[shankar.balan]

Hey

Thats a good one! Welcome to the Yeti owners bunch here. It is indeed a lovely car and I wish you great times in it.
Im glad that those boys at Vinayak helped you out. Hope they were kind with the discounts etc.
Take care
Cheers
SB

Originally Posted by BaldEagle

Hi folks, am a new member of TBHP but I've been following the Yeti threads for over a year - stalwarts like Sushil, Pramod, Behemoth, Shankar Balan etc. I've been in the market for new wheels for over eight months. The Yeti was my emotional pick right from the beginning but the rational part (too much money, service issues, rear seat comfort etc) kept me from taking the plunge. I evaluated everything from the Ertiga to the Jazz to the Duster. Finally, spurred on mainly by the reviews and comments on this forum and a couple of decisively good test drives I walked in to Vinayak Auto, quoted Shankar's name (though I've never met or corresponded with him) and came out the proud owner of an Aqua Mist Elegance 4x4.

This long drawn out post is just to thank all of you for sharing your experiences, views and feedback. It allowed me to take a heart over mind decision with eyes wide open.

Btw, received great service at Vinayak. Shankar's mention worked wonders with Hemanth, the GM, who was extremely responsive. Chetan and Anand from the dealer finance team were also excellent.

Now look forward to many fulfilling miles with the little beast. Thanks again

[BaldEagle]

Thanks, Shankar. Got over two lakhs off. Hemanth treats "Shankar's references" quite well I believe. Truly, this is a great service you've provided to that small fraction of humanity interested in owning a Yeti. I've been seeing many more on the roads in Bangalore. Quite sure most of them would have some connection back to this forum and your encouragement.

Warm regards

[twinoctober]

Congrats Bald eagle on your new acquisition .
Many many miles of safe driving

cheers

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by BaldEagle

This long drawn out post is just to thank all of you for sharing your experiences, views and feedback. It allowed me to take a heart over mind decision with eyes wide open.

+1 to that - very close to picking up a Mato Brown Elegance, awaiting the result of price negotiations over email after waiting for the Storme that never showed up and the Thar that nobody wants to sell.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by BaldEagle

Thanks, Shankar. Got over two lakhs off. Hemanth treats "Shankar's references" quite well I believe. Truly, this is a great service you've provided to that small fraction of humanity interested in owning a Yeti. I've been seeing many more on the roads in Bangalore. Quite sure most of them would have some connection back to this forum and your encouragement.

Warm regards

No worries Mate.
Enjoy!
Happy to help anytime.

[car.lover]

Thanks everyone for all the info on the Yeti in this thread...I am in a bit of a dilemna on what car to buy for my wife - she drives a Civic currently but we are getting a new dog and wanted something that she can drive around the city easily but also carry the kids, stuff and the dog (preferably three compartments).
Shankar - I see your profile snap has a handsome German Shepherd - do you use your Yeti to take the dog with you?

Currently evaluating Duster, Ertiga and Yeti - 3 compartments and ease of driving in the City are of primary importance

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by car.lover

Thanks everyone for all the info on the Yeti in this thread...I am in a bit of a dilemna on what car to buy for my wife - she drives a Civic currently but we are getting a new dog and wanted something that she can drive around the city easily but also carry the kids, stuff and the dog (preferably three compartments).
Shankar - I see your profile snap has a handsome German Shepherd - do you use your Yeti to take the dog with you?

Currently evaluating Duster, Ertiga and Yeti - 3 compartments and ease of driving in the City are of primary importance

Incidentally, I also have a dog (Golden Labrador, now 7 years old) and had preferred the Yeti due to the need to accommodate him in the boot. He is perfectly comfortable in the boot (he stands at 34 inch tall and there is around 3 inch clearance above his head).
The only challenge that we face is getting him into the boot - he wants to sit on the seat more and put his head out the window! Also he has a little difficulty in getting in and we have to fold the rear seat down so that he can climb (with a little push from us).
The other part is the hair everywhere and the Yeti needs a thorough brushing after every trip!


