In an idle moment (my wife tries to stop me having these but isn't always successful) I was wondering whether there are any members of the club left, other than myself and ;possibly Brijo? Some original members have moved on to new (and possibly better?) things, there's a chance some of the cars have gone to the scrapyard in the sky and some of thir current owners may not even realise they own something a little bit different, a tiny part of Skoda history perhaps? And some of the newer members of the forum may be wondering what I'm going on about. I would explain but the original members of the club will know it's not a can of worms to open lightly  

I think it sufficiently close to the event that I can say Merry Xmas to the forum, a Xmas I shall be sharing with my 11 year old Yeti as I hope to do for several more years.

Hi Paul. I had hoped to become a member of the club when I put a deposit on a Yeti Drive in 2017. I was immensely grateful to @Expatman for his assistance in my attempt to secure membership of the club but sadly, I ordered too late for this to be possible. I had the choice of a totally standard Yeti Drive or no Yeti at all.

 

Merry Xmas to you and to the Forum.  And like you, I hope to share Xmases with my Yeti for many more years to come.

As one of the early members of the club my final Yeti was a 2017 1.2 DSG SE L Drive, the run-out model with all the bells & whistles. One of the best cars I have owned in my nearly 60 years of motoring and I was reluctant to get rid of it. In fact took me best part of a year to find a suitable replacement. Finally traded it in for the new Mini Countryman, traded rather than sold privately because the MINI dealer was more than happy to give me well above WBAC, and similar, price quotes  because he told me that Yetis always sold very quickly for a good price - and mine was in excellent condition and dealer maintained from new. Why the need to change? Well, getting older so wife needed something a bit more comfortable, bearing in mind the Yeti was designed in the 2000’s it is still competitive but modern cars have moved on and provide more comfort, refinement and, performance as well as as modern tech. I was a bit concerned about getting to grips with modern tech but found I quickly adapted and the horror stories of, for example, lane guidance steering you into hedges etc. was - just stories! 

The new Countryman meets all modern criteria but, like the Yeti, is a bit ‘left field’ compared with run of the mill alternatives from VW, Kia etc. In fact the Countryman has exceeded expectations in the way it drives, comfort and economy, even though less than 1,500 miles it is returning nearly 46 MPG (on a brim full to brim full basis) and if anything like the Yeti that will only get better with a few more miles.

I still drop into this forum regularly to see how everyone is getting on and without doubt the Yeti forum is the most interesting and informative forum out there.

On 11/12/2024 at 17:27, Paul52 said:

I was wondering whether there are any members of the club left, other than myself and ;possibly Brijo?

Possibly? Certainly, Paul52! Still here, with those prized 16" Moons still rolling - though with rather lower mileages nowadays. My first Yeti - the 2 ltr diesel 4x4 - was the second in our locality in 2012 (the first is still running, though moved to another area); there are now at least six In the village, and at MOT recently my current car was one of three Yetis to go through the test at the local indie that day.  The AA, and then the local tyre firm, dealt with a long screw back in the summer, and a dead front fog light was fixed at MOT service (and its 12 year old pair done at the same time).  I switched to E5 petrol in the summer and I'll be doing my end-of-year sums this holiday to see what difference that's made to consumption (likely an improvement). 

It's probable rather than possible that the Yeti will be my last car. Overall it's been my best (of thirteen), and best as a 'driver's car' - just ahead of a Triumph Herald after the magical transformation of - wow! - radial tyres. We don't ask much of her really, except to start when required and get us where we want (or need) to be.  And it has been proved (on paper) that using a taxi would be far cheaper now, But it will be nice to go out on a high.

But not just yet, please, I'm still enjoying it! 

 

PS I'll try to remember to dig out the old file over Christmas and perhaps try to check on all the members (were we twelve?) of the Yeti Special Build Club.  I'm still in touch with a couple.

Brijo - I did a similar test between E10 ands E5 petrol on my Yeti and found that the MPG improved with E5 so that it about balanced the extra cost per litre. However, the Yeti ran a lot better on E5, smoother and greater power on gradients, just nicer to drive and be in so I only used E5 after the test.

Interested to read your findings.

Well Brian, when you decide it is time to give up being behind the wheel it will be nice to know you stopped with memories of a great car that has served you well rather than a lemon you wish you had never set eyes on - yes, Volvo V50, you know who you are....

I think I might have to try the E5 experiment as I always fill brim-to-brim and have a record going back to May 2013.Three or four tank fuls should be enough to show any difference.

On a related matter, the consumption 1 figure is of little real value other than trying to get a figure of 50.0 or better after a bit of a run before turning off the engine but the more useful Consumption 2 readout was showing 41.7 mpg; I believe this is the calculated fuel usage or the past 10,000 miles rather than from new, although where I got that idea from I don't know. Out of curiousity I looked back at my records for the this May to November and these gave an average of 43.3mpg. Allowing for better fuel consumption in the summer than the winter it seems the Consumption 2 figure is pretty accurate for most purposes. 

A friend turned up in his new company car, a blue Tesla. Apparently you don't have to have white but anything else costs an extra grand! His children having demonstrated the "fart" function, how you can adjust the front passenger seat from the rear seats with a smartphone and that the in car audio has a karaoke mode his wife told me before she drives off in it she has to sit and input all the settings, such as mirror adjustments, air temperature, audio settings and a few other things I now don't recall before she will take to the road because she's worried about taking her eyes off the road to tap at a large large screen to make any adjustments. I can see her point and having had touch screens in laptops and phones for a few years now my feeling is that as they get older they become a bit more tempremental, which can't bode well for the future. ("Hello, I'd like a new TV-thingy for my eight year old Tesla". "Certainly sir, just sit over there and fit the defibrillator pads whilst I get you a price"). 

I still find it mad that legislators allow a) A big central touchscreen out of your eyeline for the road; b) More and more functions to be put in menus on them.

 

I think Audi got the ergonomics right with the MMI wheel then Virtual Cockpit combined with steering wheel controls. 

 

Even they have given in now to automotive trends, but they are at least trying to blend the screen into a 'dashboard' rather than lobbing a tablet screen at it and seeing where it sticks.

 

Re white Teslas, there's an 'end of the world' type drama on Netflix with a scene where hundreds of white self driving Teslas are piling into each other on a US highway. Maybe it's a metaphor for a disposable society...?!

Edited 15 December, 20241 yr by Prezafab

Hi All, 

 

this is perhaps only alive discussion on Yeti  I still have one and its runs like a gem. 

 

On a separate note around MOds; Has any one had a look at the Aliexpress after market virtual cockpits? they do have them for VW Golf IV & V (which is same platform as Yeti) and wondering if anyone has attempted to fit them? I have creatyed a thread but havent got much inputs. 

 

PS: those aftermarket seems to be clever tricks to use/retain the same circuit as original instrument cluster but put a digital display on top  

 

would love to hear comments and remarks and useful tips   below is the link to thread with more info,