Replacing Yeti

[Expatman]

1 hour ago, Sad555 said:

I’m surprised members who are looking for a yeti replacement haven’t considered the Dacia duster or Suzuki swift,both these vehicles are not too expensive in comparison and offer similar higher driving position and 4wd options.

Because both cars in standard format have a miserable 3 star Euro safety rating. 

Also neither have particularly good reviews for refinement or comfort. Price is not a dominant factor for many of us looking for a replacement for our Yeti's.

[Sad555]

Your right about the Dacia but

[Expatman]

1 hour ago, Sad555 said:

Your right about the Dacia but

Yes but Sad55 was talking about the Suzuki Swift and not the Vitara.

[Sad555]

Sorry I meant the Vitara ,swift is not really comparitable to a yeti in any way😎

[Expatman]

4 hours ago, Sad555 said:

Sorry I meant the Vitara ,swift is not really comparitable to a yeti in any way😎

Vitara is an option and has many attributes and attractions, however, it is a bit ‘tinny’ - door shuts with a clank not a thud and the interior is well laden with hard plastics, but then so are the T-Cross T-Roc and too many other small competitors. Kamiq probably has best quality interior (bar the Audi Q2) but seating height is not much higher than any hatchback. 

To be honest we Yeti owners are probably looking for something that doesn’t exist, that’s why we will keep our Yeti’s until they are middle aged then settle on the least worst option! The reasoning I don’t understand is why VW have down graded the cabins of their new crossovers and eliminated many goodies even from the options - you can’t get a T-Cross with electric or leather seats, heated windscreen or soft touch dash or door cappings - they are not even on the options list. Why? I suspect VAG are trying to recoup some of the horrendous losses from the “cheating” fiasco by down speccing their cars while still charging premium rates, but then why not offer the extras at a premium and recoup the money that way. As I’ve said before Skoda cars are now more premium finished than VW at a lower price. Perhaps there is some wisdom in VAG’s policies but it escapes me.

[Paul52]

On 07/08/2020 at 09:52, Expatman said:

Because both cars in standard format have a miserable 3 star Euro safety rating. 

Also neither have particularly good reviews for refinement or comfort. Price is not a dominant factor for many of us looking for a replacement for our Yeti's.

 

The Duster has been mentioned before on this forum as a low cost alternative for the Yeti and in terms of build quality and specs I guess as in most things "you get what you pay for". But then many of us on this forum are here because we decided the Yeti offered better value for money than the Tiguan. From reviews the basic Duster seems to be very  basic by any standards but by mid range things seem to be improved to an acceptable level with more toys added at the top of the range and still at a price well below what an entry level Yeti would have been now. If I went to look at a Duster in the flesh I might revise my opinion but on paper a mid to top end Duster would at least merit consideration if I was looking to change. 

As regards the 3* safety rating this would warrant some thought but my (limited) understanding is that the rating reflects the overall safety of the car, both the occupants and anyone/thing it might come into contact with. Am I being cynical in thinking most for buyers even if safety is a consideration it's all about the safety of me and mine rather than them out there? Are the Euro safety ratings a rolling standard - for example how would the Yeti get the same rating if assessed now as it did more than 10 years ago and if not does this mean that practically a 3* Duster is no worse than a 10 year old Yeti if you were unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident? Even if the ratings are fixed over time would a 3* rating be an acceptable risk for someone doing 8,000 miles a year, mainly on local roads but not someone doing 40,000 miles a year principally on motorways and other high speed roads?

Quite a number of Yeti owners on  this forum have other vehicles that probably fall well short of a 5* safety rating, classic cars, motorcycles etc., but still use and enjoy them despite this. And finally, is this the same forum that had so much enthusiasm for Tuk-Tuks? Does a Tuk-Tuk  get even a 1 star rating?  

I shall now stop, stand back and wait for the deluge of replies telling me how I'm wrong for so many  reasons. (What would we have done without Briskoda to keep us entertained through lockdown).😊

So going back to the title of the thread, "Replacing Yeti", the answer seems to be "Another Yeti". QED.

 

 

[Ootohere]

Many reading this thread will have been getting about in vehicles and driving them since before anyone bothered about 'Safety Ratings' and if they did think about safety maybe a few decades back they started driving Volvo's and they thought they were safer while those not in a Volvo did not want one crashing into them.