Regards,
Behemoth

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by car.lover

Currently evaluating Duster, Ertiga and Yeti - 3 compartments and ease of driving in the City are of primary importance

All the 3 vehicles have the 3 virtues you are looking for, however:

1. Ertiga:- Purely built to a cost people mover. Will not offer you the comfort, feel or peppiness the other two offer. Moreover, it is slightly bigger than the other two making it that slight bit cumbersome. And soon, you ll see scores of Ertigas as cabs, in the NCR.

2. Duster:- If you are on a budget, this suits you, but since you are already a Civic owner, it would a downgrade and you would feel the difference in the cabin, the transmission quality and other areas.

3. Yeti:- Suits you to a 'T'. Shankar regularly carries one of his dogs in the rear compartment, alongwith one passenger and himself at the driving seat is what I know.

Hope this helps.

[car.lover]

Thanks Devdath, thanks Behemoth...

Need to convince wifey about the Yeti now, she is a bit put off by the quirky looks. Behemoth - your Civic+Yeti comparo will help...where in Gurgaon did you buy the Yeti? Any references?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by car.lover

Thanks Devdath, thanks Behemoth...

Need to convince wifey about the Yeti now, she is a bit put off by the quirky looks. Behemoth - your Civic+Yeti comparo will help...where in Gurgaon did you buy the Yeti? Any references?

There are two showrooms in Gurgaon - Giriraj (near 32nd Milestone) and Jai Auto (DLF city court), but in reality, both are owned by the same company JSB auto, which also has other dealerships in Delhi.
I bought mine from Giriraj and there is a guy called Kaushal Tyagi there who heads corporate sales - you can get in touch with him and give my reference (Sameer Dass). We bought both our Yeti and Laura too through him.

All the best!

Regards,
Behemoth

[shankar.balan]

I had three Dogs - one, Wolf/Simba, a large and handsome fellow who passed on about 9 days ago aged ten.

The others who are still with me is the pretty little girl in the pic - Cassie who is five and Daisy my large, lovely and friendly Labrador who is 8.

Yes I have taken all three in the Yeti but they could never fit in together easily so it was typically one or two max at a time. Usually to the vet and back.

For a family with one dog, the Yeti is perfect.
For me, the Yeti is perfect anyway.

But to take all my three dogs at the same time, my Bolero and later, my Scorpio were more spacious. However, the occasions when all need to go at the same time, are rare and hence the choice of the Yeti.

Now Poor Wolf is no more with us and I am not going to get another chap right now. So for 2 dogs at a pinch the Yeti is cool.

Yes the Yeti needs a thorough brushing , cleaning and seat polishing once the dog(s) have been in and out. Yes also to the fact that when the dog is fit as a fiddle he/ she can leap into the dicky area easily. But when he/ she gets older and infirm one will have to help so I used to lift Wolf into the car in his later days. Poor chap. I also find that the dogs can easily sit in the dicky with the seats up. But I like putting two seats down and placing a big thick cloth over them so that the dog(s) can peer out the window - they like doing that and I don't mind at all. I have a high quality, tough boot liner plus a couple of Yoga mats spread out too, so that the dogs have a soft surface to sit on.


It is a "metrosexual" car as someone else on the Forum - possibly NilanjanRay or someone, says. Hence, by extension of the usage, you and your wife can drive it about. It is a darned good car and well worth the money one spends to acquire it.

It is one of the few vehicles of an International Quality Standard that is being sold in India at roughly the same price as it is in the International markets.
For example it costs about 23000-25000 pounds in the UK which equates to about 20 odd lacs in India, which is precisely the price one is paying for it here (Bangalore).

Buy it and enjoy it like some of us others on the Forum have done and are doing!

Cheers!

Originally Posted by car.lover

Thanks everyone for all the info on the Yeti in this thread...I am in a bit of a dilemna on what car to buy for my wife - she drives a Civic currently but we are getting a new dog and wanted something that she can drive around the city easily but also carry the kids, stuff and the dog (preferably three compartments).
Shankar - I see your profile snap has a handsome German Shepherd - do you use your Yeti to take the dog with you?

