I have just taken ownership of my third Yeti. My previous Yeti ownership comprised a 2009 1.2 TSI SE, followed by a 2012 Urban TDI.

 

I ran the TSi for 10K miles / 1 year and found it just a little bit underpowered. It was fine around town, but struggled when fully loaded with either passengers or luggage. The car retained a phenomenal 90% of it's new cost when traded in at 1 year (presumably due to the waiting list at the time).

 

It replaced a 1.6 petrol Qashqai and was better in every conceivable way.

 

It had a few minor issues during its time with me:

• new cam position sensor
• ECU flash (went wrong an immobilised the car)
• timing chain was becoming increasingly noisy (especially on cold start-up)

The fuel economy was disappointing and the car was truly dreadful in snow - wide tyres (Pirelli P Zero Rosso) / light front end. In 2009 I’d yet to be converted to the merits of winter tyres, resulting in the car getting physically stuck on more than one occasion.

 

I came to the Yeti Urban after briefly owning a 1.6 (105 BHP) Roomster.  I'd not got on with the 1.6 CR engine in the Roomster as I'd previously owned a remapped (Revo) 1.9 TDi Roomster and found the 1.6 CR engine coarse, lacking in torque (low down the rev range) and not especially economical.

 

The 2.0 CR TDi in the 2012 Yeti Urban was a marked improvement, both in terms of refinement and sheer "driveability". I covered 40k miles in around 2 years and the car returned an overall average of 46 MPG (best 57 mpg, worst 39 mpg). The 2.0 engine felt much more powerful than the 1.6 CR TDi, despite virtually identical power figures (105 BHP / 184 lb/ft vs 110 BHP / 184 lb/ft).

 

The car was serviced every 10K (as per Honest John's advice) and suffered no mechanical issues. I did however experience on going issues with paint blistering, requiring rectification under warranty (door respray and another planned at the point of trading in).

 

I enjoyed the spec offered in the Urban and especially appreciated the integration of the ICE system (Amundsen+) with the Bluetooth,Sat-nav, Maxidot and Park Assist. The DAB was most welcome and has opened my families eyes to the joys of Radio 4 extra and 5 live in stereo. The SD based MP3 player worked very well. I ran it with a 64 Gb SDXC card (formatted to FAT32) and found it especially suited to Audiobooks.

 

The residual values on this occasion weren't great though, the car returning 65% of it’s new cost when traded in. WBAC had offered ~£11K and the local Honda dealer £10.5K (against a 13 Plate Elegance 4x4).

 

I ran winter tyres / 16” steel rims November to March and had no issues, despite running in deep snow. The car lacked full ESP, which seemed a glaring omission at the time. It was supplied new with Dunlop SP01, which were down to 2mm at 38K miles on the front and 4mm on the back (I ran winter tyres Nov-March, so maybe 25-30K miles in total). Overall a great and flexible family car.

 

The new Yeti is a 2.0 TDi 4x4 (140 BHP). It is a Tour de France special edition and is apparently based on an SE Outdoor. The cost was broadly similar to that I’d paid for the 2WD Urban 2 years earlier. I have a theory that 4x4’s may well offer better residuals, compared with 2WD’s, although I’ll not know for certain until “trade in time”.

 

I actually prefer the styling of the pre-face lift car and feel the FL car has lost a little of it’s unique charm.

 

I’ve covered 1100 miles since collecting the car just over a week ago. I expected lower fuel economy with the 4WD drive train (based on previous experience with both Mk I and Mk II Octavia 4x4’s). This car seems 10-15% down on the 110 BHP 2WD (~40 mpg vs 46 mpg). This is however more than made up for by the extra 30 BHP and sheer “planted” feeling of the new car on the road. The 6 speed gear box is much slicker than the 5 speeder in the old car and, contrary to my understanding, is actually higher geared in top (70 mph = 1900 revs in 6^th / 70 mph = 2100 revs in 5^th).

 

The KESSY system is proving a useful addition and my earlier comments regarding the options fitted to the Urban apply equally here.

 

I again plan to run my winter tyres / 16” steel rims November to March. The new car is fitted with Pirelli P Zero Rosso’s, which seem a strange choice of tyre for such a car. The manufacturers website list them as “Developed for modern sports cars with electronic drive and stability control systems, the P ZERO ROSSO™ (or ‘Red’, as it translates into in English, which is synonymous with Italian motor racing) is ideal for sports performance providing precise steering response on dry and wet roads. The ideal choice for optimum balance between performance and comfort for medium to high-powered cars”. I personally find them a little noisy and lacking in grip in the wet. They were fitted to my first Yeti and as I recall were not proving especially long-lasting at the time.

