I thought this was interesting as it's an English language review by a German racing driver of a Chinese spec Yeti. It's the one with the spare wheel carrier on the back. I've seen photos of it but not in videos so far.

 

Good spot Dbg400, I watched him do a test on the Golf R not long ago.

Tony

Like the idea of the spare out of the way,looks good too.

Like the idea of the spare out of the way,looks good too.

 

You won't see that in the EU as they way it is fitted it cannot pass our vehicle regulations, and having had 2 vehicles with them, never again!!

They get in the way reversing.

They get in the way when loading.

People park too close to open them.

They strain the hinges.

It is bloody difficult getting the wheel off them, and then putting a punctured one back.

If someone taps them they damage a lot of the car.

Never had a problem with the one on the Rav, but I see your point.

You make some good points there Graham, but as regards straining the hinges it looks as though it is on a substantial support fixed through the bumper.

 

Would be good in the wide open spaces but not in our country. So why China?

Years ago when the spare wheel was supported on the rear door it did create problems as Graham has pointed out. The one on the Chinese version is built on an independent arm, not hung on the rear door ( as VAGCF points out ). It is still seen on the Shogun and as an extra on the previous version of the MB ML 350.

Tony

The swing-away carriers are fine, but they do need regular maintenance, and can still suffer from "droop".

The main problem with the Chinese one is that it obscures one of the rear lights when "open" which is illegal in most of the world. 

My parents had the same arrangement on their Daihatsu Fourtrak. The main gripe I had was that it got in the way and made opening the boot a pain when hitched to a trailer. The Fourtrak has low level lights that would have overcome the issue of being obscured with the frame open.

It looks pretty good with the spare wheel on the back - a better option than one taking up space in the boot.