Quote:
Originally Posted by iTNerd Took a test drive of Yeti elegance today. I must admit it is unlike any other SUV I had test driven - from Grand Vitara to Outlander. The 2.0 diesel engine packs a punch and is rev happy similar to i-VTEC. The seating position, steering feedback and handling is spot on. And I love the gear shift - it is so smooth. And lot of torque - the MID often suggests to slot to 6th gear . I drove it on the Greater Noida expressway and easily pulls to 130-140. I am sure, it should be able to do 170-180 without losing much juice. Overtaking is much fun, with very less body roll. And the steering is direct, but it is not as precise as that of the Civic. The interior - well, the quality is way beyond GV and fortuner, a bit better then Outlander. Anyway, I am already sold on to this car or SUV, whatever you call it. It is the perfect 'oil burner' no-nonsense, go anywhere (not offroad) platform. even with my Civic, I have covered much of India from North to South and vice versa and with this yeti, I see many trips from west to east India, northeast, himlayas etc... Anyway, I can only extract 2 lacs discount (max) from the dealer for a 2010 elegance model. The dealer is offering 4 years Skoda Shield/extended warranty free. Total on road comes to 18.35 lacs.. I am bargaining hard for upto 2.5 lacs, pitching one dealer to another to sweeten the deal. at 17.85 or 18 lacs, how is the deal? |
I think 2 lacs off is very good. Push the dealer though. No harm done! The Elegance is a very good version. I also considered the Ambiente but the Elegance is just so much nicer! Its got a heck of a lot of torque and handles like a car. Brilliant vehicle.
I also bought a May 2011 model and took delivery in Dec 2011 with a rather good discount - very similar to what you ve been offered.
No other vehicle can compare with this quirky little beast as of now in India.
Caution! Long Hair pin bend sentence ahead! Do NOT overtake for next 5 km! (attempt at joke)
I will put it simply to you; If a 5 seater is fine, if your main usage is likely to be in city and on highways with a bit of hill driving, country side and off road adventuring - say even 70:30 respectively, if you like high quality, plushly finished, understatedly elegant, relatively anonymous, euro type things with real battle tank like DNA, if 4WD and reasonably good ground clearance are desirables, if safety features and good fuel efficiency etc are a priority, if intelligent and useful functions are important to you and if you're mature enough as a road user, to remain unfazed by sheer size and 'presence' as it is now euphemistically being termed, then my dear man, the Yeti it is! As a bonus in the Elegance you get thtat delicious touch screen 6 CD changer with iPod compatibility and 8 seamlessly door mounted speakers. The sound quality is tremendous in my opinion. Yes, you dont get bluetooth and sat nav but thats really not a deal breaker for me. As others have done, you can consider a post-fit with original parts, if they mean that much to you.
Unless of course you've got the bucks for an XC60, a Q3 or a Freelander, in which case, go and plonk on either the XC or Q3- I would!
Note that in our Indian urban sprawl of 2012, the Yeti is a far more practical choice than the Fortuner is, more so especially if you have said yes honestly, to 80% of the 'needs/ wants' that I have tried to outline above.
I was not for the Yeti initially as a vehicle for myself, on account of my earlier perceived need for size. However, right from its launch in Europe, I have desired it for its quality, functionality, ,safety, fit,finish,finesse and quirkiness. Finally I compromised on size and capacity for the Yeti's amaing quality and I am very happy I did so. I must have matured to some extent in my attitudes, needs and want states while I was car hunting and evaluating last year. Also got the opportunity to drive some nice new Euro cars on various holiday trips outside India and that decided me in terms of the quality aspects!