First impressions of our Drive model.

[Guest FurryFriend]

We took delivery of our new Pearl Black Yeti 1.2DSG drive on 15th March, off an original order date of 18th January, so it arrived nicely within the estimated delivery date. 

 

First impressions have been excellent. Smooth, quiet and very economical. The handbooks are not the best, but we've managed to fathom out most things.

 

We had a problem with the tailgate not closing properly. Initially we put this down to an overlong storage box in the boot,  and it certainly didn't help, but when we continued to have problems, a closer examination convinced me that the striker plate had been set too far back, as we were having to really slam the tailgate to close it. 

 

So a quick trip to Halfords for a suitable socket to undo the 2 spline bolts on the striker plate (I had to buy a full set at £24.99...  grrr) and two or three minutes work to move it back about 6mm has completely rectified the problem. 

 

I've also removed two pieces of expanded filler foam from around the spare wheel, as we decided that the space could be  put to better use. I don't do this foam tyre repair stuff. A spare is essential. We once got stranded on Dartmoor in a near blizzard, no phone signal,  with a puncture, a 'dead' can of tyre filler, and no spare wheel. Not funny, and potentially very dangerous in circumstances like that. A 45 minute walk through atrocious conditions to reach a farm convinced me of the lunacy of not having a spare wheel . 

 

We have now added a Cheetah C550 speed camera detector and a Transcend DrivePro 220 camera to supplement the Admundsen sat nav. I have also put our Cobra camera from our last car into the rear. Personally I wouldn't be without cameras these days, having been rear ended in the past by an idiot who had been texting and lied about it to the police. The footage from the cobra, passed to both insurance companies and the police ensured his downfall. 

 

Still getting used to the slight blind spot on the drivers side which I may well get an extra mirror for, and the large B pillar which is quite obstructive when glancing behind before pulling out. 

 

My wife loves the front and rear reversing and parking aids, as she's not the most confident at reversing. Our last car had front valances which were constantly getting scraped by high kerbs, so the front sensors are a bonus. 

 

So, all in all, delighted, and looking forward to some long runs soon. In the next few weeks we have Inverness, Exeter, Somerset,  and Southampton to visit, and it will be great to do it in comfort! Our dog loves the 'nose level aircon vents in the rear. Heaven for him on a hot day. 

 

Any other new Yeti owners? How are you finding yours? 

Edited 26 March, 2017 by FurryFriend

[Ryeman]

A striker plate out by 6mm should have been picked up in the PDI surely.

[Guest FurryFriend]

I agree.... and in fairness when the salesman showed us the boot interior we didn't notice any issue. But once home, we noticed it only shut on the third  or fourth slam.  I don't like slamming doors or tailgates, it's a sure fire way of ending up with a shattered rear screen.

 

 I have always done my own repairs, and have a pretty comprehensive tool kit,  but although I have a full set of torx bits, and some larger and longer splined bits for cylinder head bolts, I didn't have the right one for this job. Bodging it with an incorrect socket isn't something I believe in. Usually causes more problems. 

So the way I looked at it was that I could have wasted half a day going back to the dealership, 28 mile round trip away, hanging about waiting, and using time, petrol and not getting other things done, or buy the socket set, add to my tool kit, and get it fixed. All done now, shuts and seals beautifully. 

Loving the car.  

[Urrell]

1 hour ago, FurryFriend said:

We had a problem with the tailgate not closing properly. Initially we put this down to an overlong storage box in the boot,  and it certainly didn't help, but when we continued to have problems, a closer examination convinced me that the striker plate had been set too far back, as we were having to really slam the tailgate to close it. 

 

So a quick trip to Halfords for a suitable socket to undo the 2 spline bolts on the striker plate (I had to buy a full set at £24.99...  grrr) and two or three minutes work to move it back about 6mm has completely rectified the problem.

 

Why not do it using the adjustable rubber door stops on the sides of the rear door?

[Guest FurryFriend]

I tried that, but with the seals being brand new, there was virtually no give in them, and so still having to slam the lid. It also gave us the issue that unless the sensor in the tailgate lid lock is detected by the striker plate, the rear wash wipe wouldn't work at all. 

In the end it was simpler to just slightly loosen the 2 bolts, ease the plate back and tighten them up again. 6mm is very little on a non critical job like that. 

It's completely resolved it. 

