What Car Yeti Triple Test

[prodata]

What Car (May) confuses the issue yet again with a triple test of Quashqai 1.5dCi vs Peugeot 3008 1.6 HDi (110) vs Yeti CR110SE, with the result in that order.

Yeti conclusions:

FOR: Spacious; airy cabin; sharp handling; simple dashboard; driving position; generous kit;

AGAINST: Rowdy engine; too much wind and road noise; worst fuel economy; unsettled ride;

VERDICT: The Yeti is practical, generously equipped and great fun on twisty roads - if only it was more supple and refined;

YMMV!!

Edited 3 April, 2010 by prodata

[Yeti_Man]

What Car (May) confuses the issue yet again with a triple test of Quashqai 1.5dCi vs Peugeot 3008 1.6 HDi (110) vs Yeti CR110SE, with the result in that order.

Yeti conclusions:

FOR: Spacious; airy cabin; sharp handling; simple dashboard; driving position; generous kit;

AGAINST: Rowdy engine; too much wind and road noise; worst fuel economy; unsettled ride;

VERDICT: The Yeti is practical, generously equipped and great fun on twisty roads - if only it was more supple and refined;

YMMV!!

They specifically slate it for refinement and ride quality!

"Wind, road and engine noise all intrude and the Yeti's jiggly ride will drive you and your loved ones to distraction on long trips"!!

I think its fair to say they dont agree with the majority and generally dont rate the car as highly as their rival/sister magazines.

[RapidRonnie]

I'm sorry, this is clearly ****** and has to stop!

Whatcar are the only mag who seem to rate the Yeti badly. Someone in the office obviously has a vendetta against the Yeti, or Skoda in general.

Didn't the Yeti get good fuel economy figures against virtually the same cars in AE?

Ok, I might be biased now but I think Whatcar are clearly the worst of the car magazines, worse than Autoexpress.

[octy888]

This make me laugh and demonstrates that certain publications don't really test properly and therefore should not be taken seriously.

The ride and handling is one of the Yeti's best features, amongst many, for goodness sake!!

And "rowdy engine" - where the **** did they get that from! You know I reckon I know where its from......its them thinking its the PD engine and therefore just stating what they always have about it.....indicates to me that the test is flawed and instead of reporting what the vehicles were actually like are merely filling their pages with words. :moon:

Edited 3 April, 2010 by octy888

[Yeti_Man]

Wonderful lack of consistency too as Ive just read

"only a little wind noise on the motorway detracts from the Yeti's appeal"

That is in the same issue of what car but regarding a 1.2Tsi - surely the refinement and ride quality are that different between Yeti's!?!!!!!!

[weedge]

Road test reviews are so strange and at odds ! Of course we dont like criticism of out beloved monster, so I tend to read them all and take an average view. This week bought autoexpress and they put the yeti up againt the 3008, i35 and quashqai and the Yeti won ! Cant remember the others but the 3008 came last for sure.

[Trevorminor]

The problem with Whatcar is that a few issues down the road and they will totally contradict themselves. Probably make it their family car of the year!

If there is any anti Skoda bias then it's quite recent as the same magazine loved the Fabia for several years and I think even made it their car of the year.

I have driven all of the different contenders and am still glad that I bought the Yeti. Mine is more comfortable, quieter, better eqiupped................................................!

OMG! I have just taken a look at the Whatcar website and quess what, the Peugeot 3008 is their car of the year! for 2010. The same car that came last in the AE test against the Yeti, Hyundai and Nissan last week.

Watch out for the deluge of advertising for the 3008 that will be falling out all over the floor of WH Smith from the June issue onwards

Edited 3 April, 2010 by Trevorminor

[RapidRonnie]

The problem with Whatcar is that a few issues down the road and they will totally contradict themselves. Probably make it their family car of the year!

If there is any anti Skoda bias then it's quite recent as the same magazine loved the Fabia for several years and I think even made it their car of the year.

That was a long time ago, when the original Fabia was launched. I have noticed they don't seem to rate the Superb as high as other mags do either, so I can only presume someone in the editorial team has a problem with Skodas.

I know what you mean about the contradictions; in recent times I have seen:

- The Roomser Scout berated for body roll because it has longer suspension travel than the standard car (neither part of the statement is true)

- 2 different Octavias tested in the same issue, think it was a Scout and an RS,, one said the interior was comfortable and luxurious and the other said it was cheap and sparse (or something to that effect)

I urge a boycott of Whatcar until they amend their ways

[mhjonesuk]

So the Yeti came last hardly surprising from What Car and I think I pretty much predicted the result in a previous thread when I heard about the test. What Car seem to have their own agenda for testing, rating company car tax and leasing rates very highly but as said previously they are very inconsistent, Perhaps they are after some long term test cars from Peugeot and Nissan and are creeping a bit. I read the write up in Top Gear when they gave it family car of the year no mention of wind noise or Diesel rumble just commenting on its character, build quality and American reactions to the car all very positive.

