Speaking to the sales chap when we collected our little Monte Carlo today. He's under the impression that, as has previously been reported on here, the Yeti's round 'eyes' will be no more once the facelift appears next year :wonder:

What really surprised me though was why; negative customer feedback apparently he tells me Odd if true, as IMHO that's one of the Monsters best bits of design styling; very recognisably Yeti and copied by Nissan for the Puke

TP

Do you think that sales chaps have any real idea about what the facelifted Yeti will look like? I get the impression from talking with car salesmen that they are fed no information about revisions until just before the public launch!

have to agree, they Yeti's 'eyes' are one of it's attractive styling touches. I wouldn't be surprised it the new one gets the new Skoda 'corporate'? front end.

Those pukes look awful IMHO, and just lately I've noticed them with fogs, dipped and sidelights on. Awful.

I would also say that 'customer feedback' will not be a primary driver for design features. Corporate style and brand values will be more influential than a few grumpy Joe Publics. Besides, I have never heard anyone say anything negative about the 'eyes' of the Yeti, but have heard and read plenty of praise for the Yeti's styling.

I would also say that 'customer feedback' will not be a primary driver for design features. Corporate style and brand values will be more influential than a few grumpy Joe Publics. Besides, I have never heard anyone say anything negative about the 'eyes' of the Yeti, but have heard and read plenty of praise for the Yeti's styling.

+1

There is a saying in China which says " If the nail sticks out hammer it down "

Lets face it, a LOT of car salesman are full of ****

Speaking to the sales chap when we collected our little Monte Carlo today. He's under the impression that, as has previously been reported on here, the Yeti's round 'eyes' will be no more once the facelift appears next year :wonder:

What really surprised me though was why; negative customer feedback apparently he tells me Odd if true, as IMHO that's one of the Monsters best bits of design styling; very recognisably Yeti and copied by Nissan for the Puke

TP

TP, I would just like to confirm your derogatory remark about the Puke is correct! I have a loaner at the minute whilst Yeti is in ITU, Puke is a 1.2 or 1.4 petrol, it has sat nag, it has three buttons for eco, normal and sport, which I guess are maps for the ecu, Eco means the car doesn't move, normal means it moves a bit better but you have to rev it 5,500 rpm to get any pick up and sport means an uber responsive throttle and destroys any hope of a smooth gear change.

Very light on the front end and wheel spin is almost unavoidable from a junction, no room in the boot, no room for back seat passengers and lots of distractions like, sat nag, climate buttons, d mode buttons but the worst part of this car are the windscreen wipers!

They have to be the loudest wipers I have ever heard, when you sit with the brake down and clutch down and wipers on the movement is apparent through your feet!

Back on thread, face lift Yeti, I hope it matures a little but nothing too drastic, Yeti is a fun and practical motor but I feel it has one or two "acceptable" rough edges, so on the new facelift Yeti, I am sure refinements can be made, I would however be dissapointed if the Yeti is changed drastically from what it is today.

I too love the quirky looks of the current Yeti - that's the main reason I purchased one in the first place. However, it could be that Skoda have decided that they could attract even more Yeti sales from potential customers who are currently not buying one because of it's looks. It's all about sales/profits and not pleasing the existing customer base. OK, current owners may not like the look of a face lifted Yeti without the high fog lights, and may or may not purchase one. However, those potential lost sales could (in Skoda's eyes) be more than compensated for by attracting a more conservative buyer. Anyway, I think that the secondhand resale/trade value of the current Yeti could well be enhanced if Skoda introduce a Kia clone Yeti, as there would be a strong and captive used market from purchasers who want the original style.

I would also say that 'customer feedback' will not be a primary driver for design features. Corporate style and brand values will be more influential than a few grumpy Joe Publics.

Spot on, I'd say. It's hardly as if they've struggled to sell Yetis in their current guise - just look at the lead times!

Nothing to do with "customer feedback", everything to do with someone deciding that there needs to be a common corporate style across the range.

To attract more sales they will have to ramp up production. They can't keep up with demand as it is.

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If Skoda want to sell more Yeti's perhaps they should try and build them faster, there must be quite a lot of potential customers who walk away when told about the length of the wait.................. :coffee:

If Skoda want to sell more Yeti's perhaps they should try and build them faster

My Yeti is fast enough Sorry TH, couldn't resist it.

Is this one of those 'off to the corner' reply's?

If Skoda want to sell more Yeti's perhaps they should try and build them faster, there must be quite a lot of potential customers who walk away when told about the length of the wait.................. :coffee:

The Yeti also confirms the old saying "All good things come to those who wait"

On Autotrader one Skoda dealer has 2 4x4 Elegance Yeti's(140bhp) on sale for £27,995! (ok, they have a few options) But I imagine this is profiteering regarding the time on year when many small 4x4's will increase in price with the impending snowy winter that we are expecting??

