Yeti wins CarBuyer Family Car of the Year

[Freshacre]

http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/awards/best-family-car

[Terfyn]

This presumes you have a small enough family with limited luggage.

[rockhopper]

If you are in the market for a Golf/Focus?Astra then yes. Small family car.....Not in same class as Octavia.

[CFB]

well with the average uk family being 2 adults and 2.5 kids i reckon there is plenty of space.

certainly much more boot space than any of it's rivals listed, with the exception of possibly the cashcow?

far better value for money, good ergonomics, styling and excellent reliability

(yes i know some have had minor problems but when was the last time you saw a vag skoda broken down??

i had the choice of several cars when i changed last year.

i didn't even consider any peugeot becausse of poor reliability.

vw are too expensive and i don't like paying for a badge.

the cashcow styling didn't appeal. looks like all the other crossover type cars.

the focus has too small a boot for my needs and after previous confrontations with dealers i was not going to go down that route again.

as for the astra... as above. they all look the same and again too small a boot.

for me it was a toss up between the octavia or the yeti.

two brilliant cars.

i just prefer the yeti right now

[Bobdog]

http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/awards/best-family-car

Nice review ... and I enjoyed seeing one the same colour as mine in the video clip ... well cool innit.

[hertsnminds]

It is interesting when a "family" is not enough for a family. Whilst the average family may have only 2 children this assumes they have no friends and you will never be used as a taxi service. It also assumes that the children are over 12 years old as when you have to start allowing for child seats the rear space can become seriously compromised. I have just ordered a Roomster because the rear seating in the Yeti was not as capable as that in the Roomster. The Yeti does not allow the outer two rear seats to move in front of the centre rear seat, the Roomster does, in practical terms this allows for three child seats in the Roomster (even though the Honest John review says this is not possible) and not in the Yeti.

It would be interesting to see what a family requires from a family car rather than a manufacturer or motoring journalist.

[Shadowphax]

The Yeti does not allow the outer two rear seats to move in front of the centre rear seat, the Roomster does

Sorry, but the Yeti certainly does allow the outter seats to move in front of the middle one.

As far as I know (as I'll have to check when I get home as the wife has the Yeti) the Roomster's middle seat doesn't move forwards and backwards but the Yeti's does. A neighbour has the Roomster and says this is the only bad thing about the rear seats.

Skoda may have modified the Roomster seats to update then to be similar to the Yeti.

[900000]

As far as I know (as I'll have to check when I get home as the wife has the Yeti) the Roomster's middle seat doesn't move forwards and backwards but the Yeti's does.

Nope. The middle seat is fixed on a Yeti as well. So you cannot move the outter seats to be behind the middle one - or move the middle forward to get the same result.

[jlwah]

What is an "average family"? I doubt it's a couple with 3 children requiring child seats, nor is a family with three teenage children either. So on that basis, I guess the Yeti does qualify as best "family car" but only on the understanding that your family fits in it.

[hertsnminds]

Maybe I wasn't clear, I know the middle seat cannot be slid BUT the outer seats in the Roomster can move so that they are in front or behind the middle seat, in the Yeti they cannot. I have spent the last month trawling round every car dealers in my area trying to fit three child seats in back seats of every car which looked like it would do the job. As I said the Roomster has more rear seat flexibility than the Yeti. A big downside for the Yeti was the large seat belt buckles for the rear middle seat which obstructed the positioning of a child seat there.

In terms of a family we actually have no children under 12, but 3 grandchildren under 12 so not your average 2.4 with a dog.

[mbrock]

We went through exactly the same process that led to this award - looked at Golfs etc. and found not enough boot space - the Golf Plus was better but all the Golfs were expensive and options like Xenons were only available on the GT models. The Qashqai was a possibility but the 2.0 diesel was thirsty and the 1.5 underpowered - plus the boot floor was uneven and lacked the Varioflex seating of the Yeti. I like the Roomster but the engine and option choice stops short of what we were looking for. So the Yeti it was - the 4wd being just a bonus which has actually turned out to be very useful, given the last couple of winters.

I am somewhat amazed at the space people apparently need for their families, being of the generation whose parents had the likes of Ford Prefects, VW Beetles and Austin 1100s. However I do assume that at least some motoring journalists might actually have families of their own and hence understand the needs of their audience.

Mark

[Llanigraham]

I am somewhat amazed at the space people apparently need for their families, being of the generation whose parents had the likes of Ford Prefects, VW Beetles and Austin 1100s. .

Mark

I'm with you Mark.

2 adults and 3 kids to one of those pre-erected camping holidays in France, with food for a couple of days and all our sleeping bags in a Skoda Rapid with NO roof rack or box!!!

[prodata]

The review is a bit bizarre in places though isn't it? Like most of these magazine reviews, they seem to have been driving a different Yeti variant from that which most here drive.

So a 'con' is: 'Body roll in the bends'! Really? Is there a new soft-sprung Yeti model that I haven't heard about?

Comfort: 'the firm seats providing plenty of support'. Certainly not lateral support, as many here have commented over the months.

Practicality: 'The boot is large, ...plus a decently sized glovebox and a lidded dash-top compartment.' I'm not complaining about the boot size - I looked at it quite carefully when buying and decided that it was adequate for our needs. But how can you describe it as 'large' especially with the spare wheel onboard. Good vertically - maybe that's what they meant. But then why not say so specifically?

And I have to say that Yeti is one of worst modern cars I've driven for cubbyhole space around tthe driver. The lidded compartment is fine, but can you honestly and safely reach into it with seatbelt on (at least if you're tall enough to have the seat fairly far back)? Lack of cubbyholes is not a big deal overall but more than a mite irritating on occasion.

(Plus, I meant to add. I'm afraid that I don't agree with the 'quiet at motorway speeds' comment. I know this is a pretty subjective area, but I would decribe the combination of road and engine noise on my CR170 at 70mph as significant and borderline irritating, although admittedly no worse than a number of other modern cars. Our old (but current-model) CRV was distinctly quieter for example. Wind noise is more tricky. When there's no cross-wind, wind noise is quite well suppressed. But a 15-20mph cross-wind or more does have a defnitely audible presence.)

Not making an issue of these points - all cars obviously have their pros and cons. But it does annoy me that professional journalists cannot be bothered to get more of the detail correct - it tends to invalidate any magazine review you might read.

Edited 12 March, 2011 by prodata

[rockhopper]

The Yeti boot is large......compared to a mini/golf/astra type car which they seem to be comparing to.

It is small compared to my old Octavia.

It is the same size approx as my old BMW e39 530d touring, which is classed as an executive car or bigger than a golf.......

Mike