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Yeti 1.4 TSI L&K


RDT

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Having considered a Yeti for my other half about 18 months ago, and keeping our old Shogun instead, we are now wondering about it again, partly as the Shogun is showing signs of problems ahead.

This will be a second car, and probably only cover 5-7k miles per year. I did drive a TDI 170 last time, which had reasonable performance, but was less refined that we expected. Given the limited mileage, and some short journeys, I guess we may be better off with a petrol car. We would like a 4x4 version for a number of reasons, and will be switching between summer and winter tyres as I do on my main car.

It looks like the only 4x4 petrol model is the 1.4TSI 150 L&K. Does anyone own one, or has anyone here driven one? I would be interested to know more about how it behaves - economy / refinement / performance. We would probably buy new and keep it until the wheels fall off, as we have with the Shogun.

Any views on this model would be appreciated.

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Your choice obviously and you don't say where in the country you are but for only 5-7k miles a year and you say you will be switching between summer and winter tyres is a 4x4 really essential for you? I remember MarieK had two 1.2TSI Yetis and never had problems getting around Skye summer or winter, just made sure she had the right tyres on at the right time of year.  

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Your choice obviously and you don't say where in the country you are but for only 5-7k miles a year and you say you will be switching between summer and winter tyres is a 4x4 really essential for you? I remember MarieK had two 1.2TSI Yetis and never had problems getting around Skye summer or winter, just made sure shet hat the right tyres on at the right time of year.  

 

I've only ever had one Yeti but agree with the rest of your post.

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Done only 1k in my 1.4tsi L & K. Great engine, very quiet, 38 to 44 mpg so far. Very refined car, pleasure to drive, nice gearbox/clutch action. Still not sure about the brown leather or over fancy alloys and very annoyed no choice possible - but other than that a recommended buy. 

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. Still not sure about the brown leather or over fancy alloys and very annoyed no choice possible - but other than that a recommended buy. 

There was an L&K Yeti in my local showroom (Horton & Son at Lincoln) and I was admiring the colour of the seats and said to a salesman that I usually was not a fan of the brown leather but that one looked very nice and I'd have it anyday. He told me that there are 4 shades of brown on the L & K  models!

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Many thanks for the responses so far.  They do seem a very rare model.  We are in a fairly remote part of the Lakes and have the choice between a steep (20%) ungritted hill or a long diversion on a road that we would drive perhaps 3 times a week in winter.  I also want a car which I can occasionally use when felling trees - attaching a (long!) rope to encourage the tree to fall the right way. Also occasionally pulling out a stuck tractor mower.  Hence the need for 4x4. It would replace an old Shogun.  

 

We would go for leather anyway, as we prefer it, but may not have chosen the L&K had there been other 4x4 petrol models available.

 

 

Done only 1k in my 1.4tsi L & K. Great engine, very quiet, 38 to 44 mpg so far. Very refined car, pleasure to drive, nice gearbox/clutch action. Still not sure about the brown leather or over fancy alloys and very annoyed no choice possible - but other than that a recommended buy. 

 

That's really useful, thanks.  The fuel economy sounds exceptional, although I doubt we could match it with our use.  Glad to hear it is refined and you are impressed with the engine.  I have similar concerns about the brown leather, preferring black.  Following Urrell's comment about the 4 shades of brown, I will have to find out more about this.  Dark brown would be fine, but not sure about anything lighter. 

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Many thanks for the responses so far.  They do seem a very rare model.  We are in a fairly remote part of the Lakes and have the choice between a steep (20%) ungritted hill or a long diversion on a road that we would drive perhaps 3 times a week in winter.  I also want a car which I can occasionally use when felling trees - attaching a (long!) rope to encourage the tree to fall the right way. Also occasionally pulling out a stuck tractor mower.  Hence the need for 4x4. It would replace an old Shogun.  

 

We would go for leather anyway, as we prefer it, but may not have chosen the L&K had there been other 4x4 petrol models available.

 

 

 

That's really useful, thanks.  The fuel economy sounds exceptional, although I doubt we could match it with our use.  Glad to hear it is refined and you are impressed with the engine.  I have similar concerns about the brown leather, preferring black.  Following Urrell's comment about the 4 shades of brown, I will have to find out more about this.  Dark brown would be fine, but not sure about anything lighter. 

Am I right in thinking that you also still get the Heated Windscreen as part of the L&K spec which will be very useful in the Lakes District !?

Edited by Fabpreza
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Yes, heated windscreen is standard - but oddly heated windscreen washer nozzles are £35 extra. I paid up as I think they are essential for my usage and probably for yours too. [not much point in having a car that can handle snow and ice if you cannot see where you're going ] I guess you will want the rough road package also - another £210. 

