Well first he took me to Somerset from London, then back to London and then for Hogmanay he took me to Torridon in the north west of Scotland (90 min directly west of Inverness on the coast).

 

Had great trips and missed the storms every single time by a day on all the trips! So did most all of it either in sunshine or light rain! Amazing.

 

One problem though.  I drove from London on the 28th of December to Manchester and then on to Scotland. Leaving Manchester on 29th of Dec I tried to fill my windscreen reservoir but the bonnet refused to open. Driving on gritted roads meant I had to nurse the washer fluid on the way to north west Scotland. 

 

On 31 Dec I took my Yeti to Arnold Clark Inverness - a 120 mile round trip on top of missing a whole day's walking. It took them four times before they had my details on the system to book the car in. After two hours of sitting in a Volvo show room - there's no customer lounge in the Škoda showroom - they gave me my keys back and said they could not open the bonnet and the body shop will need to take the bumper off on the 3rd of January. I found this incredulous. My car was totally unsafe to drive on gritted roads yet they did not bat an eyelid to send me on my way... When I got in my car again the screenwash warning light was on. It was off when I handed the car in, so for some reason they used all my last precious water when they were supposed to look at the bonnet catch. Just what I needed. 

 

Needless to say I was not going to be in Inverness on the third. 

 

The morning of the third I took the car to West End Škoda in Edinburgh (thanks for suggesting them IainM1970) after quite a stressful journey down with no screenwash. What a contrast. A friendly smile when I walked in opposed to a grunt, a Škoda customer lounge and the actual technician working on my car came out to talk to me first. In less than an hour the car was fixed and they even asked if they should fill the screenwash reservoir with my own VAG solution I had in the boot. They even washed my car! Absolutely amazing service  

 

My car is but five weeks out of warranty and this is the first time something went wrong and that I had to use a different dealer than my own. And a life critical thing this was too since if you can't see where you're going you can't use the car. So I'm appalled by Arnold Clark Inverness's service and attitude I have to say. Sitting in a Volvo showroom with no communication from them for two hours and then to be sent away in a defective car is not the Škoda service I was expecting. And imagine the bill from Arnold Clark if they really had to take the bumper off?!?!

 

Another thing the Yeti failed was going down this:

 

 

Well it managed doing that fine, it was turning around that was a problem.

 

 

Trying to make the u-turn behind where the car is parked in the pic above the right rear wheel ended in a ditch hanging in the air with all the other three wheels still touching the ground.  Could the car get out?  Not in a million years. With just one wheel without traction and three on the ground. Pathetic. Really pathetic. Thankfully there was a lot of quartered and long strips of wood that we had to wedge in under the airborne wheel. But no luck still.  Only once we added a flat rock on top of the wood did the wheel get enough traction to get the car out.  I was not impressed by how useless the Yeti 4x4 system was. But also learnt to tell your co-driver exactly what you are going to do when you are reversing! He thought I was going tail in first where I was going past to go nose in first. Hence not shouting when I was heading for the ditch!

 

But anyway.  The rest of the time the car was faultless and handled amazingly.

 

Some pics:

 

Just before turning into this road to Applecross this track came up on the SD card! I kid you not:

 

Skye in background from the road to Applecross:

 

 

For both trips my total stats were:

 

 

 

 

Sad to hear about Arnold Clark but doesn't surprise me after some of my previous experience with them - flog the car and then want nowt to do with it.

 

Good to hear you liked West End - I have never had a problem with that dealership since I started buying Skoda (now about 7 years iirc). They are small enough to care and AFAIK happy to stay at that size.

Oh and I count Yetis and Audi A2s as we go (with a little game involving Eddie Stobbard trucks to keep us awake).  So my record was broken driving to Somerset: TWENTY EIGHT Yetis in one day! All the other trips we saw a maximum of 12 with an average of 8 per day.

Trying to make the u-turn behind where the car is parked in the pic above the right rear wheel ended in a ditch hanging in the air with all the other three wheels still touching the ground.  Could the car get out?  Not in a million years. With just one wheel without traction and three on the ground. Pathetic. Really pathetic. Thankfully there was a lot of quartered and long strips of wood that we had to wedge in under the airborne wheel. But no luck still.  Only once we added a flat rock on top of the wood did the wheel get enough traction to get the car out.  I was not impressed by how useless the Yeti 4x4 system was.

