First Drive

[pat.coneley@bti]

Collected my 12 plate Yeti 170 TDi CR at Ridgeway Reading today.

This was my first experience of buying from a dealer, all my previous cars have been private purchases or company cars delivered to my workplace.

I chose the Yeti after trawling through the entire VAG group as well as BMW and Mazda looking for something that would be fun to drive but also serve occasionally as a small van and it was interesting to see how different the experience was across the brands.

At a big VW dealership in the same group I was bluntly told to park somewhere else when I arrived in my wife's scruffy Peugot 206! Needless to say I went somewhere else.

The Audi set up was so "lifestyle" that I had to remind myself that I was in a car dealership and the brochure that I left with must have cost £20 to produce.

By comparison the Skoda dealership was keen to do business and honest when they couldn't answer my annoyingly techy questions. We haggled at length and struck a deal that made sense to both sides, finally down to a full tank of diesel.

By choice I am a biker but do need a car so this was a head rather than heart choice but from the first drive impressions I think I am going to love this quirky little box-on-wheels. It goes and handles better than I expected.

Anyone tell me how it responds to left foot braking?

[Macdemon]

Glad you're happy with your choice Pat, it is indeed a FINE and funky vehicle to drive.  

 

what extras do you opt for??

[JulieD]

Left foot braking isn't really an option - by the wonders of modern in car electronics pressing the brake peddle will kill the fly by wire accelerator.

[Llanigraham]

As above, you can't!!

You touch the brake pedal and ALL power comes off.

[pat.coneley@bti]

Thanks for the replies regarding left foot braking. My old Mk1 Octavia responded very well to a squeeze of the brakes with the power still on going into a roundabout.

I had the opportunity to learn the technique at the Pat Flynn rally school in Sweden on a frozen lake but like all things if you don't keep practising the skill degrades.

Can the electronics be disabled?

[Llanigraham]

 Can the electronics be disabled?

 

Very unlikely, I'm afraid, as I suspect it is written into the coding.

[freedie]

So now you can't dry wet brakes with slight pressure from your left foot on the brake pedal whilst making progress. However, if it is raining, the car does it for you! Simply (too?) clever.

[trundlenut]

Very unlikely, I'm afraid, as I suspect it is written into the coding.

You can get rid of it by having the car remapped.

Its has been a feature of most fly by wire VAG cars since the late 90s. Someone recently suggested a double tap on the accelerator would override it but it doesn't seem to my car.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[weasley]

As above, you can't!!

You touch the brake pedal and ALL power comes off.

False. Yes, if you brake whilst on the power then after a moment the engine power drops, but if you happen to be heel-and-toeing then the engine will 'blip', even with the brake pedal pressed. I assume the ECU detects the clutch actuation and therefore overrides the engine cut-out.

Therefore "ALL" power does not come off when you touch the brake pedal.

[Wardy]

Yes, the above sounds more severe than it is. The result is not that all engine power will be cut.

 

Also, with heel & toe, you're on the brake first, then feeding in a degree of accelerator modulation as you change down, which is a different scenario to left-foot braking of course. As you say, heel & toe does work successfully.

[pat.coneley@bti]

Sorry Mcdemon I missed your question about extras.

As I didn't buy the car new there was no opportunity to specify any extras.

It is the Excellence spec but no extras above that. I am thinking about spare wheel options though.

I have many years of experience with motorcycle punctures and I see puncture sealant as a last resort not the only resort:(

[New2Yetidom]

You have a nice collection of transport available to you Pat.

[Nick P]

You can get rid of it by having the car remapped.

 

Certainly Shark Performance offer this functionality with their software.