[davidswiss]

Hello group. I'm considering buying a new or nearly new 4x4 2.0 diesel.However, I will be using the car in Europe a lot & certainly in Winter in the alps. I'm dubious about the value of a tyre repair kitif a puncture occurs on a snow covered pass & prefer a full size spare. If I read the info. right this means a massive loss in useable boot space as well asadded costfor a different boot floor & the wheel itself.
Do any members have any ideas/ experiences that could help me decide which way to go ?

 

[RickT]

My opinion;I have added the spare wheelkit to mine so I would recommendit regardles of boot space.
Its a gamble you may not need it but if you do how glad will you be? You are doing a lot of traveling and catching ferries, You can always change a wheel but not always fix a puncture, You can leave a wheel at tyre garageand while you do some local touring thenpick it up later.
My two pence.

 

[SnowGood]

DavidswissThe spare that is fitted to the Yeti is not a full size wheel, rather a 16 inch "spacesaver" limited in speed and mileage when used. The false floor and fittings are designed for this size and I suspect a fullsize 17 inch wheel would not fit with this. I'd guess the boot floor is raised by at leastc6 inches (15cms) to accomodate the space saver. If it wasn't so dark and miserable out there I'd go and measure for you.

Like many others I am much happier to have a spare wheel rather than the can of gunk and a compressor and certainly wouldn't fancy using it in Alpine conditions, but in order to achieve higherfuel economyratings most manufacturers arejust offereingthe tyre repair kit or run flats.

 

[The Hood]

As above I also prefer to have a spare wheel.
Although it is smaller than those fitted to the car it is not strictly a space saver. From memory (raining outside) it is a 195/60/16 H rated tyre on an Audisteel wheel. The tyre rated as H has a maximum speed of 130mph which is greater than the car itself. The wheel is marked in the same way as a conventional space saver with a lower speed limit due to it being a different size to the others, rather than because it is an inferior quality tyre. It is actually larger than those fitted to my wifes car
If you are buying new it is MUCH cheaper to order it with the car, I think mine cost around £84 including VAT. That includes all the storage boxes and false floor, along the the jack etc. The compresor, gunk tin and one of the storage nets are removed.

You could always buy a compressor and can of gunk (eBAY) which would give you the option of both worlds if you needed the maximum amount of boot space enabling you to remove the spare wheel.

My brother in law lives in Germany and recently bought a golf, he did not get a spare wheel or even a wheel brace!

 

[davidswiss]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm pretty set on the spare but as I orginally said am concerned that this will mean a raised boot floor which meanslot less boot space &a floor at two levels when the back seats are down & it needs to take a big load.What's been your experience ?

 

[Llanigraham]

It does not mean a lot less boot space!
It raises the main boot area to a level just below the sill height, so I reckon about 4".

Yes it does mean you get a "step" if you drop the rear seats, but how often are you going to do that?

 

[davidswiss]

It does not mean a lot less boot space!
It raises the main boot area to a level just below the sill height, so I reckon about 4".

Yes it does mean you get a "step" if you drop the rear seats, but how often are you going to do that?

Actually I'd be dropping the rear seats quite often. It's one of the reasons we're getting a slightly larger car. WE carry a lot of firewood, small items of furniture & enourmous amounts of luggage whenever wecross Europe,I don't knowwhy it just weems to work out that way.

 

[KeithW]

True it raises the boot floor but it makes it much easier to load and unload as you don't have to lift the items to get them over the lip.Yes there is a two level boot if the rear seats are removed but I don't find that an issue.


I ordered the spare with my Yeti asI'd much rather have a spare than a can of gunk. On a previous car I had a puncture which blew out a large hole in the side of the tyre. No way would a can of gunk fix that.



Keith

 

[The Hood]

I bought a pair of roof rails and a roof box on ebay but have not needed to use them yet. We went to germany for christmas and took a complete christmas dinner with us, complete with turkey, veg, puddings, and the pots and pans to cook it. That was in addition to all the normal clothing and presents. Admitidly there was only two of us and the back seats were loaded but there was room for more,you will be suprised how much stuff you can get in if you stack upwards. If you are going to carry furniture it may be worth checking the distance between the wheel arches.

