Good afternoon all

I've currently got a very reliable 5 door Polo which has served me well but with two adults and three kids it is getting to be a bit of a squeeze when we all want to go for a trip together.

Parents out there will understand the problem that it is not necessarily the number of bodies in the car that causes problems, but it is the kids booster/baby seats.

We usually have one child up front with SWMBO squeezed in the middle of the rear bench, and her complaints are getting louder and louder - becuase it is a tight squeeze you think twice about whether you want to go away for a day trip or not!

So time to change the car me thinks.

Just to clarify I am most interested in the Yeti or Octavia Estate so not keen on any other Skoda models or people carriers (if money and garage space was no problem I would go for a Superb).

I am not sure that the rear bench in the Octavia Estate will give me that much extra space, however the legroom and boot space should be a vast improvement.

I am very keen on the Yeti. My thought with this was to have the two outer seats at the rear either slid forward or back so that the middle seat would be sitting on its own, as it were. Practically and realistically how much extra space and comfort would this allow with booster seats? Ideally I want to get the missus in the fron seat again with all three kids in the back.

I like the Yeti for its hatchback characteristics but riding a bit higher and am prepared to pay that wee bit extra if we can travel as a family again!

Many thanks in advance for any comments.

I love my Yeti ( with a spare wheel), but the boot is not even near the Octavia's... So I would go for the Octavia, though the Yeti is much more fun and pleasure to drive ... :yes:

Yeti and Octavia are similar widths aren't they?

So rear seat space should be pretty much the same.

The booster/baby seat going in the middle on a Yeti would have to be pretty narrow, otherwise it'd catch on the sides of the other booster seats and you could not set it back from the others.

If you don't need much boot space the Yeti is a good car.

But the boot is too small (in my opinion) for a family of five.

The only way you may get away with it is if a child (or two) are able to use a base booster only (with no back) as that would not interfere with bigger child/baby seats.

What ages/size seat booster/baby seats are we talking about?

I'll put a spanner in the works......

My son had the same problem. He bought a second hand passat saloon which had the booster seats built into the rear seat, so that when he wanted to use them the seat just raised and locked into position. Took up no extra space. Made life so much better for him and his wife.

For various reasons he had to sell it and now has a Golf, which is not dissimilar to the Octavia & Yeti & his 12/7/3 year olds all manage to fit in the back of the golf with booster cushions child seats etc. just.

The booster back seat option is not available with Skoda as far as I'm aware.

Mike

The middle seat is a skinny one I'm afraid and is no use apart from for short journeys. It is certainly not big enough for a booster seat. The central tunnel also intrudes on that middle seat space to make it impractical for journeys of any length.

A proper third seat would have been great but then the whole dimensions of the car would have been larger changing the Yeti completely.

I don't know the Octavia but the boot size alone would make me think that is better for a family of 5 than the Yeti.

There was a thread on here a while ago with pictures of a bigger Yeti that may be one for the future. That would probably suit your needs but that is a few years away and so is no use at the moment.

I have 3 kids and when they were younger the boot of the Octy was full of their junk. The Yeti wouldn't have been large enough. The rear seat had just about enough room for them until they didn't want to be seen with parents.

Andy

Owned both an Octavia II hatch and a Yeti, prefer the Yeti's shorter dimensions (same as a Golf V) but I have to agree with others that an Octavia is probably the better option for a younger family.

Have you considered a Octy Scout :wonder: same ride hight as a Yeti, just a slightly lower seating position.

Regards,

TP

I'm delighted with my Octavia, and the boot space is simply cavernous

I checked out a Yeti at the local dealer recently which had the full-size spare wheel, and the boot space was, by comparison, non-existent. I doubt that would change greatly even without the spare wheel

I think you can guess where my vote would go

It was the limited boot space that put the Missis off the Yeti.

We bought an Octavia instead.

sigh.

I did try & say that as one sprog currently at Uni & tother going next year.

Then with the Yeti's rear seats removed there would be oodles of room.

