Elegance 1.8 TSI 4x4 5dr Hatchback

The most complete car Ive ever owned.

This is simply the most complete and flexible car Ive ever owned! Its been absolutely 100% reliable (as have the last two Skoda Ive also owned) and is a genuine joy to drive each and every time. Its the perfect allround/family car for me. Ive so far covered just over 14,500 miles, 0ver 6500 of which have been done on cross european trips (Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg). This fact alone shows how much myself and the family like the Yeti as we've never before taken our car out of the UK!

My car has every option available except the factory tow bar preperation. The single greatest option is the large panoramic glass roof. Simply brilliant on hot days and great for flooding the interior in natural light throughout the rest of the year. With the roof blind in the closed position, the interior gets no hotter than a standard Yeti with a normal tin roof. Also of note it the climate control; its exceptionally effective even when taking it to Spain last August where the external temperatures were in excess of 40 degrees. Our four year old didnt complain once and she gets her own double vent controls to the rear for more direct cooling anyway.

I am also really into my audio so specifying the Columbus Sat nav (with 30gb hard drive for storing music on and a high quality screen for watching DVD's) as well as the factory 12 speaker upgrade (which includes a digital amplifier placed under the passenger seat) was a great decision. Its not as good as the very best optional audio upgrades in other car marques that use Dynaudio, B&W, Alpine etc but it is very much worth the small upgrade price and provides a sound of better depth, clarity and seperation than the standard 'Bolero' head unit with the standard 8 speakers.

The local dealer is very good and has just recently completed the first service for under £100. Tax is £220 per year. In general vfm terms, its around 5.5k less than the equivalent Tiguan yet has more equipment as standard. In my opinion its also better built with a far nicer quality interior; specifically the plastics used on the dashboard and the dashboard design. The Tiguan does however have a slightly bigger boot but looses out on the brilliantly flexible rear seats that can be slid back and forth, flipped forward or totally removed. They can also be moved sideways if the central seating section is removed allowing lots of elbow room for up to two rear seat passengers. The flexibility of this set up is staggering.

The boot is a decent shape and size (you loose a good few litres of boot depth though when you specify the spare tyre option as I have) and in terms of thoughtfulness of design; its exceptional! Last weekend, it did three trips bringing 108 decking boards back from the local Wickes. Back seats removed totally (a two minute job per seat, the outer two, probably weigh around 20kg each, the centre one slightly less), a pair of solid anchor points either side of the boot area and one each side of the car, low down, between the front and back seat area and the decking wasnt going anywhere! Well, not at least anywhere that I didnt want it to go!

In terms of chassis setup, Skoda have judged it perfectly (and usually I tend not to use such throw away statements so easily!) No other car Ive previously owned (Fiesta's, Focus's, Civics, Octavia MK1 and Mk 2's etc) has the balance of ride comfort and handling so well perfected. The ride quality (specifically the exceptional damping) is from a class above. The last big journey we did in the car was around 3,600 miles. This was split over four weeks and the return leg had me sat behind the wheel for over 22 hours over the course of two days. I arrived home feeling totally fresh with no sign of an ache anywhere! The interior is a very nice place to be. Ergonomics are first class (although you have to fiddle with the seat position to enable a clear and full view of the dashboard dials if you are of a certain height/shape).

I also took the family to see friends in Germany last year. A full days drive there and then a visit to the wonderful Swiss Alps towards the end of our stay with them. The 4x4 system coped absolutely brilliantly (winter tyres were fitted however) with anything that mother nature threw at it. It felt unstoppable and extremely sure footed in the worst snow conditions imaginable.

The car has also been on to numerous sandy and pebble beaches in Spain, got us through a small flood/landslide on a mountain road in Altea after a night of storms (which most vehicles had to give up on!) and sat comfortably and securely on the autobahn at over 120mph. It'll whip a Golf GTi Mk5 off the lights in damp weather and regulalry return over 40mpg when cruising. The highest Ive seen has been 48mpg at a gentle 60mph! Ive also taken it on an off road course with Jeep owning friends and it didnt embarrass me in any way! Oh and a little mundane perhaps but it also copes very well with the daily commute and weekly shop! Hence why I strongly believe that this car is by some margin, the most complete all rounder Ive ever owned.

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