Edited 8 August, 2020 by e-Roottoot

[Expatman]

6 minutes ago, Paul52 said:

 

The Duster has been mentioned before on this forum as a low cost alternative for the Yeti and in terms of build quality and specs I guess as in most things "you get what you pay for". But then many of us on this forum are here because we decided the Yeti offered better value for money than the Tiguan. From reviews the basic Duster seems to be very  basic by any standards but by mid range things seem to be improved to an acceptable level with more toys added at the top of the range and still at a price well below what an entry level Yeti would have been now. If I went to look at a Duster in the flesh I might revise my opinion but on paper a mid to top end Duster would at least merit consideration if I was looking to change. 

As regards the 3* safety rating this would warrant some thought but my (limited) understanding is that the rating reflects the overall safety of the car, both the occupants and anyone/thing it might come into contact with. Am I being cynical in thinking most for buyers even if safety is a consideration it's all about the safety of me and mine rather than them out there? Are the Euro safety ratings a rolling standard - for example how would the Yeti get the same rating if assessed now as it did more than 10 years ago and if not does this mean that practically a 3* Duster is no worse than a 10 year old Yeti if you were unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident? Even if the ratings are fixed over time would a 3* rating be an acceptable risk for someone doing 8,000 miles a year, mainly on local roads but not someone doing 40,000 miles a year principally on motorways and other high speed roads?

Quite a number of Yeti owners on  this forum have other vehicles that probably fall well short of a 5* safety rating, classic cars, motorcycles etc., but still use and enjoy them despite this. And finally, is this the same forum that had so much enthusiasm for Tuk-Tuks? Does a Tuk-Tuk  get even a 1 star rating?  

I shall now stop, stand back and wait for the deluge of replies telling me how I'm wrong for so many  reasons. (What would we have done without Briskoda to keep us entertained through lockdown).😊

So going back to the title of the thread, "Replacing Yeti", the answer seems to be "Another Yeti". QED.

 

 

You are quite right in your review of the Duster. I have been to look at one and while it has many attributes it just feels cheap and, well, a bit yesterday. As regards safety ratings I'm not sure where a Yeti would fall today BUT in 2020 why would I buy a vehicle with a 3 star rating? I wouldn't no matter who or what the vehicle was, like I wouldn't have looked at the Yeti in 2012 if it only had 3 stars. Okay I bought a new Yeti in 2017 without a "new" safety check but it was 5 star originally and I had 5 years experience of it - and couldn't find anything comparable to replace it with!

On a like for like basis the VW T-Cross is the closest replacement if only VW would have offered it with a better cabin and options.

Ford Puma anyone?

[Sad555]

Puma .looks ok but can’t fancy a 1 litre 3cylinder or even the 1.5l 3cylinder or any 3 cylinder .

[Ootohere]

The 1.0 / 1.5 Petrol / Mild Hybrid / DSG's from VW Group will do as well as the various other manufacturers 1.0-1.6 litre hybrid autos that are going to cover the forecourts /  showrooms as they all need the Low Average Emission figures.

It hardly matters if they have 3 or 4 cylinders anymore.

[Expatman]

2 hours ago, Sad555 said:

Puma .looks ok but can’t fancy a 1 litre 3cylinder or even the 1.5l 3cylinder or any 3 cylinder .

Why don't you like 3 cylinder engines? Modern 3 cylinder s are smooth and responsive while providing improved MPG.

[Merlin's Friend]

The Puma is the only one that comes near for me if I ever decide to get rid of my Yeti. Present Yeti was ToR when bought, Karoq ToR is £10,000 more now and larger than I need/want. Puma is slightly smaller than Yeti but OK for me. Maybe something else will come along. Present Yeti only just over four years old so a ways to go yet.

[Sad555]

Iam no expert but it doesn’t appear right / uneven  when 2/3 power then 1/3 power in opposing combustion strokes,usually 2,4,6,8,10,12 cylinder do vag still produce a 5 cylinder?im not saying they are no good Just it doesn’t work for me.Some 30 years ago my son had a daihatsu gtti 3cylinder and loved it ,do they still use the 3 cylinder?

Edited 8 August, 2020 by Sad555

[Expatman]

I suppose technically 3 cylinders at 120° spacing should be well balanced, and better than a 4 cylinder engine. How do the cylinders fire though?

[Merlin's Friend]

There are quite a few 3 cylinder engines about now as manufacturers try to cut emissions, the Ford Fiesta seems to do well on three. The Citigo has been around for quite a while now and is a capable motor, even four up.

 

Edited 8 August, 2020 by Merlin's Friend

[Ootohere]

Ford had to sort out the 3 cylinder engines that they co-cked up, but that is sorted now, and people got compensation or buy backs.

BMW / MINI do very well with them.

Only 1.0 N/A's were in a Citigo,

they never got the TSI as VW did for the UP!, and the Karoq, Fabia, Rapid, Scala, Kamiq & Octavia are doing OK with 1.0TSI's, and how they are with GPF's is still something that only time can tell.

