Yeti vs Evoque

[kilted]

Relative newbie Yeti owner tamer speaking here.

 

Had a bit of a disaster last week after only having adopting the Yeti three weeks ago as someone decided to use the tailgate of the Yeti instead of their brakes to stop so I have been given a Range Rover Evoque as a courtesy car.

 

Strange I know but they said "Was your car 4 wheel drive?" to which I answered in the afirmative. Went down and the Evoque was sitting there waiting for me.

 

My thoughts so far

Yeti

Good visibility

High driving position

Smooth to drive

Handles bumps well

Very little roll in bends

Has most of what I need in way of extras

 

Approx £25-30K new

 

Evoque

Poor visibility esp rearwards. Front ok, sides not bad (helped by huge mirrors).

Driving position ok but seat not too comfortable despite being leather and electric and having every adjustment under the sun.

Drives OK - automatic box is pretty good but very eager to kickdown.

Doesn't like small bumps - you feel the drain covers etc. Not as bad as a regular car but not nearly as good as the Yeti.

Suffers quite badly from body roll in the corners.

Has all the bling you could ever want including electric tailgate, heated everything including steering wheel(!) and TV (yes you read right)

 

Approx £45K

 

All in all - please give me my Yeti back asap. I would rather have the cheap, nice, smooth running snow monster any day over the bling monster that is the Evoque.

 

 

[CFB]

Oi!

Don't call the Yeti cheap!

It good value for money.

[Macdemon]

We all know how much better the Yeti is compared to the Evoque.

That's why we all drive Yetis'

In any case the Evoque is very much a girls car and looks like its been sat on by an elephant.

[Brijo]

Concise Oxford Dictionary:

"cheap...

1     Low in price; worth more than its cost 

2     Charging low prices; offering good value...."

 

[IainM1970]

The Evoque is a car I wanted to like!

 

BUT....

 

Have test driven two SD4 manuals ... the first one I was immediately put off when the (smarmy!) salesman said I'd enjoy driving a proper 4x4 for a change ... I told him I drive one every day ... so drove round the car park, parked up, left him to it, got back in my Yeti and drove away!!

 

The second one was more successful as I actually managed to get on the road!  

 

Nice drive, good power delivery and handles well BUT, cramped inside, poor view, VERY expensive compared to the Yeti.  I was left feeling just how good the Yeti is

[Crawfsyeti]

Complete tosh. I have both of these. The build quality of the Yeti is better than the Evoque. In every other respect the Evoque is by far the better 4x4.

[john999boy]

I test drove an Evoque recently on 20" wheels over cobbled streets and thought the ride was fantastic!

[freedie]

Compared with? The car in the picture?

[BossFox]

When it was time for my Wife's Yeti to be changed I suggeted an Evoke.

We got another Yeti.

 

She didn't like the width and visibility.

She also doesn't like to look like a WAG wanabee.

[Sporky McGuffin]

I test drove an Evoque a year and a half ago and really liked it. It was very much like the Yeti to drive, decent handling, good ride and sensible pace. The view out of the back wasn't fantastic but was good enough, and the huge wing mirrors meant that overall visibility is probably better than the Yeti (I find it very easy to "lose" a car just behind and right of me behind the B-pillar). The inside was lovely (though the speedo was a bit over flashy) and I can see why so many people have bought them. A bit quieter inside than the Yeti, I'd say.

 

For me it wasn't worth the price hike over getting another Yeti - with the spec I wanted it was about £15k more, though this did include more toys that I'd have liked. From a test drive it's obviously hard to say which'd be better to live with, but I doubt I'd have to cry myself to sleep if I had an Evoque.

 

As I've said before, I love my Yeti, but there are a lot of other very good cars in the world and it does this forum no favours when people pretend that every other vehicle is inferior. The Yeti does strike an unusually good balance of price, spec, performance and fun but it's not perfect.

[Dr Zoidberg]

As I've said before, I love my Yeti, but there are a lot of other very good cars in the world and it does this forum no favours when people pretend that every other vehicle is inferior. The Yeti does strike an unusually good balance of price, spec, performance and fun but it's not perfect.