The sales of most 4x4s tend to be more buoyant in winter, the dealer you mention looks like they are trying there hand with supply vs demand. Plenty of extras can increase retail prices quite a lot although I agree BigHusky these prices look steep to say the least.

Speaking to the sales chap when we collected our little Monte Carlo today. He's under the impression that, as has previously been reported on here, the Yeti's round 'eyes' will be no more once the facelift appears next year :wonder:

What really surprised me though was why; negative customer feedback apparently he tells me Odd if true, as IMHO that's one of the Monsters best bits of design styling; very recognisably Yeti and copied by Nissan for the Puke

TP

My local salesman also confirmed that the Yeti will loose he bugeyes in the late 2013 facelift. They were shown both the facelifted Yeti and the new platform Octavia on a meeting in Czech to introduce the Rapid.

Apparently the bane of the bugeyes is to conform to the new Skoda front look, matching all the other models. DRL's and fog lights will be moved to the fake air intakes in the front bumper. The Octavia is to receive a sharp crease along the side and was reported to look really sharp - and gain some 4 inches in length, putting it more in the middle of the Rapid and the Superb -

Edited 8 December, 201213 yr by Agerbundsen

My local salesman also confirmed that the Yeti will loose he bugeyes in the late 2013 facelift. ...

Possibly the existing units are more expensive than simpler designs? Might be a good move if they improve the standard headlights output with the change... (Although I too like the original styling)

It would be a huge shame if it loses its quirky appeal and just becomes another boring Kuga/Hyundai etc etc as some of the recent so called facelift images are anything to go by. It is what it is and if they wanted it to be a tin of baked beans then they were intelligent enough to have put it in the right tin at the outset !

Two things are going on here -the obsession with a brand having a corporate "face" as pointed out earlier and, I suspect, the feeling that those who have already got a Yeti are not their target for a facelift. We will either like the one we have so much we will buy another even if it is more corporate or we will move on. The Marketing mindset is full of seeking new customers and disregarding the existing owner. Otherwise they think they will only ever sell replacements after 2-3 years and -if the engineers do too well-even less often.

It has just happened to my favourite motorbike and few if any manufacturers even want a long running model.

Think back to when a model had a long life with only incremental changes-Morris 1000, 2CV, Renault 4 and reflect on how well the makers are doing now.

The pictures of the new octavia look really good. I'd be more than happy to see an updated Yeti with a similar front end.

Two things are going on here -the obsession with a brand having a corporate "face" as pointed out earlier and, I suspect, the feeling that those who have already got a Yeti are not their target for a facelift. We will either like the one we have so much we will buy another even if it is more corporate or we will move on. The Marketing mindset is full of seeking new customers and disregarding the existing owner.

i understand the "need for a corporate face," but there has to be some difference or you won't be able to tell a citigo, fabia, octavia or yeti if head on, currently the Yeti is distinctive but obviously skoda, if they can retain that whilst keeping the marketing plebs happy we may be in with achance

and have they not seen the figures about the cost of keeping existing customers over the cost of acquiring new customers, for every lost existing customer it will cost them about 4 times as much to get a new customer, so change to much at skoda's peril

Skoda has modernised it's looks over the years and I think it's been a good thing. As such, sales have increased and the future looks good. Obviously, VAG have played a major part in Skodas success and made the brand more desirable. Lets be honest, the Skoda brand was laughed at by a lot of people in the past but things have changed now. The Yeti, Citigo, Rapid and the new Octavia are clear examples of the vast improvement in design, creativity and inovation from the back room staff. People often say "if it's not broke, don't fix it" but in this competitive and ever changing world it may be more appropriate to use the term "adapt or die".

The current Škoda range has always been to my mind a great range that share family design elements and all clearly are related but are NOT cookie cutter Small, Medium and Large versions of the same thing as per what Audi is doing at the moment. Look at the pics below. The Yeti has a clear family resemblance yet is very distinctive with those fogs. Seems someone from Audi design is now working at Škoda and trying this ludicrous cookie cutter design school madness here... Grrr.

As to the dealer saying this is due to negative customer feedback... well utter b***cks I say. Remember when the sunroof was discontinued in 2010? And all the myriad reasons the dealers came up with and told customers as gospel? Nope in my view the deletion of the round fogs is purely being done due to the corporate design ethos that now has to sadly be pasted on all Škodas. Your average salesman will not be privy to any inside corporate design direction emails to make statements like that.

... in my view the deletion of the round fogs is purely being done due to the corporate design ethos that now has to sadly be pasted on all Škodas. ...

The "corporate design ethos" is clearly evolving. I prefer the understated Octavia mk1 face to the mk2, but the new mk3 seems very modern. Round Yeti-style fog lights may or may not work with the new design - we'll see! I reckon they may be kept as a product differentiator.