Edited 8 August, 2020 by e-Roottoot

[kenfowler3966]

My wife’s Citigo makes an unusual turbine like noise when accelerating hard. Unusual to those of us that are used to 4 cylinder engines. 
It effectively half of a 6 cylinder which were renowned for smoothness.

Different but not unpleasant 

[oldstan]

If a Puma is a possible consideration for some - then maybe the forthcoming Yaris Cross would be too?

 

The Puma is 1537  high and the Toyota is 1560 high, which makes the Toyota 23 mm higher (about three quarters of an inch).

The Puma is 4207 long and the Toyota is 4180 long, which makes the Toyota 27mm shorter.

The Puma is 1805 wide and the Toyota is 1765 wide, which makes the Toyota 40mm narrower (about an inch and a half).

 

The Yeti is 1691 high by 4223 long by 1793 wide.

 

The Toyota gets a 5 year warranty instead of three years - and it's a Toyota, which, for some makes it appealing on the reliability front.

[oldstan]

OK, in view of the dearth of response to my observation above I concede it clearly wasn't a good idea to mention it. Can't get it right all the time, eh?

 

Mind you, I did mention the Kia Niro on here some time ago and the volume of replies didn't break any records BUT one of our esteemed members, who wasn't too familiar with it at the time, did eventually go and look at one and finished up buying one - and is apparently quite happy with it.

[Expatman]

56 minutes ago, oldstan said:

OK, in view of the dearth of response to my observation above I concede it clearly wasn't a good idea to mention it. Can't get it right all the time, eh?

 

Mind you, I did mention the Kia Niro on here some time ago and the volume of replies didn't break any records BUT one of our esteemed members, who wasn't too familiar with it at the time, did eventually go and look at one and finished up buying one - and is apparently quite happy with it.

Okay then Yaris Cross could be a contender as well as Puma, it will depend on cabin sizes because that’s where most of the obvious competitors fall down in comparison to the Yeti. Look forward to seeing one in the flesh - and, yes, Kia Niro is another contender and spoken highly of by owners, the PHEV version looks very interesting if your daily mileage is less than about 30 miles because then you would max the use of the electric power plant.

Edited 10 August, 2020 by Expatman

[Llanigraham]

On 10/08/2020 at 21:34, oldstan said:

OK, in view of the dearth of response to my observation above I concede it clearly wasn't a good idea to mention it. Can't get it right all the time, eh?

 

Mind you, I did mention the Kia Niro on here some time ago and the volume of replies didn't break any records BUT one of our esteemed members, who wasn't too familiar with it at the time, did eventually go and look at one and finished up buying one - and is apparently quite happy with it.

 

Indeed!.
Now done 1700 miles and very happy with it. Couple of things the Yeti is "better" at, like coming home lights and the auto lights are better, but overall it's doing everything I expected it to do.

[john999boy]

On 10/08/2020 at 21:34, oldstan said:

Mind you, I did mention the Kia Niro on here some time ago and the volume of replies didn't break any records BUT one of our esteemed members, who wasn't too familiar with it at the time, did eventually go and look at one and finished up buying one - and is apparently quite happy with it.

@Llanigraham had me confused as his profile still shows the Yeti!

I must have missed a write up about the new car - unless there’s not been one yet?

[awfabia]

As none of the others stood out and had all of the features we wanted on a plug-in hybrid we went "safe" and bought the latest Yeti SE L Drive DSG we could find. I'll do a separate post with my findings.

[Mcbean]

I read this thread with Interest - My wife has a new high spec 2008 Peugeot which is on a PCP so we dont own it - consequently we use it for most of the journeys together - my 15 Black Edition Yeti 4WD however has low mileage and is used when we need two cars - at the weekend i did 400 odd miles in the new Pug and its full of features , screens and a flash dash - good on fuel turned 58 mpg over the trip with mixed roads -

 

But last night i used the Yeti to travel only 15 miles , what can i say - what a far superior driving experience - better visibility , smoother , more accurate steering , logical dash  and Music system - like an old shoe - so much better - i only let her drive the Yeti once which she liked but this new car is very poor - it got a load of awards - backwards step - Yetis rock !   

[Carlodiesel]

 Well I must admit, when it comes time to replace the Yeti, I will be off to look at the Toyota Yaris Cross. And, the Volvo XC40.

But it wont be this year. 

So far since March only used a tank & a half of fuel.

But not full EV, maybe a hybrid.

Thinking how things are going with finances, I am sure the Gov, will be putting the boot in with whatever we go for.

So, maybe the Yeti will stay for some time to come.