You'll be burnt at the stake for that kind of attitude

[BossFox]

You'll be burnt at the stake for that kind of attitude

 

True.

 

For the money the Yeti is a great "jack of all trades" and to get something better (IMO) you do have to spend a noticable amount more.

 

The problem with most posh cars now is the width, even the Baby Range Rover is quite wide which can be a PITA when you have to get it in a parking space and open the door.

Brings back memories of driving my Range Rover round car parks looking for spaces on the end of rows...

[900000]

I don't think there is another car on sale anywhere on the planet that makes as much profit per vehicle as the Evoque.  It is basically a Ford Focus on stilts.  Styling once done costs nothing.  Gadgets are the same price really between a 1-series and a 7-series BMW (or between an Evoque and a Yeti).  So yes the Evoque has some things we can't get (heated steering wheel) and others like a sunroof that can open is totally unavailable on the Evoque.  So all in all it costs Land Rover about the same to make the Evoque as it does Škoda to make the Yeti. Labour rates will be slightly different of course and the leather better.  But not enough to warrant £15,000 to £20,000 more per car.  So all that is extra profit for LR.  Also remember that this was designed to be sold as a Land Rover below the Freelander...  then someone at LR realised they can in fact sell this as a RANGE ROVER above the Freelander and wham...  Designed to cost £22,000 to £30,000 yet selling for £30,000 to £50,000.  They must be smiling all the way to the bank with that car.  

[Duck_Pond]

I had a brief drive in one before I got the Yeti. Loved the interior design and quality, how it drove and I've always liked the looks. I prefer the 5 door to the 3 door I drove though. My brother works for a LR dealer and went on the Ewok launch, so I know how well they cope off road.

 

For me though, several things put me off. Initial cost - twice as much as I paid for my (2nd hand) Yeti. Economy - no-one seems to get more than about 32mpg. My Yeti is averaging 45mpg mostly, which would add up to quite a few pennies over a year doing 23k miles.

 

And finally visibility. My hobby of wildlife photography means I'm often tootling round the countryside spending more time looking for wildlife than I should, and I found the "letterbox" views out of the Ewok to be too restrictive. The view out the back from the mirror was reminiscent of looking the wrong way through binoculars.

 

So it was a Yeti for me, though I bet the air con works better in Ewoks. Mine's broken. During the hottest spell in years. Typical.

[CFB]

Concise Oxford Dictionary:

"cheap...

1     Low in price; worth more than its cost 

2     Charging low prices; offering good value...."

 

Agree with both, but we all know that if something is called cheap, it infers poor quality, to the uneducated of course.

We know better

[Sporky McGuffin]

You'll be burnt at the stake for that kind of attitude

 

Dang it - I'm already having trouble getting to sleep now it's gotten warm.

 

For the money the Yeti is a great "jack of all trades" and to get something better (IMO) you do have to spend a noticable amount more.

 

Absolutely - the alternatives I've considered have all been significantly more expensive - mostly mid thirties to low forties. They all do something the Yeti doesn't, but I'm not sure any is a better balance for what I need.

 

And finally visibility. My hobby of wildlife photography means I'm often tootling round the countryside spending more time looking for wildlife than I should, and I found the "letterbox" views out of the Ewok to be too restrictive. The view out the back from the mirror was reminiscent of looking the wrong way through binoculars.

 

Actually, now you mention it, there was something odd about the view in the mirror - it was almost as if you were watching a film rather than looking at a reflection. Hard to explain but the quality of the image was "off" somehow.

 

I would like a heated steering wheel though. It sounds like a silly gimmick, but in winter my hands seem to be freezing in the car. Heated seats are lovely, as is the heated windscreen, but a warm wheel would be the cherry on the icing on a very tasty cake.

[Merlinman]

? Alan Partridge driving gloves?

[Sporky McGuffin]

I have a selection of gloves, and they do help. I'm well aware that on the grand scale this is down there with "...and the brioche was slightly past its best", but I do like the idea of a heated steering wheel.

[BossFox]

I'd rather have a parking heater.

