Introduction

The Skoda Yeti was never a commercial success in India, but those who bought one vouch by its capabilities and swear not to buy any other in that segment. It looks like an interesting option, offering five seats like all the D-Segment sedans and little bit of off-roading capabilities without the crudeness of the seven-seaters. The looks didn’t help the compact SUV either. Not that anyone will call it ugly, but the peculiar face had no mass appeal here.

Skoda will soon launch the new Yeti – the basic performance attributes remain the same, but the Czech manufacturer has tweaked the looks and added a few extra features in hopes of selling it to a wider base.

Exterior

The new Yeti dons the Skoda family face; gone are the quirky looks with rounded ends and big bulby fog lamps, the new one is sharp and edgy, very similar to that of the Octavia. The headlamps are now bi-Xenon with a strip of LED day-time running lamps running at the bottom of the unit – again exactly like the one on the Octavia. The conventional fog lamps are housed in the refreshed bumpers and the Skoda logo moves on to the bonnet above the new grille with vertical stats.

The new alloy-wheels, matching silver wing mirrors, roof rails and side moulding with similar silver inserts are the only changes to the side profile. The rear design also remains unchanged apart from the new C-shaped LED tail lamps and trapezoidal housing for the number plate. The interesting addition is that the roof can now be painted in contrasting colours and that certainly adds to the premium feel of the Yeti.

Overall, the Yeti retains the stout, boxy stance – it is one of the smaller SUVs and the design does not try to camouflage this fact. Generally we like our SUVs to be big and that is one thing that does not work in its favour. However, the new design is more generic and should work well in the Indian market.

Interior

With the facelift, Skoda has added a few necessary features to the Yeti. It now gets the keyless start, cruise control, audio system with Bluetooth connectivity, tyre pressure monitoring system and driver-side power-seat with memory function.

The dual tone trims are similar to that of the previous version, only a few components are new like the three-spoke steering wheel from the Octavia. The music system sounds nice and connects to all sorts of devices through MDI, yet it is a generation older compared to the Bolero (that is the name of the music system!) of the Octavia.

The rear seats are comfortable for two, but not good enough to seat three abreast. The middle seat can be pulled down as an armrest that has cup holders but more importantly I like the fact that it also offers access to the boot like the other premium VW group cars. The boot space is acceptable at 416 litre and can be increased to 1,485 litre once the rear seats are folded down. The Yeti gets the necessary equipment, but by no means shall I call it a feature rich car for the price point.

Performance

There are no engine upgrades for the Yeti either, it still uses the 2.0-litre diesel engine with 109bhp and 140bhp for the 4x2 and 4x4 variants respectively. We only got the 4x2 for our drive in Kashmir and it really didn’t feel any different from the previous version. There is ample bottom-end torque and driving in urban traffic is very easy till the time you are paying attention while engaging the clutch. Everyone in the car stalled it at least once and that is something that you have to live with in the Yeti. I think the six-speed gearbox would do justice to the engine, but we have to settle with the five-speed for the moment.

The only mechanical change is the fifth generation Haldex clutch for the 4x4 model – it is 1.4kg lighter and the pressing the clutch pedal supposedly isn’t a workout anymore. It also gets a new ‘off-road button’ that alters ECU maps, makes the car stay in lower revs and also changes the way the ABS and ESP behave. This model gets a six-speed manual transmission which is nice, but we hope Skoda introduces a DSG AT version.

The Yeti has a very balanced ride, it goes through bumps and potholes comfortably, yet it is not soft. In fact, I think the second row passengers may think that the ride is a bit harsh. It handles pretty well, there is ample grip from the 215/60 R16 tyres and when they do give up it starts to gently understeer. The electrical steering wheel feels nice and weighs up progressively with the speed. The ARAI efficiency of the 4x2 is 17.72kpl while the permanent AWD delivers 17.67kpl.

Verdict

The Yeti has won accolades for its performance worldwide, it behaves like a hatchback and still offers ample space, better comforts and more than decent off-road capabilities. It is this characteristic that sets it apart – there are hardly any cars in that segment that have similar virtues.

However, once you look at the price, things don’t seem much exciting. The Elegance 4x4 of the pre facelift version had an on-road price of over Rs 22.5 lakh (Mumbai) and now that Skoda is offering only the Elegance trim, we have no expectations of shock pricing. With this tag, prospects are not very bright. Unless, someone is doubly sure that the off-road capabilities and higher ground clearance are necessary there are many five-seaters that are comfortable and also offer a decent number of features. The Duster AWD once launched will have similar basic attributes and cost much less, if one is willing to part with few luxuries.

Personally, I think the Yeti is a great car and I will certainly consider buying it, if and when I can afford one. Thing is, it is a niche product that can charm only a select few who are looking for that extra bit over looks and features.