Wowww, that's really disappointing (and a bit de-motivating for my future off-road expeditions). I would guess all the electronic aids were switched on? I would have thought that the Traction Control / ESP should have been of help in such a case, sensing that the wheel was "slipping" (100% slip in this case) and applied the brakes to direct power to the other wheels. Has anybody else had any similar experience with airborne wheels?

 

I'm quite sure I've seen videos of Yetis offroading with one as well as two wheels in the air, but they may have been using momentum to keep moving. Not sure if I've seen any with it starting from standing like this.

 

Either way, quite disappointing to hear...

Why didn't you put the handbrake fully on?  

Nice report Johann, Love that 'The Road to Hell' is displayed on the head unit in that shot!

 

Interesting to hear about the off roading issue however. Ive been in many situations where the car is cross axeled with just two wheels in contact with the ground and it pulls through fine - its mightily capable imo. The only surface ive ever had real trouble with was in Spain when I was called to help someone on a deep pebble beach - it was like trying to drive on marbles and just dug in. However, in any european snow, rock or mud situation - its been amazing. You just have to give it some welly sometimes to get the Haldex working but never been stuck yet.

Sounds like an eventful trip! Shame about the 4x4 performance or lack thereof.

 

My experience regards to dealerships in and around Edinburgh are:

 

Arnold Clark friendly salesmen but hardly know anything about the cars. Service staff not very communicative (PC version!). 

 

West End salesmen were very helpful and forth coming. Service staff went out of their way to help out.

 

The DM Keith in Hull were similar to West End.

Wowww, that's really disappointing (and a bit de-motivating for my future off-road expeditions). I would guess all the electronic aids were switched on? I would have thought that the Traction Control / ESP should have been of help in such a case, sensing that the wheel was "slipping" (100% slip in this case) and applied the brakes to direct power to the other wheels. Has anybody else had any similar experience with airborne wheels?

 

I'm quite sure I've seen videos of Yetis offroading with one as well as two wheels in the air, but they may have been using momentum to keep moving. Not sure if I've seen any with it starting from standing like this.

 

Either way, quite disappointing to hear...

 

You have seen Yeti's in that position, and getting out of it.

 

Nice report Johann, Love that 'The Road to Hell' is displayed on the head unit in that shot!

 

Interesting to hear about the off roading issue however. Ive been in many situations where the car is cross axeled with just two wheels in contact with the ground and it pulls through fine - its mightily capable imo. The only surface ive ever had real trouble with was in Spain when I was called to help someone on a deep pebble beach - it was like trying to drive on marbles and just dug in. However, in any european snow, rock or mud situation - its been amazing. You just have to give it some welly sometimes to get the Haldex working but never been stuck yet.

 

I suspect i know why the "problem" arose, especially considering the predicament Johann describes.

 

With one wheel in the air the traction system will sense and lock that wheel, BUT it needs to sense that wheel spinning continuously, To do that the power has to be kept ON. Now I'm betting that Johann was in the predicament that keeping power hard on is unnatural, because you feel like the car could "jump" forward if it suddenly got traction. Therefore natural instinct makes you ease off. Certainly looking at the narrowness of the track it is possible. I'm sure Johann will clarify.

 

And I will say that it is difficult to remove that natural tendency from us to ease off when you get "stuck". When I was first taught off-road driving by LR in a Defender you did ease off, but when I progressed to the Freelander you had to "learn" it all again, and differently because of the electonic gubbins that now "did it for you".

Instead of "foot off" it was "boot it"!!

You have seen Yeti's in that position, and getting out of it.

 

 

I suspect i know why the "problem" arose, especially considering the predicament Johann describes.

 

With one wheel in the air the traction system will sense and lock that wheel, BUT it needs to sense that wheel spinning continuously, To do that the power has to be kept ON. Now I'm betting that Johann was in the predicament that keeping power hard on is unnatural, because you feel like the car could "jump" forward if it suddenly got traction. Therefore natural instinct makes you ease off. Certainly looking at the narrowness of the track it is possible. I'm sure Johann will clarify.

 

And I will say that it is difficult to remove that natural tendency from us to ease off when you get "stuck". When I was first taught off-road driving by LR in a Defender you did ease off, but when I progressed to the Freelander you had to "learn" it all again, and differently because of the electonic gubbins that now "did it for you".

Instead of "foot off" it was "boot it"!!

