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Another win for the Yeti


yetifabia

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Had to take a boring bus trip this week and bought a copy of 4X4 monthly.  It was their annual review and ranking of all 4X4s split into under and over £30K.  Yeti came top in the under £30K section.  Occasionally posters on here bemoan a supposed trend towards higher pricing, eurobox styling etc.  It seems to me that the fact is there is nothing to touch it for either value, features or performance.  It could be that the ratings were influenced by their only reviewing actual 4wd models, which is what I need anyway, but if I changed car tomorrow I really can't see any alternative to the Yeti.

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The 'trouble' with the Yeti is, it's not stylish enough, which suites me just fine.

I sat in my son's new Qashqai recently and it was claustrophobic even with the full length sunroof, BUT it was stylish.

Got back in mine and immediately appreciated the old fashioned airiness and vision.

I don't think the young can live without a fashion statement.

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I have a couple of things that irritate me slightly with the Yeti but overall it is a good car. When parked next to anything else in it's class it looks small/short. It looks Juke or Mokka size externally but internally the amount of room is amazing. Compared with a Juke or Mokka there is much more room. Even compared with say, a Quashqai or Kuga there is still more room, especially in the rear seats. When any of my taller mates get in for the first time the reaction is surprise at how much leg, shoulder and head room there is. Even with a 6" 4" lad sat behind me.

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...I really can't see any alternative to the Yeti.

The 'trouble' with the Yeti is, it's not stylish enough, which suits me just fine...

Both correct, I'd suggest, but not contradictory at all. The more boxy profile of the Yeti clearly helps with both practicality and headroom, if not air/wind resistance, but it's never going to look stylish. (Though I do wonder if clever stylists couldn't help at least a little - see what they've done with the Discovery Sport, which is also still fairly boxy but with rounded edges.)

What seems odd though, is why no other maker is interested in competing with Yeti head-on, ie favouring practicality over out and out style but in a _compact_ 4x4 SUV with decently powerful engines (and DSG). There really aren't any direct competitors that I've come across, so you end up looking at more distant competitors like the Golf SV and Q3, which kind of meet the same requirements albeit in rather different ways. In fact, must admit to being in a Porsche showroom earlier today looking at a Macan (on the basis that if I'm forced to look at SUVs a size larger than a Yeti in order to find a more powerful SUV then I might as well spread the net reasonably wide - OK it's a different category of cost, though not hugely different to eg Evoque or Disco Sport or Q5 or X3 etc, but the 18-month waiting list is the real killer).

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I like it just as it is and don't give a stuff about styling.  My concern is that Skoda might be tempted to damage its functionality when the new model comes out.  If they do I will be looking to buy a bargain priced, fully loaded run out model!

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If you want a 4WD with a tight turning circle and lovely steering feel and precision, unusual in a predominantly FWD vehicle in my experience, there's no real direct competitor for me.

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^^^are you irritated that it puts efficiency in packaging over style?

 

No not at all. I actually prefer the styling especially pre FL. My main gripes are:

 

1. Lack of standard equipment in the basic models. My "S" does not even have Bluetooth or SD etc. Crap in this day and age. £1500 more to get a basic connectivity system in the "SE" (I know you also get other stuff). I've fitted an aftermarket radio. £200 and it has everything including voice recognition and the audio quality is at least as good as the Skoda system.

 

2. DSG behaviour below 35 mph. Just a personal thing most people like it.

 

3. Drivers seat is not comfortable for me over about 50 miles. Luckily I only do shortish runs.

 

4. Car is awful for misting up. Worst one I've ever had in 40 years of motoring. Even using air con constantly need the blower on at varying speeds depending how many people are in the car. 

 

But overall these are not deal breakers, mainly because I don't do high mileage. The practicality and overall driving experience are very good. 