No Dice.

sigh

It was the limited boot space that put the Missis off the Yeti.

We bought an Octavia instead.

sigh.

I did try & say that as one sprog currently at Uni & tother going next year.

Then with the Yeti's rear seats removed there would be oodles of room.

No Dice.

sigh

Sell the kids get a yeti....problem solved !!

Having come from a Mk2 VRS estate to the Yeti I'd have to agree with the majority here.

If you are specifically buying for the young family you describe then Id have to give the nod to the Octavia over the Yeti due entirely to the bigger boot. The amount of stuff we used to drag around with us in the Octavia was amazing and we took this for granted after a while.

The rear compartment legroom is pretty much identicle between the Octy and the Yeti with the seats slid fully back.

I know you said you wouldnt consider another model but the Octavia Scout would actually be the one that I would buy - I probably went through a similar thought process as you and weighed up the two when looking to change after the VRS estate.

However, choosing the Octy does imo mean lesser ride quality, a less communicative chassis, a noisier cabin, slightly lower grade materials and slightly lower build quality overall. Having said that, when I owned the Octavia it didnt appear to be a weaknesses. Moving to the Yeti showed that these areas could be bettered however.

My family of four were booked to go away on holiday to a cottage. The Yeti was delivered 3 days before and I lost my Superb with its huge boot and back seats. Fortunately my son had decided to go off somewhere else as there was only room for 3 adults once all the luggage was in. Had to fold one rear seet to get suitcases in and the middle rear seat was piled with bags!

Have you thought of a Mitsubishi ASX. Similar to a Yeti but a bit bigger. Might be worth a look.

I think a lot will depend on the length of time you would have all 5 in the car.

The boot in the Yeti is much smaller than the Octavia's - but you can still fit a weeks worth of luggage into it without having to slide the seats or take one out. (you could always put in a "loft" extension for even more space).

Yes they both will take 3 in the back, but the middle seat would be a squeeze if you've got two child seats / boosters in the back on the outboard seats.

So short journey's either would probably do it - longer journey's, I've edge towards the Octavia.

When we took the Yeti out for a test drive, we insisted on taking the kids and the child seats with us to check it was ok. The dealer was happy for us to give it a proper test, even if it took 10 minutes to get the seats all strapped in.

Looking outside the Skoda Stable, a Mondeo Estate will be that wee bit bigger and wider for getting three kiddy seats in and an even bigger boot for their stuff. Still has a "keen" drive too for when you're driving solo....

My own thoughts for decent family cars are simple:

Octavia Estate, Mondeo Estate or Mazda 6 Estate

You'll not go far wrong with any of them. Probably simply comes down to personal preferences and circumstances (which one do you like best, which is the best deal, etc).

Niall

Have a look at a Roomster, rear seats move independently and the boot is quite large, we did 2 weeks self catering this year and still had space in the boot.

Take them both for test drive. Then make your own decision.

Mike

Another slant on the debate- given you will be transporting your young family, maybe the respective saftey ratings of Octi and Yeti should be compared. Who has the most airbags, highest NCAP ratings etc. I think the Yeti is much better than Octy on a lot of fronts.

And how often do you really need the extra load space of the Octy anyway? Maybe a worthwhile sacrifice for knowing that your family is as safe as possible in the event of an accident.

Providing you can all fit in a Yeti, then a roof box as mentioned above will give you the extra boot space required. Just make sure you have a step ladder available

Mike

If the Yeti boot is too small get a small stepladder, roof bars and a roof box, or a towbar and an Erde trailer from eBay.

SNAP Mike! We both posted at exactly 10:20 and BOTH mentioned the ladder!

Johann. Great minds think alike etc. I'm a little slower at responding with the iphone whilst on a train into London:)

Mike

Little Orange 2 Step ladder - £10 quid from B&Q

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10597529&fh_view_size=10&fh_eds=%3f&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB%2fcategories%3c%7b9372016%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9372051%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9652024%7d&fh_refview=lister&ts=1287216560102&isSearch=false

Fits in the boot or in the roof box. :-)