 

A major irritation with the FL car is the change of the location of the roof bar locating pins. On both my other Yeti’s the front pins were fixed, whereas the rear pins offered a choice of positions. On the FL car the rear pins offer no flexibility. This resulted in my fairly generic Karrite roofbox no longer fitting the “genuine Skoda” Yeti specific roof bars. On reflection a Thule based system would probably have offered greater flexibility, but at the time I was new to roofboxes. Nevertheless this necessitated the purchase of a new roofbox, several hours before packing the car up and leaving on holiday. Of note the claw type Thule system is a huge improvement on the U bolt system in the Karrite box.

 

I did consider a few alternatives to the Yeti:

 

CRV – expensive, nice car though

CX5 – documented issues with DPF / regeneration system, no petrol available to demo

Qasqai – like the new styling, but proved too costly for "like for like" spec

Duster - very low rent interior, lacking in spec, documented issues with build quality / rust, very cheap though

i35 / Sportage - didn't drive that well, hugely expensive for  "like for like" spec (4WD / 2.0 TDi), long warranty (although from the personal experience of a friend any "goodwill" on behalf of the manufacturer relies heavily on main dealer servicing throughout the warranty period, regardless of the EU block exemption).

 

but for the price paid the FL Yeti seemed the ideal choice. With a bit of luck this one will prove as reliable as the last one and hopefully the doors won’t rust on this occasion!

 

 

 

 

 

A comprehensive report.  Thanks for that!  What winters are you using? 

A comprehensive report.  Thanks for that!  What winters are you using? 

 

The tyres are stored in a garage 30 miles away, but from memory are: http://www.hankooktire.com/global/passenger-cars-tires/hankook-winter-i-cept-evo-w310.html

 

They are 205/55/16 94W (??XL) and in conjunction with 16" steel rims have been run for 2 winters now. In that time I've found them hard wearing and effective.

 

I also have a set of Michelin Alpin A4, which were approximately twice the cost (bought at the last minute from Cost-co), but equally as effective. These allowed me to run an Auto CLK (RWD / >200 BHP) throughout the winter.

 

The last few sets of tyres have been sourced from Reifen.com. They deliver quickly and don't tend to run out of stock when demand for winter tyres is high.

Thanks again - useful info for the record. 

Yes, a well detailed report. BRISKODA is great for this kind of info,unfortunately we occasionally suffer from

un-reasoned ' I don't like that - so it must be BAD ' posts. This is not one of those.

Incidentally, how do you store 'winters' ? On their side, in a pile or standing upright on their treads?

Yes, a well detailed report. BRISKODA is great for this kind of info,unfortunately we occasionally suffer from

un-reasoned ' I don't like that - so it must be BAD ' posts. This is not one of those.

Incidentally, how do you store 'winters' ? On their side, in a pile or standing upright on their treads?

 

Tyres off rim should be 'racked' vertically (as in tyre depots) and on a rim horizontally. Use wheel trees myself, which work well and are not overly expensive.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00647X8MU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

TP

Thanx, plumber. I SAID good info on BRISKODA!!

Yes, a well detailed report. BRISKODA is great for this kind of info,unfortunately we occasionally suffer from

un-reasoned ' I don't like that - so it must be BAD ' posts. This is not one of those.

Incidentally, how do you store 'winters' ? On their side, in a pile or standing upright on their treads?

As per TP - I have two tyre trees for storing them. They were fairly inexpensive (Amazon ~ £20) and we're recommended to me in order to avoid the issues associated with storing tyres flat / stacked etc.

I agree that tyre trees are best, but unfortunately they do take up a fair bit of room in an otherwise full garage. I have to store my winters vertically, ie on the rims against the garage wall, two hung on hooks and two stood on wedges (and rotated every couple of weeks) to prevent rolling along the floor but with no extra weight on them and all with a couple of psi extra in.

Steve.

Nice report and good to see some informed opinions from owning multiple Yetis.

 

We have a 2.0 CR170 4x4, 1.2 DSG and 1.6 CR Greenline in the family, on top of a tuned 1.8tsi 4x4.

 

My Yeti also has the Pirreli P Zero Rosso tyres (from new) and I'm so impressed with them it's just had it's second set at 37,000 miles.

I use 225/55/17 winters (so an extra 5 in the side profile) which gives a slightly softer ride, slightly more ground clearance and are about as big as you can go before rubbing on full lock.  Also made the speedo bang on.

But I only put them on for it's first winter as last winter was mild and I was using the car less.

Interesting to note that at 70mph your 6 speed is showing 1900 rpm.

Our first 170 tdi and second 1.6 tdi 5 speed both showed identical 2100 rpm at an indicated 70mph.

Maybe the new Facelifts have a higher 6th gear now which would make a lot of sense?

