Yeti V Dacia Duster ?

[7029bob]

We are thinking along these lines !! Trusty Octavia serviced & taxed for 1 more year . Now contemplating a 1.8 TSI 4x4 Yeti  ( late Reg perhaps ) as mileage is possibly too low for diesel , about  12/14000k & will be watching the prices !!. The Duster does offer a lot of space / boot size fine for us ,but with several build & quality control issues IN SOME of the cars from the Indian factory ( & spares availability  - months for some to come in apparently) we are not prepared to take the risk  at present .( Just noticed 2010 30000m Yeti 1.8 TSI at Arnold Clarke @ £13488  1 owner with FSH  .is this cheap ?)

Suggest you have a look at the write up for Arnold Clarke in the Dealers section, might give you some insight.

[SomewhereInEngland]

Any idea where you read this? I'll be delighted if it is true but can't see it myself. Having said that, there is more competition now at the lower end of the market from Captur, 2008 etc.

 

I have found the original source.

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Secret-new-cars/Search-Results/Spyshots/Skoda-Snowman-and-Yeti-Mk2-two-new-Skoda-4x4s/

 

Its a bit old, but it does hint Skoda have something in the pipeline to reduce costs. What happens between now and then? I would also guess that although Skoda may wish to sell the Yeti at a price point, competition may force a change. If the new Yeti is a tweak and face lift, then the costs should have been coming out of production as the model stabilised and production deveped. All speculation though. Certianly Skoda have a production through put that they will wish to maintain in order to be efficient and get purchase discounts. The Duster, for example, could impact on this.

 

I still need a minimum of 180K miles on the Fabia, just for personnal satisfation.

[hazy]

I have driven both the Duster and the new Captur. The Captur was less roomy inside than the Yeti, had poorer rear visibility and had bizarre diagonal bungee chords on the back of the front seats for the kids to twang. The 90hp diesel version was slower than my 110hp Yeti.

 

The Duster struck me as an honest cheap car with a lot of room for the money. The one I drove had all the extras including hideous chrome tubes along the sills. The interior and dash looked really cheap with hard plastic bits added on for the extra spec. The ride was softer than the Yeti and it rolled a little more but in general it drove quite well. The performance was about the same as my Yeti. My wife said we didn't need to save money that badly.

 

Will probably wait for the facelifted Yeti.

[mainecoon]

 7029 bob -Got the gist re Arnold Clarke website & have done some probing !! Will continue in long term quest for later 1.8 TSI 4x4. :wonder:  Thanks !!

[Hairball]

My advice?

• Set a budget.
• Decide the spec
• Read reviews
• Test drive the options decided from the above
• Read reviews again following your experience in the diffierent models
• Take another test drive (if needed following the above)
• Work the deal
• Make the purchase
• Pick up new car
• Enjoy

That is the normal way to look for a new car. Under no circumstances test drive a Yeti with a view to purchase unless there is a chance of adopting one. They sort of get to you, in a good way.

 

I'm sure the Duster is a cracking car for the money as is the Yeti. Have fun deciding 

[MinnieCooper]

Update. Have loved driving the Duster, great fuel economy, lots of interest from people who don't know what one is, I do like how it looks and handles, but I have to say I have a wee problem with rust.........  Now off to the dealer to see what can be done. So disappointing because up till now I was praising it to everyone. :(

[andyspan]

All I can say is that Dusters are breeding like rabbits here in the deep south and are in danger of swamping us Yetiists!

 

The worrying thing is that SWMBO has noticed them (not much interest in cars on the whole) and asked me what make they are and thinks the White ones look nice

[Dr Zoidberg]

There's more Dusters by me than Yetis certainly.

[Huskoda]

Dacia are becoming what Skoda were not too long ago. Selling tried and tested hardware at a good price. I actually considered the Duster when buying my current car, but the ones sold in the UK just don't have enough grunt for me.

 

They are very much a sensible, value for money choice.

[DonjSZ5]

I went to look at Dacia and it took me all of 30 seconds before I walked away.

