Opening
The Skoda Yeti is the only true premium crossover car being sold in India. Skoda build quality is top notch and that is seen across all the models in its domestic range.
The Yeti however is not a complete attention grabber as it challenges the conventional SUV bulky looks with its smart and reformed lines. We take a look at this silent runner from Skoda Auto and find out more on the premium crossover the Yeti.
Appearance Exterior
The Yeti is not a conventional looking car on the Indian roads. With an Europian styling, its short height and length gives it a squared design which might not be too appealing at first but what you get is great all round visibility and the boxy body means it’s easy to park.
Up front you have the trade mark grill saying it’s a Skoda. The headlights and fog lamp structure is very distinctive. The fog lamps are placed higher up in the bumper giving it a good look. The hood has these distinct line which looks like the nose of an f1 car. The doors are big, heavy and open really wide so getting in and out of the car is pretty easy. The rear view mirrors are although a bit too small for the car leading to some blind spots. The mirrors come with turn indicator which looks rather sleek. They are also equipped with innovative puddle lamps to help you find your footing if stepped out of the car in the dark! However for a car in this price segment, a basic feature like retractable mirrors are not available.
The car sits decently high from its 7 spoke alloy wheels with some good suspension. The blacked out A, C and D pillars you get a very roomy feel. The external styling cue overall is impressive- some of this being the waistline that has a slight bulge and runs parallel to the roof line, the roof rails are high from the body of the car and on the rear you have a nice square shaped booth door with the traditional c break lights of Skoda! The bumpers while not painted across all models, come with under trays that very smartly prevents damage to the under body.
Appearance Interior
Once you get into the car you’re welcomed by soft dual tone luxury interiors. The dashboard is similar to that in the Skoda Laura. There are no sharp or cheap plastics used and the build quality is excellent. All the switches and gadgets are in arms reach. The instrument dials have a nice touch of chrome to them. Whats unique is that the illuminocity of the dial can also be adjusted! The dashboard is home to a cd players, the a/c system and storage box on the top. What’s missing though are audio controls on the steering wheel.
The central console has just enough space for a cup holders and your mobile. The centre arm rest is adjustable to different heights, once opened you will find the aux-in input for the CD player and subsequently space. The arm rest also houses the rear A/C vents and an ashtray. So this means this car doesn’t allow a driver to smoke (maybe for safety reasons) but allows the passengers to indulge. The dashboard also houses the dual airbags; a striking feature is that the passenger airbag can be turned on or off. The drivers and passenger seats come with height adjustability and lumber support. The seat can be adjusted in such a way that you can choose to the see the whole bonnet of the car or nothing at all, it’s like an instance switch between suv and sedan.
The rear passenger seats can comfortably fit 2 people while 3 (although there’s a seat for the 3r person) can be a bit of a squeeze. All three seats are adjustable; they move forward and backward and even recline because of this there is ample knee and headroom. The centre seat can fold down be used as an arm rest for the passengers. It’s got a big useful squared booth, with ample of space. If more space is required then you can fold the seats down or tumble them forward or even remove them if you need to. You also get handy hooks for your shopping backs. Skoda even threw in a bungee net to strap down your luggage.
This small little SUV comes with a 1968 cc TDI DOHC CR Diesel Engine which puts out 110 Bhp @ 4200 rpmh with a top speed of 175 kmph. Yeti will give you some impressive no’s in city you get around 13 kmpl and on the highway around 16 to 17 kmpl; full tank is 55 liters. The company claims the Yeti can clock 0 - 100 kmph in 11.1 seconds,. The engine is a bit noisy and can even be heard in the cabin. The car has a slippery clutch and if you can’t control the clutch the car will stall. We found that the gear slots don’t fall to well; you tend to get lost while up or down shifting from 4th gear. Otherwise there are no issues with this engine, its smooth, refined and delivers instant power.
Performance Drive
Behind those big 16 inch alloys are disc brakes with inner cooling, with single piston floating calipers in the front and rear. You also get ABS, EBD and ESP so you are in safe hands. Your suspensions in the front are McPherson with lower triangular links and torsion stabilizer and at the rear you have a multi-element axle, with one longitudinal and three transverse links, with torsion stabilizers. This car is nimble and easy to drive around in city traffic. With a turning radius of 5 m parking and u turn are easy.
The ride quality is a bit soft and bouncy. At low speeds you will feel minor bump in the cabin; well another downer is the slippery clutch. In traffic at low rpms you could just stall in the middle of the road, which is embarrassing. On the highway it handles like a dream, its picks up almost from any gear you won’t find need to down shift unless you really need to. The steering is sharp and crisp, so turning in and out of turns is easy. You may find that the car tends to over steer while taking hard corners but then you have the ESP which keeps you on the tarmac.
The Yeti comes with dual air bags in the front for the drive and the passenger. The air bag for the passenger can be turned off, in case there are no occupants. Some of the other safety features are ABS, EBD, HHC (hill decent control), Mechanical Brake Assist Central Locking, Power Door Locks, Child Safety Locks, Anti-Theft Alarm, Antiglare Rear View Mirroring Seat Belts Rear Seat Belts Seat Belt Warning Door Ajar Warning, Side Impact Beams, Front Impact Beams, Traction Control, Keyless Entry, Parking Sensors and fuel supply cut out.