Hi pinkpanther,

 

Haveing Diesel Experience since 1978, have you a Manual/or/ Auto Box.

 

Diesels/Petrols being new need higher Rev's, I used my Auto DSG in select mode and made sure that Rev's didn't go below 2,000,

(unless on the Highway, then I use Auto). Until my first service at 15,000 KM, The less strain on Motor/Drivetrain etc, then  until 30,000KM, will ensure longevity.

 

Service Manager said to me after recent service, how have you ensured, that you can maintain this excellence, told him the above,

" His comment was that he  needed to ensure "Salespeople" offer the same advice"

1982 Hilux Diesel, 1987 Hilux Diesel, 1992 Disco TD5 Diesel (All over 385,000 KM)

Geoff

Interesting to note that at 70mph your 6 speed is showing 1900 rpm.

Our first 170 tdi and second 1.6 tdi 5 speed both showed identical 2100 rpm at an indicated 70mph.

Maybe the new Facelifts have a higher 6th gear now which would make a lot of sense?

You've got me thinking now - I'll go and check for certain and report back.

Hi pinkpanther,

 

Haveing Diesel Experience since 1978, have you a Manual/or/ Auto Box.

 

Diesels/Petrols being new need higher Rev's, I used my Auto DSG in select mode and made sure that Rev's didn't go below 2,000,

(unless on the Highway, then I use Auto). Until my first service at 15,000 KM, The less strain on Motor/Drivetrain etc, then  until 30,000KM, will ensure longevity.

 

Service Manager said to me after recent service, how have you ensured, that you can maintain this excellence, told him the above,

" His comment was that he  needed to ensure "Salespeople" offer the same advice"

1982 Hilux Diesel, 1987 Hilux Diesel, 1992 Disco TD5 Diesel (All over 385,000 KM)

Geoff

My current cars are both manual. The last auto's I owned were a 2005 Lexus GS300 SE and a CRV Petrol Auto - both traditional 5 speed torque convertor autos.

Nice report and good to see some informed opinions from owning multiple Yetis.

 

We have a 2.0 CR170 4x4, 1.2 DSG and 1.6 CR Greenline in the family, on top of a tuned 1.8tsi 4x4.

 

My Yeti also has the Pirreli P Zero Rosso tyres (from new) and I'm so impressed with them it's just had it's second set at 37,000 miles.

I use 225/55/17 winters (so an extra 5 in the side profile) which gives a slightly softer ride, slightly more ground clearance and are about as big as you can go before rubbing on full lock.  Also made the speedo bang on.

But I only put them on for it's first winter as last winter was mild and I was using the car less.

Hi Bossfox, maybe I should give them a little time to bed in. I ran Goodyear efficient grip performance on my last few cars and found them to be good in the wet, quiet and beneficial to my fuel economy. The P zeros seem a little worse in the wet and somewhat noisier by comparison (??? older design than the Goodyear's).

The EU tyre ratings have the Goodyear's as B for fuel economy, A for wet grip and 68 dB for noise, whereas the Pirelli's are F for fuel economy, B for wet grip and 71 bB for noise. I don't have a feel for the accuracy of these ratings yet, but my personal observations seem to bear out the primary differences between the two.

Ultimately (without a great deal of expense) few of us have the option of deciding what tyres a new car is supplied with. Mine have come with a huge selection - Goodyear, Bridgestone, Pirelli etc

The P zeros seem a slightly odd choice for a Yeti though, given their documented sporting bias. I guess it is purely "luck off the draw" and dependent upon which supplier offers the best deal.

The P zeros seem a slightly odd choice for a Yeti though, given their documented sporting bias. I guess it is purely "luck off the draw" and dependent upon which supplier offers the best deal.

Equally odd, my Yeti does see track work from time to time.

This is where I found the P Zeros very capable and hence the replacement like for like.

I am currently trying the Goodyears on my Fabia.

TIBET III (FL CR170) in 6th gear at 70mph indicated, is turning at 2050rpm.

 

At 70mph true which is 73.5mph indicated (GPS verified - speedo 5% under read), it is 2150rpm.

 

I haven't heard of any gearbox change between pre and post FL but I can't remember what TIBETs I and II pulled in 6th.

TIBET III (FL CR170) in 6th gear at 70mph indicated, is turning at 2050rpm.

 

At 70mph true which is 73.5mph indicated (GPS verified - speedo 5% under read), it is 2150rpm.

 

I haven't heard of any gearbox change between pre and post FL but I can't remember what TIBETs I and II pulled in 6th.

 

Just to clarify my earlier post - at an indicated 70 MPH the rev counter is reading 1900 RPM on my current 140 BHP 4x4 (my old 110 2WD would have pulled just over 2K revs at an indicated 70 MPH).