[PeteVRS]

These car reviews are madness, utter madness Personally I think most modern cars are very good and the technical differences between them are minor. However that would make for very boring reviews, hence we have to read ridiculous reports that contradict each other. It's not just the Yeti, it seems to apply to all cars these days.

[Bassa]

Easy solution, stick a Beemer badge on it and in What Car's eyes it will immediately become the best thing since sliced bread.

[redandwhitepauly]

At the end of the day we are all different, and what seems a great car to one may not be the same for someone else so reviews are very much a rough guide at best and the only way to make your mind up is to find a dealer that really lets you have the car for a good hour or so and you take it out and test it on all manner of roads and conditions and see which one appeals. The rest is usually down to cost and affordability and the unenviable haggling with the dealer.

[helix]

To be fair, Auto Express made the same criticisms as WC about noise and low speed jiggly ride in their test, whch the Yeti won, against the same opposition plus Hyundai i35: it's just that AE appeared not to attach the same significance as WC to these. AE's decibel readings were slightly higher than the opposition's.

It does seem odd that WC can praise the 1.2S on ride and refinement while criticising the 110 SE. It may be down to the heavier diesel engine and 17" rims on the latter.

In terms of WC's attitude to Skoda, they do have them in top 3 of 3 categories of "best buy", but praise does seem partly predicated on value. I notice WC seems to feel most comfortable with Skoda by keepng it in a "value car" stereotype, and seems to favour Skoda's more expensive products less eg higher spec 4wd Yetis.

Edited 8 April, 2010 by helix

[mrlapou]

I do not care a toss about the mags. Each tester has their own preferences and agenda.

I've choosen the Yeti because it fits my body frame, spacial requirements and rides/performs very much like my beloved Golf.

I'd rate the Yeti higher than any French derived car. Plus Yeti is easier to diagnose with VCDS which I have. That'll save me oodles of money after the 3 yr warranty expires.

[GeorgeG]

I think it is wise to disregard most road tests as the ramblings of "teenage scribblers" (as someone whose name escapes me once said). Most journalists/ road testers do the rounds of various magazines in their publishers stables - I have a friend who edits a PC magazine and he has worked on camera mags, car mags and all sorts. I don't think many of these roadtesters know much about cars at all as many seem to be in their early to mid 20's. I find it ironic that they criticise a cars ride when they probably rave about cars on 40 aspect ratio tyres. Having said that, my reservation on road testing a Yeti was the jiggly ride - but I am a believer in tyres having an aspect ratio of at least 60 on a car like this!

Members of this forum seem to be upset at What Car's criticism of the Yeti, but it is worth bearing in mind that, at least in my experience, they can give glowing reports of cars that turn out to be very poor. An example is the original Nissan X-Trail. I had a 2.5 petrol auto for a couple of years - it was great to drive,absolutely bomb-proof (the 2.5 petrol engine is in most Nissan cars in the USA),but a bit thirsty. What Car advised readers for a number of years to avoid this engine like the plague and go for the diesel which they said was great. I contibuted to an X-Trail forum at the time where it was common knowledge that the Nissan diesel engine in the X-Trail was a disaster waiting to happpen. Turbos blew all the time and EGR valves had a very high failure rate. These problems were never solved on this car and the new model had a completely re-designed engine.

The moral of this story is that What Car are not consumer champions - their main aim is to sell an over-priced comic to make as much money as they can for the publisher. Sadly, the days of great motoring journalists such as LJK Setright have gone (I'd love to know what he made of the Yeti)

[mhjonesuk]

Possibly there is also not enough advertising revenue from Skoda in comparison to Peugeot and Nissan, or am I just being cynical?

[Agerbundsen]

Possibly there is also not enough advertising revenue from Skoda in comparison to Peugeot and Nissan, or am I just being cynical?

Not cynical, realistic.

[dibujo]

I seem to remember reading a few comments on here from Yeti owners regarding wind noise.

[SimonVespa]

Interestingly this seems to be at odds to their video review:

I think the motto is: Drive it. Like it. Buy it!

There is going to be good and bad cars of every make. As someone else said it not about the squeaks and rattles but how competent your dealer is at putting them right.

Simon