Day 243 - The Yeti Solution

Back in May, I pondered the question of how best to transport my bike  either when away on holiday or to a new area or a cycling event. With my car due for replacement next year, I've been doing a tour of the showrooms to see what the various manufacturers have to offer.

The main options appear to be roof or boot mounted. Vauxhall do an ingenious system whereby the numberplate extends to reveal a factory fitted bike rack. The issue I have with these methods of transportation is that both expose my valuable cycles to the elements and to the risk of theft and damage. The perfect solution to me would be to carry the cycles within the vehicle itself. Skoda, cycling's premier supporter, offer such a solution.

I am not one who needs a large car for every day use, indeed to me, 'small is beautiful' when it comes to cars, thus the large estate variants do not appeal; however, fitting a cycle within a small hatchback is never going to work, so a compromise will obviously be required. This may come from Skoda's small SUV, the Yeti ... what a great name too!

Skoda Yeti at Haytor, Dartmoor

Today, I took the Yeti, in white of course, on a test drive across Dartmoor, out to Haytor where, coincidentally, stage 6 of the Tour of Britain concluded in September. The variant provided, was the 2.0 litre diesel 4x4 170 Bhp. It manoeuvred surprisingly spritely for an SUV around the Devon lanes and for a 4x4 was very smooth and quiet along the quick A30. Over the 120 mile round trip it achieved a reasonable 43 mpg and while its looks may not turn may heads, as a practical and highly versatile vehicle with the perfect solution for my cycle transportation needs, it is certainly in the running. So watch this space .. a decision is required before the month is out.