Bexhillian, you are a brave man!;-) Looks like you tried to save some cash and used an illegal taxi. Official ones never ask for dollars and drives softly - they have strong fuel limits. Illegal taxis are dangerous in any country. I recall Jamaican minicab experience from Heathrow to Downtown London 5 years ago in my nightmares )))

 

Guys, thank you all for welcoming me here! If you have any questions about Skoda, VW and cars in general,  as  I see it from Russia, I'll be happy to answer.

 

About my Yeti  - it's "Privilege"+, 2011, has 1.8 CDAB engine, 4x4, mechanical gearbox, I am the one and only owner of that car. My annual mileage is about 35000+ km. I use it for regular countryside trips and long distance travelling all over the Europe ranging from Finland to Bosnia.

 

My current mileage is 180 000 km. Every 60 000 km I give my Yeti a serious service, changing oils in gearbox, both axles, Haldex traction system - liquid and filter (fits from Volvo). Standard car driving mode is cruise control, highway, 100 km/h at about 2000 revs. Yeti eats 12 liters of 95 benzine in the city, 9 liters on the highway.

 

Sure there were some issues with the car.

I replaced the engine timing chain at 90 000 km, it was close to sliding.

I replaced the clutch at 100 000 km and it was too weak for that car weight.

I had all the doors re-sprayed by Skoda dealer (at the very end of official Skoda paint warranty).

Engine eats oil since we first met, 300 ml per 1000 km at the first randevouz, and about 1 litre per 1000 km since the mileage of 140 000 km up until now. I use Shell 5 w 40 synthetic. In 2012 VW Russia said that this level of oil consumption is normal for that engine but I doubt it and I switched from official Skoda garage to small private car service.

 

Yeti has bloody sunroof with a bloody manhole and it is the most noisy and hard to clean and grease unit in whole car.

 

From the mileage of 100 000 km  I feel small pulls in engine or clutch while accelerating at the low revs. Unable to detect the source. Forgotten.

 

From the same mileage I have resonance noise from the engine at about 3000-3500 revs. Unable to detect the source, looks like engine balance shafts chain or something like that. Forgotten.

 

Front and rear suspensions are all stock except both front stabilizator supporting bars (changed them twice by now).

 

Ah, I forgot. At 150 000 km I cut away the steel and rubber balance ring at the back side of cardan shaft due to serious damage of the middle rubber part. The Russian God didn't allow me to pay 400 euros to VW group for the new balance ring.

 

That's all I had for 5 years of driving my Yeti.

 

Will be happy to discuss our cars!

 

 

54 minutes ago, marr111 said:

Bexhillian, you are a brave man!;-) Looks like you tried to save some cash and used an illegal taxi.

 

Not intentionally! It was seven years ago. We were looking for a chequerboard marked taxi but this guy's even bigger friend shepherded us (lost sheep?) to the waiting Passat.

Were we overcharged? Maybe yes, maybe no. The equivalent night time journey in London by official London black cab would have cost about the same and we jumped the queue and survived to tell the tale.

It was the year of the forest fires and Moscow was heavily shrouded in smoke which persisted for many, many miles as we later headed East.

 

Interesting Yeti history, thanks.

Kind regards

Bexhillian, I hope you enjoyed the travel! How long does it take to reach Beijing from Moscow? A week or so?

 

Drove the 1.2 TSI manual this morning. Sweet as a nut gear change, relatively quiet with a smooth ride. Not much to dislike at all.

 

Yes it struggles a bit at higher speeds and its certainly no tarmac shredder, but it seemed to hold 80 easily on cruise on the motorway still returning mid thirties. What at struck me though was how easy it was to drive on normal A/B roads and in traffic. For everyday driving it seems like a really practical and capable vehicle to live with. 

 

Think I've made up my mind. Thanks for all your comments.

11 hours ago, marr111 said:

Bexhillian, I hope you enjoyed the travel! How long does it take to reach Beijing from Moscow? A week or so?

 

We left Moscow Yaroslavsky Station, Train No. 4, on Tuesday 10/08/2010 at 2135 hrs and arrived in Beijing on Monday 16/06/2010 at 1414 hrs.

(actually we should have arrived at 1404 hrs but the train was 10 minutes late!). Russian Targa, Mongolian Steppe, Gobi Desert and many time zones.

We are planning to do most of it again next year but on slow trains, stopping off at various places en route but this time going to Vladivostock and then catching a boat to Japan.

50 minutes ago, Bexhillian said:

 

We left Moscow Yaroslavsky Station, Train No. 4, on Tuesday 10/08/2010 at 2135 hrs and arrived in Beijing on Monday 16/06/2010 at 1414 hrs.

(actually we should have arrived at 1404 hrs but the train was 10 minutes late!). Russian Targa, Mongolian Steppe, Gobi Desert and many time zones.

We are planning to do most of it again next year but on slow trains, stopping off at various places en route but this time going to Vladivostock and then catching a boat to Japan.

 

Wow!!
I didn't know the Russian's had invented a time machine. 

10 hours ago, Llanigraham said:

arrived in Beijing on Monday 16/06/2010 at 1414 hrs.

 

 Should have been 16/08/2010. I should have followed 'type once, check twice'! but the vodka is still having an effect.

11 hours ago, Llanigraham said:

 

Wow!!
I didn't know the Russian's had invented a time machine. 

Yup we did bit still none knows about it