Not available on UK spec though. :(

[jlwah]

The Evoque has been a great success storey for LR and as it's built here we should all be thankful that it's done so well.

 

I still think it tries too hard to be stylish without quite achieving it and seeing as they seem to be everywhere the novelty of the design is wearing off quickly. And the price is wince inducing.

 

So it's not really fair to compare it to the Yeti, even if the Yeti holds its own in many areas of comparison. And who would have thought, say 15 years ago that anyone would seriously compare a Skoda model with a posh Land Rover?

 

Even though we no longer have one, every time I see a Yeti I always think it looks just right.

[FenlandPete]

A few months ago, on one of our trips to North Wales we set out to go up Snowdon by the Watkins Path - one of the quieter tougher routes to the top. We had parked our Yeti in the car park at the bottom of the path, and were getting kitted out with our boots, rucksacks, map, food/drink/waterproofs etc - all the gear we are told we should take for such a trek, when a brand new Evoque pulled up alongside, and two desperately cool young couples got out -  all designer jeans/sunglasses, but only wearing designer t-shorts and plimsolls/baseball boots -no evidence of a rucksack, waterproofs, proper walking boots etc. They had a leaflet they had obviously picked up from tourist information office (no map), and set out alongside us up the Watkins Path -  no problem for the first mile or so - a well made path and the weather was OK. As we clmbed up, the path got steeper and rougher, with loose scree to contend with, and also the hill fog had come down, and it was starting to drizzle. We trudged on in our boots and waterproofs. We noticed our Evoque friends dropping back, struggling to stay upright on the tricky terrain in their plimsolls, and the girls in particular starting to look very cold, wet and bedraggled - after a while we  did not see them again - I assume they turned back (if they had any sense).  Perhaps this little story illustrates that Evoques appeal to those who value style over substance/practicality. We yeti owners are perhaps very uncool and boring by comparison, but we just like honest practicality and lack of pretense.

 

I am sure the Evoque is a fine car, and since it is made in the UK, I am pleased it is doing well - it is just not for me. I think  for quite a few people the car they drive is a fashion statement - we looked at the mini countryman AWD before we bought our Yeti, and the BMW salesman had me reaching for the bucket when he told me 'buying a mini is not buying a car, it is buying into a lifestyle'.  - enough said. 

 

I agree that no car is perfect - I think the Yeti could do with a much more user-friendly radio (the Bolero drives us mad, and the reception is often poor) and I find the lack of back support in the front seats a problem, but otherwise it is great, and an extremely practical package that is also fun to drive and economical (also quite competent in the snow, as we found out last winter in North Wales).  

 

Pete         

[Kingsley]

The Evoque evokes disgust in me when i see how ugly and impractical it looks. It costs far too much and its interior quality does not merit 'Range Rover' as a description. It looks like a crushed frog. Has being fashionable ever rendered a bunch of drivers so ridiculous?

It is a badge snobbery success, puffed up by the disgraceful pomposity and grovelling of the same motoring press that at first ridiculed the Superb for its name and now says 'how appropriate'. The same idiots who pandered to the snobbery of owning a 'merc' or a BMW rather than the superior VW Phaeton. Their loss has been my gain. Your wisdom in choosing the excellent Yeti poops all over the nonsense of fashion victims such as the huge ugly 'Minis' and this terrible Emperor's new clothes 'Evoque' thing. But thewily old Brits always had a soft spot for good value well built Czech cars even in the bad old 'joke' days.

[Sporky McGuffin]

I'm consistently amazed at the bile some people can summon up over what car others buy. All the assumptions about what character defects they must have to have chosen a different vehicle, the insistence that they must be mentally inferior and couldn't possibly have any good reason for their choice.

 

It's almost enough to convince me to get an Evoque next, just so I can know that somewhere, someone is apoplectic about a car they'll never drive or even sit in. The quiet satisfaction that comes from someone else turning purple, foaming at the mouth and ranting beyond all sense over my having bought a car of which they do not approve. Knowing that an angry person somewhere is making all sorts of baseless judgements about me without ever meeting or talking to me. Magic.

 

Also, as I mentioned, the one I tried was pretty darned good. Maybe I'm just a happy person.

