.

Or the pic could be Tower? Oh, buxxer - I'm Off Topic aren't I?

It is Quarry yes since you get lots of photographers on the bank opposite. And someone from Briskoda took that pic and I found it on the thread here.

See more here: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/197910-clarkson-was-right-a-yeti-can-do-a-track-very-well/

Now back OT: oh dear what was the topic again?

[fireblade]

The topic was about how good 2cv's are.......

[FlintstoneR1]

Great fun when you see them door handling (sorry I mean "racing") each other round the Combe!

[fireblade]

Back in 87 I bought a new two tone grey charleston , ahh the love of my life.... Really miss her...

[looby]

I had a Renault 4, I loved it too. Still see quite a few driving around when I go to Portugal... :love:

[g6zru]

I'm sorry - I don't know what you are seeing. Where have I mentioned my VRS is quick? I actually said "Even my 170 bhp lump isn't quick. I would describe it as "brisk once it's gotten going"

Thou doth protest too much.

Fred

[thehulkster699]

Not sure what you mean.

I think people are getting confused with what I think about my RS, as opposed to my VRS in relation to the description of "quick".

[Yeti_Man]

I think people are getting confused with what I think about my RS, as opposed to my VRS in relation to the description of "quick".

RS's are slow too but it's all relative. Now, the 911 Turbo I drove three weekends ago... That I'd describe as 'fairly nippy'! :lol

[JohnD52]

Just to add that I made the same change - DSG equipped R32 to a 170 Elegance.  I got the manual rather than the DSG as I liked the DSG for the sport mode and the paddle change, but somehow the manual seemed to suit the diesel better..  I still miss the R32 but the real world driving experience of the Yeti is good and out of the various competitiors the Yeti seemed to have the best body control and general handling.  It certainly gets up to motorway speed quite quickly.  The way the fuel consumption plummets at over 70 mph is a good incentive to keep within the speed limit, but even then the lowest I have got over 200miles of motorway is 37 mpg.  Rather better than the 23 I used to get out of the golf at around the same speed, and my wife usually gets around 50 so that keeps the average up.

 

Done 6000 miles in the first 4 months so it is starting to loosen up.  Starting to look at remaps now.

 

I quite like the surprise element - these things can really be quite quick

Edited 2 July, 2013 by JohnD52