 

[SnowGood]

If by "dropping the rear seats" you mean folding the back rests forward then with the raised floor with a spare means thatthe floor isat the same level as the folded seat back (they don't fold completely flat) so loading long or heavier objects is easier. Only if you tumble the seats forward is there any drop at the rear edge of the boot floor.
Like you I was concerned about boot capacity when buying a Yeti, having previously owned a VW Touran,but it was the university runs rather then theCresta Run that was on my mind. This January was the first time I have had to do the run in the Yetias my daughter spent the first half of this academic year in Canada, andwe managed to get all the essentials (and I am talking about a girl here so that's a lot)and three adults in for the trip so I am more confident about the capacity being good enough.

 

[The Hood]

I was concerned about boot capacity when buying a Yeti, having previously owned a VW Touran,but it was the university runs rather then theCresta Run that was on my mind. This January was the first time I have had to do the run in the Yetias my daughter spent the first half of this academic year in Canada, andwe managed to get all the essentials (and I am talking about a girl here so that's a lot)and three adults in for the trip so I am more confident about the capacity being good enough.
[/QUOTE]

I remember your concerns when you first posted on the Forum, I am glad it has worked out for you.

Guess what, I actually got "flashed" by a black Yeti last Friday, the first time ever!

 

[igg]

I have a spare wheel, ordered and supplied from new. Our Yeti spends a fair bit of it's waking hours towing a caravan. I don't know how much real difference the raised floor makes, but it doesn't stop us piling all sorts of gear in the boot, so keeping the 'van weight down. My last puncture was 5-6 years ago ( touch wood ) in our last car, in a busy town in the south of France with caravan in tow. A screw had penetrated the tread area, but somehow torn a biggish hole which I think gunge and compressor would have failed to fix. Without a spare we would have been somewhat snookered.

My view is , if you drive far from home, a spare is highly desirable..

 

[Yeti-2013]

My Yeti was delivered without spare, cost me £250 for wheel, jack etc and floor. But, although it decreases the size of the boot, you can always side the rear seats forward about 6" to increase boot size, and it still leaves better legroom in the back than a lot of hatchbacks (and Audi A4's)

 

[davidswiss]

Like you I was concerned about boot capacity when buying a Yeti, having previously owned a VW Touran,but it was the university runs rather then theCresta Run that was on my mind. This January was the first time I have had to do the run in the Yetias my daughter spent the first half of this academic year in Canada, andwe managed to get all the essentials (and I am talking about a girl here so that's a lot)and three adults in for the trip so I am more confident about the capacity being good enough.
[/QUOTE]

That is good feedback, thanks & have you tried the cresta ?

 

[SnowGood]

No didn't look at the Cresta. Looked at Hyundai ix20 and Golf Plus as similar size and Kia Sportage as bigger. My son has a Quahqai and that has a decent size boot.

I took out the rear two folding seats from the (7 seat) Touran and fitted a spare wheel and false floor which gave a very useful carrying capacity. Unlike the Yeti fitting the spare increased the boot space as it lowered the boot floor from when the rear seats are fitted.

 

[frglee]

My view is , if you drive far from home, a spare is highly desirable..

Other people have said this but I think it's also desirable when you are not far from - or at - home. The punctures I've had have always been discovered the morning after the day before on the drive - slow punctures usually caused by a nail or screw.



I've been able to fit the spare wheel and drive to the tyre repair depot rather than resort to rolling the wheel down the hill or sitting with it on my knee on the bus!



Regards, Lee.

 

[Scarecrow]

Take the rear seats out and strap the spare to the anchorage points behind nsf seat-wrap tools/snow socks etc in old towel to stop rattles and place in upturned wheel-thus vehicle still taking bikes/wood etc-we also have canvas dog-cage by the boot end and a Rhino full length cover permanently attached to the rear of front seats, this is rolled up and deployed as nec. This then means grocery shopping can be dumped in rear footwells and surplus on floor-keeping c of g low and a forward weight bias to help grip and cornering....works for us!