Skoda Yeti 103TDI Outdoor 2015 Review

The Volkswagen-owned Czech car-maker might owe an awful lot to its German parent but, probably more than any other Skoda-badged product available in Australia, it has stamped the Yeti with a distinct, appealing character that has not been ignored by the marketplace.

Well, hardly anyway.

In pure sales volume, the Skoda is a minnow in a big pond. Last year, just 875 Yetis were sold in a segment where numbers are counted in thousands rather than hundreds (Mazda sold more than 21,000 CX5s for example), relegating it to the rarefied air populated by the likes of Peugeot’s non-diesel 4008 and not many others.

But in terms of market presence the Yeti – due to its recognition factor – punches above its weight. The exclusivity, the distinctive styling, and an almost-premium image lift it above many other stronger-selling brands.

The perceived status has not been acquired without justification. With technology compliments of Volkswagen, high built quality and a degree of practicality coupled to competitive pricing, the Yeti is a sound, appealing prospect where the only question mark maybe hovers over resale value.

Our Yeti test car, a $33,590 (plus on-road costs) diesel-only Outdoor 103TDI, was the top model in the newly updated range and, measured against its Volkswagen Tiguan TDI peer, represents pretty good value.

Standard dual-zone climate-control, an eight-speaker audio system, a few extra storage functions within the cabin including a storage box under the front passenger seat and an LED torch in the luggage compartment all add up to make a big impression.

There’s also a “rough-road” pack, standard on the Outdoor, which adds extra underbody protection for light offroad work and, like all Yetis, this model gets a 16-inch space-saver spare wheel and a standard rear-view camera.

Our car was also fitted with the optional ($2900) Tech pack that brings self-washing bi-xenon headlights, adaptive cornering lights, LED daytime running lights and tail-lights, Automatic Parking Assist, front and rear parking sensors, touch-screen “Columbus” satellite navigation with integrated audio including Bluetooth audio and streaming (with USB, AUX and SD card slot) and a “Premium” digitally-equalised 12-speaker sound system.

It also came with the $500 Off-Road pack that includes Off Road Assist – hill-start assist and hill-descent control – a double-sided mat in the luggage compartment, privacy glass and 17-inch “Matterhorn” alloy wheels.

All this lifted our Yeti to $36,990 before on-road costs – still below the $39,990 you’ll need to pay before stepping up to an un-optioned 130 TDI diesel Tiguan.

Certainly the little Skoda (it is shorter and narrower, has a shorter wheelbase and sits lower than the Tiguan) feels well-stocked and well put together. It offers comfortable front seats, with adjustable lumbar support on both sides, as well as astronomical headroom that, in a way, compensates for the knee-room shortfall up back.

The three individual rear seats are a strength of the Yeti. Not just because the outer two can be adjusted independently fore-aft – or moved laterally inboard if the centre seat is removed – but also because they can be removed completely to significantly open up the load space.

In fact the Yeti, with all three rear seats stacked in the garage, provides a maximum 1665 litres of rear luggage space – more than a Mazda CX-5. It’s not so flash otherwise though. If the seats are left on board, the maximum is 1485 litres and the minimum 321 litres (the Mazda quotes 403/1560 litres).

This means items that can be stuffed quite easily on board the Mazda, such as a mountain bike with both wheels attached (the Tiguan can manage that too), are not so easily dealt with in the Skoda unless you are happy to dump the rear seats.

Those shortcomings aside, the Yeti is a wonderful little thing to live with.

There are plenty of storage spaces inside, including the centre console/armrest, the tray under the front passenger’s seat and the lidded compartment atop the instrument panel, as well as six drink bottle holders. The optional Off Road pack also adds a handy, reversible floor mat that makes loading of wet or muddy gear less stressful.

The driver controls are generally easy to understand, especially the touch-screen sat-nav audio unit, and there’s more than just a bit of VW coming through in items such as the Tiguan-identical cruise control/indicator lever. But although we were gratified to find the Yeti features such as the remote windows up/down system pretty universal among VWs, we were a bit surprised the grab handles above the doors snapped shut without any damping function. And the heavily stylised C-pillars didn’t help rearward vision either.

In terms of on-road performance, the recent jump in the diesel’s torque figure from 320Nm to 350Nm has the Yeti TDI feeling quite brisk, even if the officially quoted zero to 100km/h figure of 10.2 seconds doesn’t suggest it.

To an eyes-closed passenger, you could just about be riding in a previous-generation 103kW diesel Tiguan – which is no surprise given it uses essentially the same 2.0-litre engine, weighs pretty much the same with a hefty kerb weight of 1640kg and uses the same Haldex-clutch AWD system to decide when and where added rear-wheel traction would be beneficial.

The most noticeable difference is in the wet-clutch six-speed dual-clutch (DSG) transmission that is generally less smooth than VW’s seven-speed unit, and engages without the progressiveness that generally characterises the diesel Tiguan. This is especially noticeable in reverse, where it’s possible to feel the clutch engaging and disengaging as the car creeps out of a parking space.

But the steering feel, and the quick responsiveness on the road, make the Yeti feel more akin to a small hatch than an SUV. Like the Tiguan, there’s a nice, progressive and sensitive feel to the steering, which swings from lock to lock in three turns and contributes in no small way to the wieldiness of the compact Czech.

Likewise the ride quality is equally pleasant even though the wheelbase is pretty short for the category at just 2576mm – adrift of the Tiguan’s 2605mm and well in arrears of the 2700mm Mazda.

Fuel economy isn’t as impressive as you would expect though. The official 6.7L/100km claim puts the Yeti CDI behind both the Tiguan CDI (6.2) and the diesel Mazda CX-5 (5.7). On test over a week in mixed driving conditions including a fair bit of freeway driving, we scored 7.4 which was a bit of a disappointment but no real surprise given its six-speed DSG and the fact the Yeti, despite its smallish size, weighs around the same as a diesel Tiguan or CX-5.

The Yeti, at 1700kg (braked), is rated well below the diesel Tiguan’s hefty 2200kg braked towing capacity, although it’s close to the CX-5 diesel’s 1800kg.

As you’d expect, the Yeti is a five-star EuroNCAP SUV, helped along by the fitment of seven airbags (an extra one for the driver's knee) and all the usual suspects in terms of electronic safety aids.

After a week, the Skoda Yeti 103TDI Outdoor was firmly fixed in our affections.

It has the dynamic qualities of its VW counterpart, shows no deficits in overall comfort or quality, and mixes this with styling that. It might be slightly polarising, but it generally makes sense. And the slightly smaller size is reflected, as it should be, in the pricing.

Also consider:
>> Kia Sportage SLi SL CRDi (from $37,990 plus ORCs)
>> Mazda CX-5 Maxx Sport diesel (from $38,990 plus ORCs)
>> Volkswagen Tiguan 130TDI  (from $38,990 plus ORCs)