 

[Guest FurryFriend]

Now just done a trip up to Inverness and notched up around 1200 miles since we picked up the car. . Average fuel consumption is reading at 46.2mpg and we are more than happy with that. 

It probably helped that a very large proportion of the journey once across the Scottish border is an enforced 60mph. 

[Robjon]

On ‎26‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 09:07, FurryFriend said:

Any other new Yeti owners? How are you finding yours? 

 

Glad you are enjoying yours.

 

I collected mine a couple of days ago.  Drive SE 1.2 DSG in Quartz Grey.

 

Until now, I had considered my Roomster by some margin the best car I have ever owned.

I think that's going to change...

[Guest FurryFriend]

Yeah.... Us too Rob! Just been up to Inverness in it.... Awesome. Really really impressed. 

[Guest]

Yes We love our yeti outdoor se dsg in candy white.

the only gripe I've got is the Kph readout in the maxidot (see my post) but I hope to get that fixed.

graham

Edited 10 April, 2017 by Guest

[Expatman]

11 minutes ago, Graham1941 said:

Yes We love our yeti outdoor se dsg in candy white.

the only gripe I've got is the Kph readout in the maxidot (see my post) but I hope to get that fixed.

graham

Why is the readout in Kph a problem - you have a big round MPH speedometer right in front of you!

[Guest]

Because I find it easier to see digital than analogue as in our Fabia.

[Expatman]

I can see that but isn't an analogue read out easier to read at a quick glance? You don't need to read any numbers you quickly learn just by the position of the 'needle' on the dial what speed you are doing. It's the same with analogue read out watches, you don't read the numbers on the dial to know the time you just know by the position of the hands what the time is.

Instant without any need to read numbers  and your eyes are off the road for milliseconds because they don't need to refocus to read small close numbers.

[Ryeman]

Digital for me every time and never bother with interpreting a needle's position.

[Guest]

10 hours ago, Expatman said:

can see that but isn't an analogue read out easier to read at a quick glance? You don't need to read any numbers you quickly learn just by the position of the 'needle' on the dial what speed you are doing. It's the same with analogue read out watches, you don't read the numbers on the dial to know the time you just know by the position of the hands what the time is.

Instant without any need to read numbers  and your eyes are off the road for milliseconds because they don't need to refocus to read small close numbers.

Sorry cant agree with your analogy. Guessing where the needle is between 20 and 40 and 40 and 60 is not the same as an instant digital value.  The Kph readout is like looking at a watch set in another time zone.

Edited 11 April, 2017 by Guest

[Expatman]

5 minutes ago, Graham1941 said:

Sorry cant agree with your analogy. Guessing where the needle is between 20 and 40 and 40 and 60 is not the same as an instant digital value.  The Kph readout is like looking at a watch set in another time zone.

Guess it depends on how your brain works. I find it easier to visualise the needle position in relation to speed. If it is important to you to know whether your speed is 30 rather than 29 or 31 then digital is best, although don't forget the speedometer is inaccurate anyway by up to 10% over reading.

[Robjon]

Just a thought (and without wishing to enter the analogue/digital discussion)...

 

If the digital KPH display is modified to read MPH, does it not have to be changed back to KPH before the car can be used abroad?

On mine at least, there are no KPH markings on the analogue speedometer.

[TeeDeeEye]

I believe the settings will then give you the option to choose KPH or MPH

[Guest FurryFriend]

In the absence of speed camera warnings on the Amundsen we've invested in a Cheetah C550 device. (See post in the satnav/gps device section).

 

This gives us the best of both worlds with a traditional speedo reading and also a constant  bright yellow digital mph readout on the Cheetah which is mounted on top of the central dashboard box and immediately  visible at all times. 

Having had other cars with digital speed readouts I have to say I prefer them to traditional speedometers. 

 

 

Edited 11 April, 2017 by FurryFriend

[TeeDeeEye]

Another alternative is to use Waze sat nav app on your phone. As well as being a great sat nav app it also shows your current speed and warns you if you go over the limit. Also has accurate warnings of speed cameras and if there are any hazards or police nearby.

[Guest FurryFriend]

Also had a thought. There are any number of completely free Speedometer/Dashboard apps for mobile phones. Most of them will give the option of displaying the speed in mph or kph and many will also let the user choose between digital or analogue readout. Some even give HUD (heads up display) on the screen.  All you'd need is a phone cradle. Job done. 

