The most recent Yeti-Skoda release is a kind of extended hatchback, with a length of 4.2 meters. It’s sure to be the first thing you’ll notice about this car. So what should we call it: hatchback or SUV? What is a yeti? It would be a better option to call it a crossover from Skoda. Without a doubt, the Yeti is one of the most interesting vehicles on sale this year. The Yeti’s styling is a mix of a hatchback and an SUV, and the distinctive new look of the car’s exterior will take some getting used to. For once, you might mistake this car for a tall hatchback when you look at it from the front, but when you move to the rear, you realize it’s a smaller, more compact version of an SUV.
This four-wheeled wonder is sure to be a visual treat for Indian car connoisseurs. With the latest safety features and a powerful engine, Skoda Yeti comes with a stylish appearance, both inside and out. It is customized for the always bumpy Indian roads as well as the silky smooth highways. Yeti is a unique blend of tough exteriors and soft interiors.
The Yeti is a beast of an engine, with a 2.0 TDi diesel variant and the 1.2-litre petrol base being one of the strongest prospects on the Indian market. The engine is capable of producing 140 bhp at 4,200 rpm and a maximum torque of 320 Nm at 1,750-2,500 rpm. The engine in this crossover is mated to a six-speed manual. Its four cylinders are in line. It can touch a maximum of 60 kmph in just around 5 seconds and accelerate up to 100 kmph in an astonishing 10.78 seconds. Its fuel efficiency can be raised to 11.5 kmpl in the diesel variant, which is a very decent mileage in its league of cars.
Skoda Yeti is designed to give you a comfortable drive and luxurious ride. With generous front seats with bolsters in just the right places and brilliant outward visibility from the elevated position, finding the right driving position couldn’t have been easier. It’s a great combination of safety, functionality and comfort, both on and off the road. The Yeti has been released in two petrol and three diesel variants, all of which are turbocharged, transverse-mounted and with either front or four-wheel drive. The Yeti’s interiors are familiar territory: they match the Laura and the Volkswagen Jetta. Everything inside this car has been built with the same solid Skoda demeanor that we as end users have come to appreciate over the years.
The Yeti is big enough to haul just about anything, since the two middle seats can be packed up and even removed entirely in case you want to haul furniture, luggage, or airport transfers, too. It’s a very comfortable option for a family of five, though rear-passenger legroom can be called “decent” rather than “luxurious.”
It has very compact dimensions and independent suspension setup with the same kind of agility reserved for sedans. It’s a well-controlled car and because it’s so compact when viewed from behind the wheel, it’s also a lot of fun to drive through traffic. However, on our test drive of sorts, we did notice that the ride became uncomfortable as road quality deteriorated. Laura is much more comfortable compared to the Yeti. It is barely marginally priced with the base petrol model at INR 12 lacs and 18 lacs in the fully charged diesel variant bracket.
When you take everything into consideration, from looks to dynamics, performance and practicality, Yeti scores highly. Even though it was only released at the end of November 2010, you sure had your eyes rolled back because of the 1000 people who pre-ordered it even before it was released. Yeti only lacks value for money, but with Swedish engineering, and when viewed in its entirety, Skoda Yeti is without a doubt the all-weather off-road crossover, and borders on perfection!
