The perfect Yeti replacement

[900000]

The previously released photos of the Tiguan GTE (the plug in Hybrid version) showed it in Yeti "City" spec - so full body cladding making the car look very dumpy and fat to my eyes. Now VW have seen sense and have done a concept GTE for the Detroit Motor Show with a Yeti Outdoor version of the GTE, the GTE Active. YUM!

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/01/10/vw-tiguan-gte-active-concept-detroit-2016/

 

 

 

 

The all electric 20 miles a day would cover 90% of the journeys I make in London, so this (as I have said many times on here before) is the ideal Yeti replacement for me.

 

Would Škoda ever get this drivetrain to put in the Yeti II? Probably not and even if they do it will be 2019 or 2020 before VW will allow them to do so I suspect.

 

But yes this car exactly as it is there - minus the silly roof - I want a sunroof thanks - is ideal for me.

[Austerby]

I certainly expect my next car to have some degree of hybrid about it - and, living in London, it may be less of a personal choice in time if I want to avoid excessive charges for road uses. I've just got my new Yeti so this won't be for four or five years I expect so by then this sort of drivetrain will be much more widespread across a range of models from all manufacturers. 

 

By then it may be a minority of cars that only have single sources of power.

 

I also think that these vehicles will push more ownership models onto some form of rental agreement as few owners may want to take on the liability of a hybrid drivetrain once it ages, therefore a higher turnover of newer vehicles and thus removing older inefficient cars from the environment.  This is of course providing one has the income to cover the costs - its not clear what options will be open to the economically disadvantaged if the supply of old, cheap vehicles that you don't need a credit score to own dries up.

[Paul52]

It just so happens that the front page headline of Local Transport Today (a technical/news magazine respected by those working in transport including various forms of transport planning) is "Market for electric cars failing to ignite, warns manufacturer". The manufacturer in question isn't named but is described as a manufacturer involved in vehicle assembly and is providing advice to the Committee on Climate Change. The article goes on to report that electric vehicle sales are only healthy in those countries where there is government support for their purchase, when the financial support is reduced or withdrawn the sales figures go down. Coincidently an article on page 4 reports that from March the government is cutting the grants available for electric vehicles and hybrids (the example is given of a Prius where the grant will reduce from £5000 to £2500). So there lies the problem - many of us like the idea of a hybrid but the economics don't favour converting that enthusiasm into buying choices. Traffic management policies like the London congestion charge zone might tip the balance for some, like Johann and Austerby, and in the future such schemes might be introduced in the major conurbations like Manchester and Birmingham but for many of us I suggest hybrids could still be some years (decades?) off - the cost of a new battery pack after a few years (or the alternative of a monthly rental payment) is likely to make a dent in the savings from reduced use of fossil fuels for those on modest mileages.  I'm not trying to be unnecessarily pessimistic - around 15 years ago my team ran an all-electric Peugeot 106 as pool car for local use and with around 20-30 registered users in that role it proved very successful - I just think a mass-market, affordable (i.e. not subsidised) hybrid that meets people's needs is still a long way off. But all credit to the earlier adopters and I hope you prove me wrong.

[Gyp]

 

 

 

 

It's a bit like a Tonka toy. Love it.

 

I think the 20 mile electric range would suit me well too.

[J306TD]

Is it wrong to like it. If it actually looks like that. I'd be very tempted

Sent from my Galaxy S5 using Tapatalk

[James I]

If it is anything like my hybrid Golf that has a claimed range of 30 ish miles and only delivers 18 if you're lucky I would test drive it before buying one.

 

 On a plus note, it looks great.

[BJ127]

Not decrying the engineering but shape looks same as every other maker prefer individual yeti shape.

[Expatman]

The question I want answering is where all the generating power is coming from to re-charge the batteries of electric vehicles? The UK generating capacity is maxed already with a safety margin of less than 4%. So what happens when millions of cars, busses, trucks etc are connected  to the power grid for recharging? The megawatt hours needed to charge electric motor vehicles will far exceed the total capacity of the UK generating plant!!

[Ryeman]

The question I want answering is where all the generating power is coming from to re-charge the batteries of electric vehicles? The UK generating capacity is maxed already with a safety margin of less than 4%. So what happens when millions of cars, busses, trucks etc are connected  to the power grid for recharging? The megawatt hours needed to charge electric motor vehicles will far exceed the total capacity of the UK generating plant!!

Why

It'll be 'off-peak' for the vast majority and many with their own home storage system won't need it much at all.

It might help conventional power stations to survive though.

[aerofurb]

Here you go, Johann - a bit of 'genuine' video:

 

http://www.carscoops.com/2016/01/see-vws-latest-tiguan-gte-active.html

 

I love the idea of the electric/hybrid technology but can't justify paying for the VW badge (speaking as the ex owner of a Beetle, two Polos and a Mk1 Golf GTi...!).

 

Bring on the Škoda Hybrid Yeti  

[Ryeman]

I don't think Land Rover will lose any sleep unless it's 'affordable'

Hint to Land Rover.

[clv101]

The question I want answering is where all the generating power is coming from to re-charge the batteries of electric vehicles? The UK generating capacity is maxed already with a safety margin of less than 4%. So what happens when millions of cars, busses, trucks etc are connected  to the power grid for recharging? The megawatt hours needed to charge electric motor vehicles will far exceed the total capacity of the UK generating plant!!

That little margin of just a few percent only refers to peak demand, ~5pm, mid-week, cold winter's day... in the middle of the night (when vehicles tend not to be in use) demand is ~half peak, outside winter months, demand is also much lower. Additionally, with many thousands of electric cars plugged in, they can in theory increase grid stability allowing energy to flow from car to grid to mitigate black/brown out.

