Had two adventures in the yeti over the past week or so. The first was a trip down to Dalby forest to do some biking. As predicted, the towbar debacle is still a debacle so the bikes had to hide in the car for this one. Took the seats out (holy smeg, they're heavy!) and strapped the bikes down to the floor, wheel-less and upside down, then threw kit in the back. If you have to do this often, I can definitely recommend a set of wheel bags to keep things clean & quiet. Then, with about 30 miles on the clock, we headed down to the moors. Had a great day and the SM behaved perfectly. I may have taken a slight detour home and ended up putting nigh-on 300 miles on it.

 

The second was a trip over to Ireland to see the family. This time there was myself, the soh, her parents and our 10-week-old. A little bit of seat position jigger y-pokery got four duffle bags, a carrycot & buggy (ok, a recaro zen so we were at a distinct advantage there) & all the associated junk that comes with a baby in the boot. The trip across the A69 / A75 was uneventful, though I was glad of the extra torque while making progress past the inevitable parade of trucks on the road up to Cairnryan.

 

Got accosted by some old dear in the ferry check-in who wanted to check the car out as possible transportation for her hounds. Seemed very impressed with the car & the amount of stuff I'd crammed into it.

 

Northern Ireland and the Republic's roads are generally ok, unless you stray from the main routes whereupon you'll find a network of bumpy, potholed tracks, many of which are beyond the reach of sat nav. Since all of the rellies occupy farms in the middle of nowhere there was little option but to test the yeti's ride and handling out appropriately. It's really good!

 

The journey back was a little more eventful, being plagued by torrential rain and wind all the way home. The Yeti again coped really well & I'm very grateful for the superb xenon lights. Auto wipers are a little senile if I'm honest (listen car, how can you possibly consider this to be a clear screen?), but then I've not driven a car fitted with them where they've worked properly. By the time we got home the odo had tripped over the 1500 mile mark & we were technically run in. Sadly at this point the OSR tyre succumbed to a chunk off a broken spring.

 

Overall we had a great time, the Yeti proving itself to be a comfortable, capable long-haulist. We managed 38.2 mpg, which is pretty good considering it was completely full, barely run in & my right boot is made of uranium.

 

 

 

 

Really envious of your trip to Ireland!  I love going to both the Republic and the North - beautiful people and fabulous scenery.

 

Your mileage makes my initial 550 or so in my first four days pale into insignificance 

"The trip across the A69 / A75 was uneventful, though I was glad of the extra torque while making progress past the inevitable parade of trucks on the road up to Cairnryan."

That is exactly why I like my 170 so much - fantastic for safe overtaking.

How did it cope with the rough sea?  

The Pics make it look like you drove from beach to beach

Yeah it coped fine. Though I have a  suspicion that the alarm may have gone off on the car deck on the way home. I pressed the sensor deactivation button, but am sure I heard it wailing away. Could've been me dad's - wouldn't be the first time he's forgotten.

 

The on-beach shots are from Downing's beach in Donegal. Where my dad managed to get our old Range Rover stuck back in 1982. The above-beach shot is from Ballymastoker, again in Donegal. And the beautiful 6" clean and offshore swell is on the East side of the Giant's Causeway

Edited 5 November, 201312 yr by dcl5ad