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I strongly suspect , the salesman had  4 shades of brown comming out of his mouth when telling you that.   ;)

 

The only way you will get slightly different shades of brown will be down to the leather itself, it is not an option. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just placed my order for a 1.4 TSI L&K on a 2 year PCH deal. I've never bought a car on PCH and my only experience of the Yeti is sitting in a Monte Carlo in the showroom of our local dealers, so I am as they say, 'Winging It'. That's most unlike me, but I was getting fed up of twisting on the horns of indecision. I came very close to ordering a Fabia Mk3 Monte Carlo Estate, but the very attractive PCH offer on the Yeti made me take a gamble (along with all of the favourable comments of owners on the forum). So if it all goes pear-shaped, I'll blame you guys :)

 

Out of curiosity, does anyone know what other VAG cars this version of the 1.4 engine is fitted to? It doesn't look as though it has ACT, so I'm struggling.

Edited by Citigopher
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Considering the mileage and time you intend on keeping the car then why not get a second hand Yeti. There are a few 1.8 petrol 4x4 cars out there and if it is good enough for Clarkson then perhaps your other half may find one acceptable. http://www.skoda.net.r66.co.uk/Results.aspx

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The used 1.8 L&K petrol is certainly a possibility, and we have no problem with buying second hand, although Yetis seem to hold on to their value so well, that new may make more sense.  If we could get a one year old 1.8 for £14-15k we would look again at this, but the ones I have seen are well above this, and far too close to the new (discounted) price of the 1.4TSI L&K of around £20.5k.

 

The PCH deal, details of which were mentioned on another thread, does sound good, although the combination of strong resale values and apparent availability of good new discounts, may still push us in the direction of buying new.  We would be likely to want to keep it for 10-15 years as we have with the car it would replace.  I haven't confirmed that the advertised discounts (from various brokers) of about 18-19% are actually available.  

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I should add that I have managed to test drive a 1.2 TSI since the first post on this thread, and was very impressed.  It seemed very refined and quicker than I expected from the figures.  It might even have been sufficient for us, had there been a 4x4 model, although the extra weight and energy required to drive the other wheels could have made it feel less sprightly than the 2WD model.  I doubt that we will be able to test drive a 1.4TSI, as they seem very rare, but having driven the smaller engined model, I feel confident that it will be well suited to our needs.

 

The brown leather I saw in an L&K Octavia looked fine also.

Edited by RDT
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I posted some interior pictures here (post #17):

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/308672-face-lift-lk-brown-leather-interior/#entry3694422

 

which give a pretty accurate indication of the brown L&K leather trim.

 

I have to admit, it wouldn't have been my first choice (after two black leather trimmed Yetis) but in reality, I think it looks great. In addition, I have yet to have anyone who has seen it not remark on how good it looks. No one has said they didn't like it. 

 

In my humble opinion, most of the previous brown trim detractors may not have even seen a L&K Yeti in the flesh.

 

As for there being more than one shade of 'L&K brown' - perhaps other models in the Skoda range have different shades to the Yeti and one would hope that the salesman meant this rather than showing himself up by his lack of product knowledge...

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In my forty odd years of buying cars I have to say that far too many times have I witnessed countless shades of brown bovine products issuing from the lips of salesmen.

I learnt many years ago to do my own research. Be that the colour of leather or anything else

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In my humble opinion, most of the previous brown trim detractors may not have even seen a L&K Yeti in the flesh.

 

I think the brown is OK provided you make a very specific choice of colour. Goes well with Jungle Green for instance. But would have looked god-awful against our preferred choices of Shark Blue or White.

I personally think it's a shame that for the flagship model, Skoda don't give you the full choice of interior colours to choose from - as it has such a limiting factor on the choice of exterior colour.

Combine that with the lack of roof colour options and lack of alternate alloy wheel options and it starts to make the L&K look more like a "special edition" rather than the flagship / ultimate model.

 

My other half took one look at the brown leather in the L&K in the showroom when we bought ours and turned away with the sort of facial expression that said it  was making her feel bilious. Hence we bought an Elegance instead - in our choice of colour and with our choice of wheels.

 

Compounded by the fact that when I went in for first service a few months later, the sales guy who sold us ours was telling me about the large number of L&Ks in group stock that they could not shift because of the brown interior just putting too many people off.

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Given that the Yeti like-for-like replacement is not apparently due for 3 years yet (yes I know there are likely to be other sized variants coming along in the meantime), maybe there'll be a revelatory super-L&K special current-Yeti edition before long that has eg black leather seats?

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The brown leather is such a contentious issue and always has been, it's amazing whatever egomaniac in charge of Skoda UK still hasn't backed down on it since the L&K is available with different coloured leather in Europe. Utter stupidity really.

 

It's the reason the L&K's are so cheap on deals (cheaper than the SE L for example) and they must know why that is. Making your most expensive model the only one without changeable options for wheels and interior colours is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

That said I decided I could probably live with it and ordered my Jungle Green L&K to arrive in November. I can see I'll be forever explaining my choice of seat colour though!

Edited by Jimrod
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