 

I did not take a picture of the smoke in the air or described the smell.  I certainly DID boot it.  To no avail. Most of the smoke came from the front left tyre as that was obviously touching the ground but only just (with the right rear in the hole).

Got to agree with Graham  , but "sensing" wheel slip and backing off is no good.

 

You've just got to drive off as you would normally, don't back off when nothing "seems" to be happening, and without realising it you are moving off seamlessly. I fell for it the first few times, but now people behind me radio that I'm on two wheels - and I've no sensation of being in this position :think:

 

Spooky really, but it all works.

I hope you ate at The Applecross Inn?

 

That Road!

I hope you ate at The Applecross Inn?

 

That Road!

 

Alas I went to Applecross on the first of January and they were shut. I phoned on the 31st to make a booking... 

Chris Rea??  Oh dear!  lol!

 

... right rear wheel ended in a ditch hanging in the air with all the other three wheels still touching the ground.  Could the car get out?  Not in a million years. With just one wheel without traction and three on the ground. ... I was not impressed by how useless the Yeti 4x4 system was....

 

1. So, would a 2WD have handled this better? Presumably the front left did not have enough grip to get out so this would have scuppered 2WD too?

 

2. There was a recent comment about enabling (a more aggressive) electronic limited diff via VCDS... wonder if that would be worthy of investigation?

 

Thanks for the write-up though!

Arnold Clark Inverness is a byword for atrocious service in this part of the world. Unfortunately the next nearest dealership is in Aberdeen which, if you live in the far north of Scotland would mean an overnight stay just to get you car serviced. If only Skoda UK would read the reviews and appoint a decent dealership it would do wonders for their sales in this part of the UK.

That road is not to hell, more to heaven (unless of course, the Inn is shut ! ).

My BiL has also had poor services from them - suggest you write to the big man himself.......

The DM Keith in Hull were similar to West End.

 

Strange how we all have different views, as I haven't used the Hull dealer for 18 months, after proving over a prolonged period of time how little their service team knew about Skoda's :wonder:

 

 

TP

Strange how we all have different views, as I haven't used the Hull dealer for 18 months, after proving over a prolonged period of time how little their service team knew about Skoda's :wonder:

 

 

TP

 

Maybe the guy happened to read up on the day I visited :P

DM KEITH HULL

Last time I drove past it was still Royce Roberts. And before that Barkers

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Edited 10 January, 201412 yr by J306TD

 I certainly DID boot it.  To no avail. Most of the smoke came from the front left tyre as that was obviously touching the ground but only just (with the right rear in the hole).

 

This situation, with diagonally-opposite wheels spinning, is what the 4WD Yeti's EDL Off-Road mode is designed to avoid.  You have to have paid for the off-road button and then you have to remember to use it.  If you didn't do both of those, your car was behaving as designed.

DM KEITH HULL

Last time I drove past it was still Royce Roberts. And before that Barkers

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Yes when I last called in it was still Roberts but shortly after Keith's merged with Roberts and of recent it's Keith's name above the door.

 

Also had experience of Keith's taking over Beever's in York back in 2010; from talking to the owner it was not a welcome or wanted takeover but he got the rug pulled from under him by VAG was the impression so Keith could move in.

 

So I can only imagine what went on down in Hull and I cannot see any reason to think things will have improved under the new owners from my latter experiences at York.

 

 

TP

TP

I was under the impression that Roberts had a fairly good reputation in the area

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TP

I was under the impression that Roberts had a fairly good reputation in the area

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I thought they were pretty OK initially but their service seemed to decline over time (possibly due to a change in service manager) and I don't think our relations were helped by the eight or so visits needed to fix a simple PDC controller fault on the current Yeti (replaced the controller at one point with the wrong type making the fault worse but insisted they had fixed it), which lead me to raising this poor standard of work with SUK.

 

TP

 

This situation, with diagonally-opposite wheels spinning, is what the 4WD Yeti's EDL Off-Road mode is designed to avoid.  You have to have paid for the off-road button and then you have to remember to use it.  If you didn't do both of those, your car was behaving as designed.

 

 

My car has the Off-road button as standard.  On take two the button was pressed.

I sometimes have to drive a rear wheel drive van on wet grass, it gets stuck very easily if there is any incline. I have found that by applying the handbrake this limits the free spinning wheel and allows me to drive away with no problem. I don't know if this applies to the Yeti's system......