Edited 10 July, 2013 by Sporky McGuffin

[900000]

I'm consistently amazed at the bile some people can summon up over what car others buy. All the assumptions about what character defects they must have to have chosen a different vehicle, the insistence that they must be mentally inferior and couldn't possibly have any good reason for their choice.

 

It's almost enough to convince me to get an Evoque next, just so I can know that somewhere, someone is apoplectic about a car they'll never drive or even sit in. The quiet satisfaction that comes from someone else turning purple, foaming at the mouth and ranting beyond all sense over my having bought a car of which they do not approve. Knowing that an angry person somewhere is making all sorts of baseless judgements about me without ever meeting or talking to me. Magic.

 

Also, as I mentioned, the one I tried was pretty darned good. Maybe I'm just a happy person.

 

I agree...  I can just imagine how Evoque drivers talk about Yeti owners on their forum...     ETTO is my life motto.

[jester911]

I am driving yeti for 2 years (1,2 dsg elegence with almost every option checked) and last year bought an evoque for my wife (2.0 petrol dynamic) so for some time I drive both of them. My opinion about both cars is:

 

Yeti PROS:

Yeti is very well priced and useful car. it has almost everything you will need ,and more than enough for everyday use. good visibility, cheap to run, feels comfortable and easy to drive. Also you get much more than you paid in every aspect. (design is a subjective issue but I like the form follows function philosophy and therefore boxy design)

 

interior is also very practical as much of the VAG cars, even if you drive it for the first time, you find everything in place, and for longterm use, nothing bothers you. its good for city driving, ground clearnce is good for soft offroading, enough place for 4 person for 1 day trip and good for buying large furnitures for ikea. I do not feel to much attention to it, it does nor feel cheap but if I dent the door, I am sure I will be less sad than my other cars.

 

 

CONS: mostly only the badge Skoda brand still suffers from its old days reputation which is not good if you are looking a prestigious car, but this was not my concern.

 

for EVOQUE:

PROS:

first of all, it looks good, and it has very good 4x4 system, very hard to make it slide on any weather. luxury looking interior, decent boot space. (baby trolley and much more fits according to yeti) very big glass roof and good performance.Also becasue of price tag and design, you can go soft offroading or go to a event with tuxedo and it does feel ok.very good on speed bumps and not so good roads (with magna ride damping) and body roll almost does not exist.

 

Cons:

its expensive, (so it's prestigious?) very good design in terms of beauty, but it lacks some daily life practicality.

visibility is very poor, you can not see the kerbs in corners, not very comfortable to drive in city because of size and visibility. Rear visibilty is not muhc problem in traffic and parking is easy (rear view camera) but as its designed as a sports car interior which is on a lift, even taking tickets in the entry of multi floor parking is a problem (windows are high, car is high, you have to be very flexible to reach the button to issue a ticket) and I am 5'10.interior design is chic, with gizmos like drive selector knob, but still I find my self searching for the right button or menu to do what I want.

 

also the interior material is very good quality,but the building quality is not good. For such an expensive car, you get mostly design.and good offroading capable drive, glass roof does not open, very bad consumtion (in city 19L/km according to wife terms), if you look at evoque forums, (which I am) you sill see that there are lots of building quality problems in many areas which are disturbing for such a price tag.

 

So in conclusion, I bought an evoque due to family policy (I also own a Porsche carrera 4s) so it was hard to explain my wife Skoda Yeti is a good car for her now, we share Yeti as common car and if we have to chose only one car to keep, keeping the price in mind  I will keep Yeti. Its the best and usable car I have so far.

but please note that I do not regret paying such a price and buying for evoque, it deserves it in its terms.

 

but also, I respect people opinions and do not label them as badge snobs or stupid to buy such a car (Lancia epsylon is also in market,and yes people buy and love it, weird huh?) , everybody chooses for what is best for them. everybody has different priorities, chic, economical, practical, fast or comfortable, and as everybody has a favorite comfortable shoe ( mine is Yeti), but sometimes its not very useful for what you need for. (business meetings, weddings, fishing, trekking, etc...)