They have got it about right with their brief drive review of FL model. Economy is poor compared with modern rivals both in terms of MPG and CO2, no stop-start etc. and VAG diesels seem to be slipping behind competitors in refinement and economy. However, overall the Yeti is praised for performance, ability, off road performance and internal flexibility.

FL "modernises" the external appearance but apart from that it is all a bit underwhelming. The city models with all coloured bumpers, door strips etc are going to be very prone to parking dings - especially the door strips - and seems to me to go against the initial appeal and character of the original concept. Just another small crossover for the school run and losing the tough 'Tonka' toy image which so many buyers liked. I have to think that Skoda have made an error by splitting the range into two, just can't see the advantage over the existing single model range which looks just at home in the city as in the country.

 

 

Expatman, it,s called wanting two bites of the Cherry.Agree entirely with your comments on two versions.

Tony

+1

Can you scan & post the article for those of us who are too stingy and lazy to go out and buy it.  

Expatman, it,s called wanting two bites of the Cherry.Agree entirely with your comments on two versions.

Tony

The only reason I can think of is that when a new larger Yeti comes out in 2016?

There will also be a smaller Mini-Yeti based on the VW Taigun.

I do think they are being harsh,the Yeti and the VAG diesel engines are still very good, simply put a good car doesn't get bad over night, if it's a whole new model and it was worse than the current one I could understand the comments in the review but it's not, so the reviews are pointless its the same car pretty much they praised for the past few years.

I do think they are being harsh,the Yeti and the VAG diesel engines are still very good, simply put a good car doesn't get bad over night, if it's a whole new model and it was worse than the current one I could understand the comments in the review but it's not, so the reviews are pointless its the same car pretty much they praised for the past few years.

But the competition has moved on and I think their point is, the FL hasnt. :(

Can you scan & post the article for those of us who are too stingy and lazy to go out and buy it.  

You'll be amazed to learn AE have a website with the Yeti test published there

But the competition has moved on and I think their point is, the FL hasnt. :(

 

Fair point but Face lift's of cars rarely do :(

 

For me at the moment there is nothing in the same class that would make me choose something else like the kuga/Duster/mazda/kia etc, I think my focus   is more on the engines. Anyway its your bloody fault I like them  seeing how well yours has been over the years and what you have done in it  

Fair point but Face lift's of cars rarely do :(

 

For me at the moment there is nothing in the same class that would make me choose something else like the kuga/Duster/mazda/kia etc, I think my focus   is more on the engines. Anyway its your bloody fault I like them  seeing how well yours has been over the years and what you have done in it  

Oh, I didnt think you liked them that much, thats what I heard. If the focus is on the engines then the Yeti falls even further back now imo - utilising some of the oldest in the group. Why did'nt the facelift get the newer 1.8 or 1.4 TSi engines? They've actually dropped the sweet little 1.4 122ps engine altogether - madness imo and with the 1.4TSi 140ps it would make it a fantastic all round car (with the same torque output as the standard 1.8). Buying now, the Yeti's brownie points would be aimed at the flexible interior with those removeable rear seats, a nice cabin and good size for what it offers. The FL looks ming'in to my eyes unfortunately and theres no real improvements to speak of in other areas. Have you driven the new Kuga and CX-5?

They have got it about right with their brief drive review of FL model. Economy is poor compared with modern rivals both in terms of MPG and CO2, no stop-start etc. and VAG diesels seem to be slipping behind competitors in refinement and economy.

 

I don't see that's correct satetment regarding economy plus lack of start-stop idiotic system is only a plus. From what I heard more and more users disable that system anyway prior delivvery.

Edited 14 November, 201312 yr by Soldan

@Yeti_man - Kuga, yes nice car better than the one it replaces but I didn't leave with that "I want this car" feeling. 

 

For me the lack of Petrols in the Yeti isn't something that bothers me but I do agree they are not really looking at the bigger picture.

 

The 170tdi is the same the one was in my or her VRS and I would be happy with that again it would have been nice to have the newer version but hey ho those are the choices 

 

I can't help but think you pushed Audi into making an RS Q3 with beti on the loose  :strong: 

We did a comparison between a number of cars before we bought our Yeti (S 110 4x4). The Yeti proved to be the worst (most costly) in terms of MPG, CO2 and Tax. But when we did the sums the Yeti was significantly cheaper (list price with finance and servicing deal) and therefore over 5 years it came out as the most economical choice and it was the car we liked the most. For those interested the car which came out slightly behind was a Vauxhall Mokka but it was a horrible car to drive.

We did a comparison between a number of cars before we bought our Yeti (S 110 4x4). The Yeti proved to be the worst (most costly) in terms of MPG, CO2 and Tax.