Tech Specs
Technical Specifications | |
Make | Skoda |
Model | Yeti |
Variant | 2.0TDI CR/103KW |
Engine Displacement (cc) / Cylinder | 1968/ 4 Cyl |
Power | 103 KW (140PS)@4200 RPM |
Torque in NM | 320@2500 RPM |
Gear Box | 6/M |
Drive | 4WD |
Tyres | 215/60 R16 |
Fuel Tank Capacity | 60 L |
Dimensions | |
Ground Clearance (mm) | 180 |
Turning circle radius (m) | 5 |
Length (mm) | 4223 |
Width | 1793 |
Height | 1691 |
wheel base | 2578 |
Mileage (kmpl) | |
City | 12 |
Highway | 15 |
Fuel | Diesel |
Features
Features | Ambiente | Elegance |
Alloy wheels 16"moon | Yes | No |
Alloy wheels 16" Spectrum | No | Yes |
Boreal wood design on front dashboard and console | No | Yes |
Roof rails | Yes | Yes |
Halogen headlights | Yes | Yes |
Front fog lamps | Yes | Yes |
Rear fog lamps | No | Yes |
External mirror defogger wit timer | Yes | Yes |
Rear windscreen defogger with timer | Yes | Yes |
Hill Hold Control | Yes | Yes |
ABS | Yes | Yes |
EBD | Yes | Yes |
Traction control System | Yes | Yes |
Electronic stability program | Yes | Yes |
Drive off assistant | No | Yes |
Off-road ABS | No | Yes |
Off-road TCS | No | Yes |
Parktronic display on central infotainment system | Yes | Yes |
Dual front airbags | Yes | Yes |
Side airbag at front | No | Yes |
Curtain airbag at front and rear | No | Yes |
Engine immobiliser | Yes | Yes |
Height adjustment for fron driver and passanger seat | Yes | Yes |
Rear seat arm center | Yes | Yes |
Skoda audio player with touch screen control | Yes | Yes |
6.5"LCD TFT crystal display | No | Yes |
Integrated 6 CD changer | No | Yes |
Audio control on steering | No | Yes |
Dual zone climetronic | No | Yes |
Leather seat upholstery | Yes | Yes |
Competition All Specs
Specifications |
Skoda
Yeti |
Renault
Duster |
Variant | TDI CR 4X2 Ambition | RX Z |
Engine Displacement / No of cylinders | 1968/4 | 1461/4 |
Power PS/RPM | 140/4200 | 110/3900 |
Torque in Nm/RPM | 320/2500 | 248/2250 |
Gear Box | 6/M | 6/M |
Drive | 2WD | 2WD |
Tyres | 215/60 R16 | 215/65 R16 |
Fuel Tank Capacity | 60 L | 50 L |
Dimensions in MM | ||
Ground Clearance | 180 | 205 |
Length | 4223 | 4315 |
Width | 1793 | 1822 |
Height | 1691 | 1695 |
wheel base | 2578 | 2673 |
Turning circle radius in M | 5 | 5.2 |
Mileage kmpl | ||
City | 12 | 16 |
Highway | 15 | 19 |
Fuel | Diesel | Diesel |
Features | ||
Alloy wheels | Yes | Yes |
Roof rails | Yes | Yes |
Halogen headlights | Yes | Yes |
Front fog lamps | Yes | Yes |
Rear windscreen defogger with timer | Yes | Yes |
Hill Hold Control | Yes | Yes |
ABS | Yes | Yes |
EBD | Yes | Yes |
Traction control System | Yes | Yes |
Electronic stability program | Yes | Yes |
Parktronic display on central infotainment system | Yes | Yes |
Dual front airbags | Yes | Yes |
Side airbag at front | No | Yes |
Engine immobiliser | Yes | Yes |
Height adjustment for fron driver and passanger seat | Yes | Yes |
Rear seat arm center | Yes | Yes |
Audio player with touch screen control | Yes | Yes |
Integrated 6 CD changer | No | Yes |
Audio control on steering | No | Yes |
Dual zone climetronic | No | Yes |
Leather seat upholstery | Yes | No |
Ex showroom price in Rs | ||
Mumbai | 1543927 | 1131559 |
Conclusion
The Yeti may not look butch, but it’s no slouch when it comes to on road performance. It not only excels in terms of built quality, comfort and space but also delivers good performance with class leading fuel efficiency figures.
The average family guy will never find anything to complain about since this SUV is mainly targeted for city use. The Yeti makes a lot of sense for those select few who do not want to splurge on the 4x4 but still want to experience a smart SUV. An automatic gear box would have nailed it. Nevertheless, the Yeti 4×2 is built for a purpose and it fulfills it with flying colours. The Yeti 4×2 is a superb option for those looking for a quality SUV at an affordable price.