UKC

Love our old X Trail but time to trade it in soon.

The Yeti looks very nice although Ive not had a chance to drive one yet.

Main difference I can see is that X Trail still has voluminous load carrying compared to Yeti.

Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

Cheers

David

In reply to David Hooper: Get the X Trail! It has four wheel hubs which detach and run down the road like maddened dogs! Fantastic.

In reply to David Hooper:
youtube.com/watch?v=pFD6SA4dftk&

Seriously, it's a must buy.

In reply to Gunboat_Diplomat:
No question, a Nissan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKO-tZGuFDg&feature=related

In reply to David Hooper: quick bump for those reading at work...thankyou

In reply to David Hooper: I bought a Yeti last year. It's great to drive and very well built - it is a VW-Audi Group car, after all. The stock low-profile tyres were rubbish in the snow (8"-12" up here in December, so not just a dusting) but on winter tyres nothing could stop it.

It's a smaller car than the X Trail so will never have the load-swallowing capacity of the bigger vehicle. Depending on how many people you need to carry, the flexible rear seating configuration may give you what you need. They are rumoured to be bringing out a 'combi' version some time which would have a slightly longer wheel base (by about 20cm if the rumours are correct) and a bigger boot.

As standard the Yeti comes with a bottle of tyre sealant and a compressor to fix punctures. No good for a something like a major slash in the sidewall but then the idea is that you call out Skoda Assistance (actually the RAC I think). Depending on where you live and where you plan to go, you might want to opt for the spare wheel. That reduces the available boot space, although there is useful storage space in the polystyrene boxes which fit around the spare to make the boot floor level. It also brings the boot floor up to the level of the rear sill which actually makes loading easier.

My previous car was a Subaru Impreza which was disappointingly poor at load carrying for a mid-size hatchback. I'd originally been thinking about getting an Octavia Estate which has a huge boot but the test drive was a little underwhelming. The dealer had a Yeti demonstator in and let me take that out as well, and I was 99% sold. I did haver about the boot, especially since I knew that I wanted the spare wheel, but I eventually decided that if I'd coped with the Scooby for ten years and only occasioanlly found the boot just that little bit too small then I could manage with the Yeti. I've since discovered that all the random crap that used to scull around in the Scooby's boot packs neatly away in the storage space around the Yeti's spare, so I actually have the whole boot available for real stuff. The general feedback from Yeti owners is that you have to think differently about loading the Yeti boot to get the best from it eg think height rather than floor area so, for example, it's best to put rucksacks in standing up rather than just chucking them in lying flat. The boot is also a regular-shaped space so there's no odd-shaped corners that contribute to the stated boot capacity without actually being able to accommodate anything useful.

Bear in mind that if you want a new diesel one, the lead times are several months. This seems to be true of all VAG 2litre diesels - they just can't make the things fast enough! Because of this, second hand prices are quite strong. It's not at all uncommon to see low mileage examples priced higher than list (there is usually a lot more scope for driving the price down on a used vehicle, though).

I'd be happy to try to answer any more specific questions you have about the Yeti. You could also have a look at the Yeti forums on http://www.briskoda.net to garner more info.

In reply to Martin W: thanks martin - on the quick look i had a a yeti in the showroom i was concerned that the boot was a little small and fussy.

on the xtrail, i can fold all rear seats flat giving a massive flat unhindered platform - will easily take 2 stacked mtbs, assored bags and dogs, cvan also chuck in big logs of wood, rocks etc without fear of snagging or wreckin anything.

think im going to test drive the yeti - ive heard so many good things anits a nice looking car - in many weays similar to xtrail except for extra boot length- minor changes on 2011 xtrail are ok - I GUESS THE CAR IS SO GOOD THERE IS NOT MUCH MORE TO DO WEITH IT.

ill try them both out, but the xtrail may syill get the vote on load carrying capacity - unless testing the yeti gives an epiphany of a driving experience.

In reply to David Hooper:

Have you thought about the Ford Kuga? kind of fits betweent he two for space.

In reply to David Hooper:


You can do that in the Yeti, too. Or take all three rear seats out to give you even more room in the back. Or just slide the rear seats forward a bit if you just need a little extra room. Or take the middle seat out and move the remaining two together, or take two seats out so you can still carry a second passenger...etc etc. Ask the dealer to demonstrate the flexible seating when you go for the test drive, they usually love showing it off.

My mountain bike goes on the roof. You can get a towbar (with removable towball) fitted as a factory option and use a towbar mounted bike carrier.

In reply to fozmeister:

The Kuga boot is 360 litres with the space-saver spare, vs 322 litres for the Yeti with a full-size spare (416 litres without the spare). The Kuga maximum load capacity is 1354 litres, vs 1665 litres for the Yeti. The X-Trail's is 1773 litres so the Yeti is actually much closer to the X-Trail than the Kuga is in terms of maximum capacity. Without the spare wheel the Yeti's maximum carying capacity if 1760 litres which brings it within a gnat's of the X-Trail.

I test drove a Kuga and wasn't particularly impressed. For all the hype in the press about it being the same floorpan as the Focus and thus just as good dynamically, I found it dull and uninspiring to drive. It also suffers from the same problem as a lot of the more urban-styled SUVs in that the rear vision is compromised by a drooping roofline, plus a high waistline over the rear wheels.

In reply to David Hooper:

I wouldn't call it fussy: as I indicated above, the main boot space is rectangular, with no odd shaped nooks and crannies. It does have a couple of side storage bins, and as I said if you get the spare wheel then there's storage space in the boxes which pack out the wheel well. The boot floor actually has separate lifting lids to allow access to those spaces without having to lift the whole floor.


Did you see Top Gear's review of the Yeti on TV? They had a fire crew in full kit crawl through from tailgate to front passenger door, to demonstrate the ruggedness of the interior! (They also landed a helicopter on the roof, and lapped Donington faster than a Ferrari.) You should be able to find the whole thing on the Tube of You.

If you have the spare wheel then the boot floor is different but you can buy the non-spare-wheel boot floor from any Skoda parts department and all it takes is a few torx screws to swap them over. Some Yeti owners don't bother with the raised boot floor: if they're want to carry a spare they just carry it upright in the boot, secured to the lashing points provided (you don't want a loose spare wheel rolling around inside the car, they're heavy and can hurt people).