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      Skoda Yeti Review

      Aditya Chatterjee

      Aditya Chatterjee

      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.

      Skoda | Skoda Yeti | Yeti