[Sprockutt]

We have bought my in-laws Yeti as they have moved on to a Dacia Sandero Stepway. If only they had spent a bit of cash on a marketing team to come up with a more palatable name.  

 

I've had a good look over the car and driven it and it's ok. I actually think the overall design of the Stepway is relatively pleasing on the eye but I'm not so sure about the Duster. It drives fine although the gearbox isn't as sweet as the Yeti's but overall it's ok and certainly spot on and good enough for it's target market. The fact that the top of the range diesel is £20 a year tax like the greenline and about £6k cheaper was enough to convince them that they could live without the larger and more refined Yeti. 

 

It's blatantly obvious where they have cut corners with the quality and in some case complete lack of plastics. But the fact they offer a USB port for direct charging of phones and tablets is great. They don't have a CD unit so the only way you can get tunes is bluetooth or radio which is fine by me. Does away with all the need for having to pay extra for iPod connections etc. I set up my Father in law with Spotify on his newly purchased iPod Touch so he's delighted with this new fangled technology that allows him to update playlists in the house, download them to his iPod then play them in the car without any cables. Saves me lots of grief as well having to download all his Celine Dion cd's into my Mac and set them up for his iTunes.

 

I wouldn't buy one personally but I can understand perfectly well why they are the fastet growing automotive brand in Europe.

[spottydog]

When the Duster was first announced and launched loads of people on here, did, and still do, slate the Duster. They've become exactly the same badge snobs that slated Skoda when the first Fabia's came out in 2000. It took Skoda 10 years to get to a level where they were given a reasonable reception by the majority of informed car users. Dacia will keep improving, but then again the prices will also rise.

[DonjSZ5]

The web goes, VW own Skoda, VW have 20% stack in Suzuki, Suzuki fit Renault engines in Vitaras and Renault own Dacia. The money is all the same colour.

 

Without VW's financial and engineering input I doubt Skoda would be here today.

 

I had a VW Polo for sale last weekend, 2002, 135K miles. In the sale add I described it in full detail all repairs etc, the buyer came along and after 1 minute of looking I said lets go for a test drive now then.....what for he said, IT'S a VW lets go do the paperwork.

Edited 1 May, 2014 by DonjSZ5

[thingy]

It all comes down to; 'You make your choice and you pays your money'

You can find disappointed owners for every make of car and minor faults that get blown out of proportion on all cars.

I looked at the specs for the Dacia's but, none were Diesel-autos so did not even look further. My choice.

From what I hear and have seen, Dacia cars are what I call 'cheap and cheerful' with less to go wrong so should last a long time.

Was in India 2 years ago and the Dacia's were everywhere. Some looked newish and some looked like they had been around for years, with rattles, dents and all. Fact was the old ones were OLD and were still running.

I have friends/family that comment, why did I buy a Skoda? Answer, because I want to. I give the same answer whatever car I buy. It's my money and my life.

So to cut to the chase, I bought a Yeti as it has and is what I want and at the price I can/did afford.

After 3 months with my Yeti, a very good car and well worth the money. Very pleased with the car, only problem I have is, I'm still learning/getting used to it all. And yes, I would/will buy another in about 3 years time.

[MinnieCooper]

I don't think the Stepways have the same problems as Dusters as they are built in Romania.

Thingy, I find it very encouraging that there are plenty of old Dusters knocking about in India, but I would still encourage all white Duster Access owners to regularly inspect for rust, better to deal with it sooner rather than later.

[jonceebee]

 They've become exactly the same badge snobs that slated Skoda when the first Fabia's came out in 2000. It took Skoda 10 years to get to a level where they were given a reasonable reception by the majority of informed car users. Dacia will keep improving, but then again the prices will also rise.

Exactly, when I got my new Qashqai, my neighbour with a Citroen said " At last you have seen sense and got rid of the Skoda and bought a decent car" I nearly took his head off and said the Yeti was so far ahead of the car he was driving., and also referred him to my Octavia with 178k on the clock and said compare Citreon to Skoda now if you dare.