[Llanigraham]

10 minutes ago, FurryFriend said:

Also had a thought. There are any number of completely free Speedometer/Dashboard apps for mobile phones. Most of them will give the option of displaying the speed in mph or kph and many will also let the user choose between digital or analogue readout. Some even give HUD (heads up display) on the screen.  All you'd need is a phone cradle. Job done. 

 

Exactly how I do it in the Lomax, as the speedo is not very visible or accurate!

[Guest FurryFriend]

Thanks.  Yeah.. We've had 2 Citroens in the past, and the digital readouts are excellent, especially in variable speed camera areas. 

[Expatman]

Thought I might add my comments on first 2 weeks with new Yeti SEL Drive 1.2 Tis DSG with rear view camera, electric drivers seat, Smartlink, Variable boot floor and 16" wheels; I part exchanged a 2012 Yeti Elegance 1.2 DSG for the new Yeti because I wanted another Mk1 before it was replaced by the larger Mk2 model later this year. I looked at the Ateca - nice but don't like black interiors and it was too big for what we wanted.

First thing we found was that the new Yeti was very quiet and the ride on 16" wheels was smoother than on the old Yeti on 16" wheels. The new 1.2 engine and DSG are a great partnership, gearshifts imperceptible and take up particularly smooth. I had Park Assist on my previous Yeti but only used it a few times in 5 years, usually to demonstrate it to friends! Generally I found it easier to reverse into parking spaces manually using the "beepers" if necessary. The rear view camera is more useful and great for everyday reversing as well as parking. Electric drivers seat is a must for us as both my wife and me can play around with seat and mirror positions to get everything exactly right then store that position and link it to our individual keys. Nice to have the seat automatically set exactly right for whoever is driving. The variable boot floor (instead of spare wheel) releases a surprising amount of extra boot space. Bags actually hang from the hooks and wheelie suitcases can stand upright, amazing extra boot capacity.

MPG after first fill up is 43.1 MPG which compares well with first fill up of 2012 Yeti of 38.6 MPG. I am one of those people who keep a brim full to brim full check and over 51,000 miles the 2012 Yeti averaged 41.2 MPG so I have great expectations of the new one. 

The one thing I am not so sure of is the stop/start system, it is smooth and seems to work well BUT it just doesn't seem natural to me!! In a queue of traffic it is truly stop and start till eventually I turn it off. Not sure if it really makes much difference to MPG either; guess I will have to do a trial at some stage to find out. What do other people think of the stop/start system.

So overall we are very pleased with the car and look forward to the next few weeks of longer drives.

 

[nugbuv]

On 10/04/2017 at 22:40, Expatman said:

I can see that but isn't an analogue read out easier to read at a quick glance? You don't need to read any numbers you quickly learn just by the position of the 'needle' on the dial what speed you are doing. It's the same with analogue read out watches, you don't read the numbers on the dial to know the time you just know by the position of the hands what the time is.

Instant without any need to read numbers  and your eyes are off the road for milliseconds because they don't need to refocus to read small close numbers.

Just a comment on the 'read small close numbers, of Expatman's post.

 

I have had my Yeti recoded so mph shows on the Maxdot...the digits are big, clear and easy to read. They are a much larger font size than the default kph read-out.

 

[Robjon]

Happy to add my comments too, but firstly I must thank Expatman for his help and advice in my attempt to secure 16" wheels on an SE Drive.  However, mine was already built and in the UK at the time of order and hence came with 17" wheels.  Despite the 17" wheels, the ride is both quieter and smoother than my Roomster and the driving position is noticeably more comfortable.

 

I, too wanted to get hold of a classic Yeti before it was replaced by a larger SUV clone.  I chose the spare wheel option, which as Expatman states does take up a lot of boot space.  However, I still have the compressor and goo can from my Roomster if I ever need more space.  I miss the under-seat storage and glass roof of the Roomster and there is less rear-seat knee room in the Yeti, but these are minor details compared with the overall Yeti experience.

 

The 1.2 engine and DSG seem even quieter and smoother than my Roomster and although the stop/start system works well, I generally switch it off.  I found the auto-dimming rear view mirror something of a revelation; until now, I never thought I needed one!

 

I have owned two Roomsters and until now, considered them by some margin the best cars I have ever owned.  That accolade now goes to my Yeti.