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The trouble is for a lot of people functionality will always lose out to style and car makers are very aware of this. It's the logic that makes people queue for hours (sometimes days) just to buy the latest iPhone when it comes out, spending hundreds of pounds to buy something that, for most people has no more functionality than their existing iPhone or a phone costing a quarter of the price. And that may be Skoda's problem with a Yeti replacement - in my experience the Yeti is a really good, well-built, reliable and functional car. So how are they going to get me to part with wads of my hard earned cash for "change" and for a few extra bells and whistles that I've lived without until now and probably don't even realise I "need"? A real conundrum - if I'm not happy with a car I want to change it but I'm likely to go to another marque, if I like it I'll probably want to keep it a long time, which also isn't good for business.

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No not at all. I actually prefer the styling especially pre FL. My main gripes are:

 

1. Lack of standard equipment in the basic models. My "S" does not even have Bluetooth or SD etc. Crap in this day and age. £1500 more to get a basic connectivity system in the "SE" (I know you also get other stuff). I've fitted an aftermarket radio. £200 and it has everything including voice recognition and the audio quality is at least as good as the Skoda system.

 

2. DSG behaviour below 35 mph. Just a personal thing most people like it.

 

3. Drivers seat is not comfortable for me over about 50 miles. Luckily I only do shortish runs.

 

4. Car is awful for misting up. Worst one I've ever had in 40 years of motoring. Even using air con constantly need the blower on at varying speeds depending how many people are in the car. 

 

But overall these are not deal breakers, mainly because I don't do high mileage. The practicality and overall driving experience are very good.

3/ ....that's odd cos I think they're better than most.

4/.... fashionable steeply sloped windows of,'stylish' cars fog up faster.

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There's only one other car I can think of with a more uncomfortable seat and that was a Peugeot 308 I had as a hire car for about 400 miles.  

 

It has been discussed to death but I think it's the way the seat tips you forward to raise it. But, everyone is different and it's a subjective thing.

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The 'trouble' with the Yeti is, it's not stylish enough, which suites me just fine.

I sat in my son's new Qashqai recently and it was claustrophobic even with the full length sunroof, BUT it was stylish.

Got back in mine and immediately appreciated the old fashioned airiness and vision.

I don't think the young can live without a fashion statement.

 

It's not just the young either, my older brother purchased a BMW 5 series this year as he is very much a 'brand snob' and I have to say, what a BORING car it is, the seats are uncomfortable, NO Xenon headlamps, NO directional headlamps, and its not as exciting as my Yeti IMHO.

 

Still, if he wants to waste his money buying a second rate marque like BMW then thats his prerogative...............................as for his fancy 5 series.............. :sick: 

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Agree about the 5series, alright if your into statements and supposedly hanging the tail out but it's just another outdated 3 box really.

However when the keys are thrown in the middle it might just pay off........if you know what I mean :-)))

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The trouble is for a lot of people functionality will always lose out to style and car makers are very aware of this.

 

The point I was trying to make above (and probably didn't succeed) is that I can understand this behaviour on the part of the car makers broadly speaking - it's obviously tempting to go where you perceive the market is. The bit I don't understand is that it may be true of say 80% of buyers who will prefer form over function. But that still leaves eg 20% whose priorities are different and will buy on practicality and overall appeal (unless the styling is grotesque). So if a car maker dares to be a bit different then they could clean up on 15-20% of the market in a given sector. Isn't that preferable to having a marginal share of the identikit market? No-one else seems to be daring enough to do what Skoda did with the Yeti in the first place. And who knows as yet whether Skoda will be brave enough to continue with the experiment?

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The 'trouble' with the Yeti is, it's not stylish enough, which suites me just fine.

I sat in my son's new Qashqai recently and it was claustrophobic even with the full length sunroof, BUT it was stylish.

Got back in mine and immediately appreciated the old fashioned airiness and vision.

I don't think the young can live without a fashion statement.

I had a test drive of the new Qashqai and found it claustrophobic also. Then went and ordered a new Yeti and got 14% discount and match my part exchange.
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In fact, must admit to being in a Porsche showroom earlier today looking at a Macan (on the basis that if I'm forced to look at SUVs a size larger than a Yeti in order to find a more powerful SUV then I might as well spread the net reasonably wide - OK it's a different category of cost, though not hugely different to eg Evoque or Disco Sport or Q5 or X3 etc, but the 18-month waiting list is the real killer).