Currently evaluating Duster, Ertiga and Yeti - 3 compartments and ease of driving in the City are of primary importance

[fiorano88]

Originally Posted by car.lover

Thanks everyone for all the info on the Yeti in this thread...I am in a bit of a dilemna on what car to buy for my wife - she drives a Civic currently but we are getting a new dog and wanted something that she can drive around the city easily but also carry the kids, stuff and the dog (preferably three compartments).
Shankar - I see your profile snap has a handsome German Shepherd - do you use your Yeti to take the dog with you?

Currently evaluating Duster, Ertiga and Yeti - 3 compartments and ease of driving in the City are of primary importance

well although the yeti is a brilliant car all round and ive been having a blast driving it, i do face a problem everytime i have to take my dog in it.
as once you fold down/remove the seats the floor becomes multi-leveled and thus i've had to make a removable platform sort of a thingy of board to level the floor once we put a mattress on it.
also since my dog is really heavy and huge(Neopoliton Mastiff) the height of the boot also poses a problem and i always have to park the car on a ramp so that the level decreases somewhat.
apart from this i feel this is the most complete car in the family by far.
hope it helps

[abbey4u]

Originally Posted by car.lover

Thanks Devdath, thanks Behemoth...

Need to convince wifey about the Yeti now, she is a bit put off by the quirky looks. Behemoth - your Civic+Yeti comparo will help...where in Gurgaon did you buy the Yeti? Any references?

Yeti is best suited for your needs. You can also try nawab, they offered me the best discount in whole of NCR. PM me for contact info

[shankar.balan]

I appreciate that point.
I simply fold down the seats one level. I do not remove the seats nor fold them away to the next level where they are resting against the back of the front seats, thereby causing that split level problem.

Once the seats are folded down one level, then the boot suddenly becomes huge and extends all the way pretty much till the seat backs of the front seats. I do this when I am going for golf too so that I can happily accommodate my fat golf bag, trolley and all the other general paraphernalia as well, in the vehicle.

When taking the dog(s) out, I cover the folded down portion of the rear seat with a yoga mat plus good thick cotton sheet so that the dogs can sit or lie down in peace. The one irritant for them, is the cup holders in the centre of the rear seat, when folded down. So a good way to get around that is to spread a Yoga mat on the seat backs once they are folded and then lay out the thick cotton sheet on top of that.

The Yoga mat prevents the dog from accidentally sticking his or her paw into the cup holder and possibly hurting himself or herself. The thick sheet prevents the car from getting too dirty by providing a ready receptacle for hair and so on.

Whatever said and done, the car does require a thorough vaccuum clean once the dogs have been in and out.

If you have only one car, like me, the Yeti is about the best of both worlds.

If you have more than one car, then I guess you can go for a big fella like a Fortuner for those out of station jaunts and keep a city runabout for daily use.

Me, I don't want the irritation, expense, under-utilization and higher carbon footprint of two cars.

Am more than happy with just the one and the Yeti suits us perfectly well given all that we do with it and our generally highly outdoorsy, active lifestyle.

Originally Posted by fiorano88

well although the yeti is a brilliant car all round and ive been having a blast driving it, i do face a problem everytime i have to take my dog in it.
as once you fold down/remove the seats the floor becomes multi-leveled and thus i've had to make a removable platform sort of a thingy of board to level the floor once we put a mattress on it.
also since my dog is really heavy and huge(Neopoliton Mastiff) the height of the boot also poses a problem and i always have to park the car on a ramp so that the level decreases somewhat.
apart from this i feel this is the most complete car in the family by far.
hope it helps

[faraz]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Hi.

I don't think the Laura has the Haldex at all. Or am I wrong?

I am not an expert on this and would need to research the same.

Else, would be really happy for clarifications from experts here on the Forum.

I would certainly like to know a real estimate of the costs of a Haldex Clutch replacement as also a change of its plates/ facing etc.

All right friends, this gets interesting. Apparently there is a normal clutch (cost 35-40 K to replace), there is a haldex clutch (78 K to replace; labour+parts), and then there is a haldex gear box , for which currently I don't have any info.

Faraz