 

I don't care about CO2 and tax but wonder which car you tested had significantly better MPG in 4x4 version.

As someone once said to me " I don't really care about the cost of the car or the running costs or even when I come to sell it, that's the right car in the spec I want so I am going to have it".  :clap: 

I don't care about CO2 and tax but wonder which car you tested had significantly better MPG in 4x4 version.

 

From what I remember the Mokka and Sportage, I think the new Rav 4 & ix35 too but didnt test drive these as we had already made our decision. This is all going off the manufacturers stated figures. 

2 years ago the Greenline was way ahead of the pack in the CO2 figures. Now its been well overtaken, the usual leapfrog scenario .

The UK's tax bands do restrict what equipment is offered on each model so as to just fit the car into a lower band.

As someone once said to me " I don't really care about the cost of the car or the running costs or even when I come to sell it, that's the right car in the spec I want so I am going to have it".  :clap: 

That why i ordered the f/L i like it.

 

For me the lack of Petrols in the Yeti isn't something that bothers me but I do agree they are not really looking at the bigger picture.

 

The 170tdi is the same the one was in my or her VRS and I would be happy with that again it would have been nice to have the newer version but hey ho those are the choices 

 

I guess I shouldn't have made the point just for the petrols, the diesels are now a generation out of date so on a facelift I'd have thought they'd get the newer 150 and 185ps versions - cheaper to tax, lower emissions and more economical - afaik there's nothing stopping these going in, it just seems like vag is reserving them for MQB platform cars. Speaking of which, that's another reason that would personally put me off a FL - relatively speaking its not going to be around long before the Yeti mk2 comes along on the MQB platform and that should be very nice in terms of what it has to offer the crossover segment.

Actually, one of the reasons I went for a yeti is it is PQ35 based, not MQB. I'm really not convinced about the quality of MQB based cars yet. I was in a mk3 Octavia again yesterday and besides some blatent build quality issues (headlight washer covers both hanging off and rattles), the whole thing just doesn't feel as solid as a mk2. Some ropey feeling switchgear too.

It might seem daft to some people but I also really dislike the mqb throttle pedal. The PQ35 pedal that pivots from the bottom is so much nicer.

MQB is all about cutting costs and a little bit of weight whilst superficially seeming posher to most customers.

It's the normal lifecycle.

 

Four years ago when the Yeti came out it was ahead of the game.

Now it's not, but it's still a contender.

With the older mechanicals they won't be by the end of the lifecycle so I'd doubt the FL will manage another four years like the bug eye.

 

Car design, technology and refinement moves on.

I've driven the mk3 Octavia VRS diesel and it's a nicer engine than any of the noisier diesels in the Yeti.

Build quality of that was good.

 

 

Personally I am a bit disappointed with the direction Skoda are going at this point in time.

The car that is too big and a bit bland gets the latest tech, engines and platform as it's the big seller for the masses and the interesting cars are staying with old tech and being resyled to bland in with the big sellers.

I think this is the first time in three years I've not been looking at buying something.

^^^ What he said! Could have typed that myself.

 

Build issues with MQB cars arent my concern tbh as they'll be identified and corrected with time. For me, its the inherent qualities of the platform itself - lighter, stiffer, safer etc that I think will be great to have

.... being resyled to bland in ....

Deserves a literary prize for that one :clap: Nice, Boss! :clap:

From what I remember the Mokka and Sportage, I think the new Rav 4 & ix35 too but didnt test drive these as we had already made our decision. This is all going off the manufacturers stated figures.

Interesting - but from the HJ website and other reviews it seems the Sportage/ix35 are more 35-40 mpg cars in diesel 4x4 form, whereas Yeti is 40-45mpg. Yeti seems to split this class and the one below (Juke/Mokka/2008/whatever-the-Renault-Clio-based-one-is-called).

One wonders if the 2 styles (City and Outdoor) are preparing the market for different cars in future? For example the Yeti City becoming a Rapid-based Roomster replacement, and the Outdoor growing a bit to be a Tiguan sibling?

The figures I got were as follows

 

Sportage 49.6

ix35 49.6

Rav 4 57.6

Mokka 57.6

Yeti 46.3

 

Not sure if this is just the manufacturers PR spin but our Yeti seems to be averaging just less than 45mpg at the moment. The Mokka we test drove had a 1.6 diesel which seemed very noisy and strained unlike the 2.0 in the Yeti which I love already as it is smooth, quiet and gives you plenty of power when you need it, so happy to pay the extra in fuel and tax, and the yeti was around £2000 cheaper.

Edited 15 November, 201312 yr by Pleaty