[DonjSZ5]

Electric cars are OK if they were affordable. Most I have looked at, the useful ones, are way over my budget.

[Ryeman]

Electric cars are OK if they were affordable. Most I have looked at, the useful ones, are way over my budget.

It won't remain that way for long......they'll all be at it in time.

[DonjSZ5]

It won't remain that way for long......they'll all be at it in time.

not in my time though.

[Ryeman]

not in my time though.

Once the massive battery plants are fully up and running, cars such as the Leaf won't be long in much greater range and affordability and suitable for many city people.

If someone's making money out of something they'll soon have serious competition.

Change is accelerating.

[clv101]

Change is accelerating, and electric cars are fundamentally simpler. Their main problem is that electricity is really expensive compared to petrol/diesel.

Diesel is ~3-4p per KWh before tax, electricity is more like 13-14p per KWh. Even with the electric car being twice as efficient, the fuel is still much more expensive.

They look good largely due to massive tax on oil, compare the technology like for like and fuel looks expensive.

[Ryeman]

Change is accelerating, and electric cars are fundamentally simpler. Their main problem is that electricity is really expensive compared to petrol/diesel.

Diesel is ~3-4p per KWh before tax, electricity is more like 13-14p per KWh. Even with the electric car being twice as efficient, the fuel is still much more expensive.

They look good largely due to massive tax on oil, compare the technology like for like and fuel looks expensive.

It looks good out here with plenty of sun and coming storage capacity......but govt's will do what govt's want to do to achieve their outcome and promote whatever takes their fancy.....they'll get their revenue in any case.

[900000]

The electric supply grid will need adapting to these changing in our use of electricity as much as they built new fuel stations as the use of the car expanded a century ago. The governments of the (First) world just need to get their heads out of the sand to start the ball rolling on doing that.

 

As to the age old argument of "but you're just moving the power generation to a power plant somewhere else" Bossfox said this in his (Freedom member only) thread on his new Tesla. Which was a very good argument about this aspect of electric cars:

 

I don't buy into any of the green arguments and so can't get into a debate about them.

 

What I can tell you is that I'd rather the emissions from making energy were coming out of a power station well out of town than in a car going past my house or kids playgroup.

What EV's do is move pollution around.  Global instead of local.

Local pollution in some areas of the UK is a real issue.

 

 

I hope Škoda would be doing a hybrid Yeti. But I'm not sure VW will let them any time before 2019 or 2020 as I said.

[Chubbs]

I REALLY like the look of the new Tiguan, much the same as the larger Toureg (?) so this is one I'll be watching closely.  I'm not bothered about fuel type albeit I'm all for the newer hybrid stuff - trouble is looking at the VW Golf, for example, it's so expensive, to buy or lease, so god knows how much a hybrid Tiguan would be.

[speedsport]

Early info on the new Tiguan suggests it is going to be substantially longer & wider than the current model, which is already longer than the Yeti. That's the way cars develop these days.

The next Yeti will also be larger than the current one, but by how much is unclear. It will need to grow in size if Skoda wish to create a market for the proposed "mini Yeti".

 

The big issue for most prospective purchasers is going to be the cost of this EV Tiguan. i priced up a current Tiguan against an L&K Yeti, and to have most (not all) the kit that's on the Yeti, took the Tiguan price up to just over £34,000, against the Yeti's £28,000. Add the cost of the EV technology, and I'd be surprised if they're not pushing £40,000 for the new Tiguan Hybrid. A hybrid RAV4 is already available for less than that, for a bigger vehicle with Toyota proven technology.

 

I definitely like the idea of a Hybrid, and in 4 or 5 years time I suspect we shall be seeing a phenomenal increase in sales of such vehicles.

But, and it's a big but, we don't yet know the true life of the battery packs, so the resale value at 6 or 7 years old could take a big hit.

Just look at how many 10 year old cars there are currently on the roads (05 reg and earlier). What will be the situation 15 years from now? And who will be able to afford (or want to afford) to replace the battery pack on a car that's otherwise worth under say £3k?

Edited 12 January, 2016 by speedsport

[DonjSZ5]

But, and it's a big but, we don't yet know the true life of the battery packs, so the resale value at 6 or 7 years old could take a big hit.

Precisely the problem. I certainly would nit buy one without knowing the batteries did not require replacing soon...not that I will see buying one anyway.

[Expatman]

That little margin of just a few percent only refers to peak demand, ~5pm, mid-week, cold winter's day... in the middle of the night (when vehicles tend not to be in use) demand is ~half peak, outside winter months, demand is also much lower. Additionally, with many thousands of electric cars plugged in, they can in theory increase grid stability allowing energy to flow from car to grid to mitigate black/brown out.

Have you considered the vast amounts of power that will be needed? Okay, a calculation in needed to convert the volume of petrol and diesel used each day to gigawatt hours and then compare that sum to total available generating capacity. Only having done that will there be a basis for complacency or panic!!

[clv101]

Have you considered the vast amounts of power that will be needed? Okay, a calculation in needed to convert the volume of petrol and diesel used each day to gigawatt hours and then compare that sum to total available generating capacity. Only having done that will there be a basis for complacency or panic!!

We shouldn't confuse the amount of energy needed and the generation capacity. Almost all the time, there are many GW of idle capacity. Other than a few hours on weekday, winter evenings, capacity is not a problem. And grid capacity issues could even be improved by thousands of plugged in cars feeding back if required.

The amount of energy required is more interesting as to a first order approximation electric cars use the same amount of energy as petrol/diesel. Their difference (or advantage) is that they can get that energy from a wider range of sources including coal, nuclear, and renewables.

[Guest]

Watch "Volkswagen Tiguan GTE Active Concept reveal presentation based on all-new neuer Tiguan - Autogefühl" on YouTube