 

I ended up test driving a Macan Diesel S through a very similar thought process. And loved it. The issue for me was that to match the kit in an Elegance Yeti the Macan hits £50k, with no discounts and brutal finance rates (and they give it a very low guaranteed final value which puts the finance up again). It is a lovely car though; if I had the extra money I'd have ordered one. Still, the mortgage should be finished next year...

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You only need to see how many Qashqai's Nissan sell comparred to Skoda dealers sell-through on Yeti's to see where the nations priorities lie.

 

We are very much in the minority, which in this particular case is where I'd rather be!

 

Now, when Skoda make the Yeti a little longer for a bigger boot then I may look away from the Octavia Scout.

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You only need to see how many Qashqai's Nissan sell comparred to Skoda dealers sell-through on Yeti's to see where the nations priorities lie.

 

 

I don't go along with that analysis.  Skoda sell every Yeti they can make and would sell more if they had a bigger factory.  I suspect that the nation's priorities lie more with quick delivery and high discounts :D

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No not at all. I actually prefer the styling especially pre FL. My main gripes are:

 

1. Lack of standard equipment in the basic models. My "S" does not even have Bluetooth or SD etc. Crap in this day and age. £1500 more to get a basic connectivity system in the "SE" (I know you also get other stuff). I've fitted an aftermarket radio. £200 and it has everything including voice recognition and the audio quality is at least as good as the Skoda system.

 

2. DSG behaviour below 35 mph. Just a personal thing most people like it.

 

3. Drivers seat is not comfortable for me over about 50 miles. Luckily I only do shortish runs.

 

4. Car is awful for misting up. Worst one I've ever had in 40 years of motoring. Even using air con constantly need the blower on at varying speeds depending how many people are in the car. 

 

But overall these are not deal breakers, mainly because I don't do high mileage. The practicality and overall driving experience are very good. 

I think the new Bolero in the SE answers your cristicism.

DSG I would agree

Misting up? SWMBO has just bought a yeti to replace her Doblo THAT had misting problems, even after a hours drive home from work most windows were steamed up. the Yeti hasn't steamed up yet!

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But to go to "SE" spec when I bought mine in October last year was a price increase of £1500 over the "S" model. Even the most basic cars from other brands get Bluetooth, dab etc. The "S" model was not even the basic Yeti model, that was the "E". The FL "S" model still has a very, very basic audio system. Ridiculous on a car costing nearly £17,000.

That extra money was not worth it for me. Don't need parking sensors. Very rarely would I use cruise control. I live semi rural and don't use the roads that would be useful with cruise. Can't remember what else came with the SE, but to me, not worth £1500.

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The only reason I got the SE was the dual climate control. SWMBO has hot flushes and I drive without a coat. She kept firing up the aircon in the Roomster and I was shivering in winter. Now it's bliss.

Actually the radio reception is poorer than my 2011 Roomster SE. If I could have got a Roomster with dual climate and raised suspension I would have, as a practical vehicle I consider it better than a Yeti. I do find the higher Yeti seat easier for entry and exit though. I don't need or have 4wd on my townie spec Yeti.

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I ended up test driving a Macan Diesel S through a very similar thought process. And loved it. 

 

How big did it feel when you were driving it? Just sitting in the showroom it felt a little wide and I was wondering how easy it would be to manoeuvre through limited gaps. It's another thing I quite like about the Yeti, it does feel relatively compact in traffic and you can see all the corners. At least in the Macan you could see most of the bonnet whereas in the BMW 2 Series AT you see nothing of the bonnet really at all - it just slopes away from you. Not sure how much of an issue this would be once you were used to it but it's a little disconcerting to imagine having to totally guess where each of the two front corners is.

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It felt a teeny bit bigger, but more wieldy than the Evoque if that makes sense. I thought I had a better sense of where the corners were and what was around it than I did in the Evoque.

 

It certainly doesn't feel anything like as heavy as it is!

I certainly found the Evoque to be a sad disappointment when I had the one as a courtesy car. Very poor connection to the road and visibility was shocking

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