RDT

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.

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.

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.

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.

It would be nice to think that Skoda took the opportunity to rectify this design fault in the facelift. Anyone know if they did? We would probably expect to keep it as a second car for 10-15 years, so perhaps a sunroof is a bad idea if we don't want to start taking it apart. We are vaguely considering the L&K model

It would be interesting to know what percentage off list the dealer gave you? I was planning to ask for 14% off. There are a couple of brokers at 16-17%, but I am not sure if they are genuine.

I have just tried carwow for a Yeti and got some pretty underwhelming responses today which varied between 3% and 6.9%. I responded to all of them today asking if they could improve their offer and not a single one replied. I have a feeling that the five 'personal email' messages from individual dealers were just computer generated letters incorporating a pre-agreed discount. In other words, carwow wanted to make it appear live and interactive, but in practice they could have told me about the rather feeble 6.9% discount from the start. I assume tomorrow when the dealers are open I may get some genuine responses from those five dealers. It seems that carfile at 14% may be the best of the genuine ones (assuming they are). There are a couple at 17%, but they may be a bit dodgy and require payment directly to them, rather than the dealer, which I am reluctant to do.

For those interested in discounts, Carwow has been underwhelming so far with four responses from 3 to 6.9% discount. There are a couple of places advertising 17% discounts, buyanewcaronline and new-car-discount which I found via the honest John site. However both look a bit dodgy to me and I have read some very bad reviews of the latter one. Carfile seem to be genuine, I think, and have been recommended on these boards. They are offering 14% off all Yeti models and it seems that all cash is paid to the dealer, rather than the broker as with the others, which is a good sign. Unless Carwow come back with better than 14%, I would ask a few local dealers to match that until I find one that will. Planning to test drive tomorrow, so still not certain...

Thanks Fairyvan. I'm sure you are right - I certainly wouldn't plan to go any deeper than the car was comfortable with, hence the question about wading depth before we choose a car. I will take a look at carfile Llanigraham. - the depth limit is slightly disappointing for the Yeti. I appreciate it isn't intended to be a proper off-road machine, but I think they could have done a little better without major modifications. We are looking for a car to replace a small Shogun which has a 50cm wading depth, although it is getting on a bit, so I am not completely confident in the door seals. I understand the point about the tuition, but I am pretty confident with the sort of conditions we get up here, and have had a couple of 4x4s which have coped fine. If I was doing some serious off roading, I guess some tuition may help, but I would probably also choose a different car. The difficulty we have is wanting a smallish normal car with 4wd, reasonable ground clearance and wading depth. All of the decent makes keep making them bigger. The Rav4 and CRV are just too big now for my other half. The Yeti seems to get excellent reviews and I pay a lot of attention to JD Power / Driver Power surveys. The particular reason for the 4wd is that there is a 20% gradient road which climbs above 1000ft, which we use a lot, the alternative being a long diversion. Winter tyres are pretty effective there, even on my RWD car, but I would like my partner's car to be even more sure footed, as she is less confident.

Thanks Dr Zoidberg. llanigraham - we may well end up with winter tyres as well. I use them on my RWD 5 series and they turn it from a complete handful into quite a composed car on ice. I appreciate that 4wd doesn't help a great deal going downhill. I am an experienced driver, although my other half isn't, but we would probably use just this car in the worst weather. The 5 series doesn't like deep water or snow - the protective under tray came off last year driving slowly through less than a foot of water. Does the Yeti come with all season tyres with a few sipes, or are they just normal 'summer tyres'? I had a feeling that the wading depth was supposed to be 45 or 60 cm for the Yeti. Do you know the real figure? Again, I am very used to driving through flood water - it is a common occurrence up here in the Lakes!

Thanks, I will give Carwow a try. Any idea what level of discount they have been offering.

Hi, Looks a really useful forum. I am considering a new Yeti Outdoor for my other half who wants a small 4x4. The Yeti seems just about the only well-rated one out there. Wading depth is important as there can be a foot of water (occasionally more) in the dips on local roads a couple of times a year. 4x4 is also important as we live in a hilly area where the minor roads are rarely gritted. I was considering a Yeti Outdoor Elegance or L&K. Initially I thought the 140hp would be sensible, but there seems to be very little price difference with the 170, so I would probably go for that. We hope to test drive early next week. Looking at this forum I noticed a recent mention of 14% discount from carfile. Looking at the Honest John site, one or two places seem to be doing 16-17%, if they are genuine (buyanewcaronline and new-car-discount)? I would aim to get a local dealer to match the best genuine available price, or failing that place an order online. What is the best discount that members here are aware of? I will have a few more questions about spec soon, but for now, I would be very interested in discount. Thanks in advance. RDT