New Yeti owner from Isle of Man

[muppix]

Hey Gang!

 

A quick introduction from an occasional lurker and new Yeti owner. I’m sitting on the ferry from Belfast to Douglas, having picked up a 2016 1.4 TSI L+K to serve as a second car back home on the Isle of Man. I’ll start with a couple of words on how I got here...

 

My original object of desire was a Defender 90; rugged, off-road capable, and possibly even iconic, but £25k only buys you something with already many miles and probably some rust. Driving comfort is on par with something made by David Brown and no, I’m not thinking of Aston Martin, though the fuel economy is just as laughable. The final nail in that dream’s coffin was struck when I saw the road tax - £673 per year is too much for a car, especially one that will only get occasional use carting sweaty bodies and mountain bikes up a muddy hill.

 

A quick search for other small 4x4 vehicles of character led me to Suzuki’s Jimny, and damn if that new model isn’t cute as a button! But again my enthusiasm was to be curbed; the waiting lists on launch last year went from 12 months to 18, then dealers stopped taking orders altogether, and are now selling off their demonstrators at frankly ridiculous profits. I drove one in Liverpool 2 days ago that was up for £22k - not bad for a 5,000 mile car with a list price of £19k new. Was nice though. The only thing I’d change would be to add another gear, as 60mph in 5th was already too noisy. Poor little Jimny also had a habit of wandering about it’s lane on the motorway as though it’s had 2 pints for lunch, but we don’t have motorways on the Island so that’s fine by me. However, the waiting list for a new one was as much over the top as the price being charged for the ex-demo, so I shelved that idea too, at least for the time being.

 

What next for a small 4x4? The terms ‘SUV’ and ‘crossover’ for me evoke saturated outdoorsy images of dribbly kids and perpetually shedding Spaniels, neither of which appeal very much to this grumpy old sod. Plus they all look the same! Deemed attractive in the same formulaic way that ‘celebrities’ earn the description, these modern sheds remind me of nothing so much as hollow-cheeked fake-tanned Love Island rejects - cover up the logo and you’d be hard pushed to tell a Kashcow from a Solero, their androgynous nonsense names muddying the waters as much as their ludicrous post-Botox bodylines. No ta.

 

Then I remembered the Yeti, and one by one the boxes started ticking themselves; versatile, roomy, wipe-clean, unpretentious, unassuming, and enough off-road ability to deal with the limited unpaved stuff I’ve access to. Tick, tick, and tick. I picked up a one owner L+K with fewer than 10,000 miles on the clock for £10k less than a Defender that would probably be broken already. It drives superbly, looks like it’s barely been used, and damn it if I haven’t got the biggest grin this side of Cheshire.

 

Once I’ve got it registered and taxed (we do things our own way on the Isle of Man) I’ll need to focus on a couple of things - and to that end I'll now wander off the the appropriate forum for some light research. See y'all around!

[Oldmansomerset]

A warm welcome to the Forum !  A great story and hope your decision pays dividends.  Happy memories of the TT 1963 and training flights in and out of Ronaldsway.