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Old 21st January 2012, 14:25   #46
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Hi Catamaran.
Always happy to help!
My vehicle was manufactured in May 2011. No worries if it is a 6 month old car. Even in the UK, on account of its popularity, there is a good long wait list for the Yeti.
It's sad that you get to drive it only once in a while. Perhaps you should buy one in DXB as well!
Cheers!
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Old 21st January 2012, 16:35   #47
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Thanks for the info on manufacturing date, that gives me some relief..yeti is not sold in the middle east, the agent here told that it will be launched in 2012. However it will be too small here where the land cruisers, pajeros and patrols are in abundance... It's the trusted Nissan Murano which is doing the duty for me here.

Some pictures of my stint wth yeti in vagamon (test drive car which the dealer gave me for few days until delivery). also a picture of my own white one...
Attached Thumbnails
The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!-dsc08929.jpg  

The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!-dsc08931.jpg  

The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!-dsc08932.jpg  

The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!-dsc08935.jpg  

The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!-munnar.jpg  

The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!-yeti2.jpg  

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Old 24th January 2012, 07:17   #48
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

I just did a quick BLR-CHENNAI-BLR trip - around 810kms travelled all told.

Excellent drive and handling. Near Poonamallee a cow suddenly decided to amble across as I was passing at 90kmph. Her path would have brought her directly in front of me. I simply swerved left and right and the vehicle stayed true to its line. No tyres squealing or anything out of the ordinary. The ESP, ABS, EBD and all the fiddlies must have sprung into action silently and brilliantly, keeping me safe.
Amazing vehicle this Yeti.
We got an F.E of 15.6 on the trip - mix of highway, in city and main roads to the outskirts of Chennai and back. The kms clocked were 464 and I filled up 30 litres or so.
The fill up was done on the way back before leaving Madras and we have done another 350Kms so far and tank has not reached the half full mark as yet.
Am very happy with the vehicle and its performance. On this trip I went up to 160Kmph for short bursts on some empty stretches. The confidence this var inspires on highways has to be experienced to be believed.
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Old 24th January 2012, 17:24   #49
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Quote:
Originally Posted by shankar.balan View Post
I just did a quick BLR-CHENNAI-BLR trip - around 810kms travelled all told.

Excellent drive and handling. Near Poonamallee a cow suddenly decided to amble across as I was passing at 90kmph. Her path would have brought her directly in front of me. I simply swerved left and right and the vehicle stayed true to its line. No tyres squealing or anything out of the ordinary. The ESP, ABS, EBD and all the fiddlies must have sprung into action silently and brilliantly, keeping me safe.
Amazing vehicle this Yeti.
We got an F.E of 15.6 on the trip - mix of highway, in city and main roads to the outskirts of Chennai and back. The kms clocked were 464 and I filled up 30 litres or so.
The fill up was done on the way back before leaving Madras and we have done another 350Kms so far and tank has not reached the half full mark as yet.
Am very happy with the vehicle and its performance. On this trip I went up to 160Kmph for short bursts on some empty stretches. The confidence this var inspires on highways has to be experienced to be believed.
This is exactly one of the scenarios for which I am pining for an AWD vehicle. So 4wd does help in emergency situations.

Do you feel the 4wd system makes a diferrence in simple highway driving - any additional stability or not?
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Old 24th January 2012, 18:37   #50
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

4WD per se maybe not - but ABS, EBD, ESP, ASR and all the rest of it, certainly YES!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by sridhar-v View Post
This is exactly one of the scenarios for which I am pining for an AWD vehicle. So 4wd does help in emergency situations.

Do you feel the 4wd system makes a diferrence in simple highway driving - any additional stability or not?
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Old 25th January 2012, 06:55   #51
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Sorry no photos of people sitting inside but let me give you an indication. On this recent trip to Madras, my mum sat in the front seat and because of her hip condition the seat is pushed back like mine is. My wife sat behind me but because she is small built it was fine. My dad who is a 6 footer himself, sat behind my mum and found it more than adequate on a loafing trip we did of about 60-70ms around Madras, Tambaram etc. The advantage is that the rear seats can also be pushed back and reclined as well, which makes it extremely comfortable. One more thing my dad remarked about was the fact that the sitting positon in the rear is like a high car where the overall all round visibility for the rear passenger is not compromised, unlike the Scorpio.
The ride comfort and overall feel good handling etc was most impressive according to my dad, even over bad roads and bumps etc.
Of course, it will be a challenge for 4 mid size people AND their luggage to go on a road trip, in comparison to the Scorpio, but in our case, we are mostly just the 2 of us who go on our road trips with lots of luggage and hence, it is ok for us.

Yesterday, 3 of my colleagues and I went to a meeting. Stuffed our office bags in the boot with plenty of space to spare, sat comfortably in the Yeti and went. No loss of power, no discomfort and no compromise on performance and handling either. The drive was quite long - around 60 kms from start to finish. Very comfy indeed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by n.devdath View Post
Congrats on the purchase Shankar and I m sure you will enjoy a long partnership with the Yeti. This is actually as perfect as a vehicle can get if the number of passengers is restricted to 4 average sized people. Can you post a pic of you sitting in the rear seat with the front seat adjusted for your posture. It would give a fair idea of the legroom at the rear.
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Old 25th January 2012, 09:06   #52
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Quote:
Originally Posted by sridhar-v View Post
This is exactly one of the scenarios for which I am pining for an AWD vehicle. So 4wd does help in emergency situations.

Do you feel the 4wd system makes a diferrence in simple highway driving - any additional stability or not?
I don't know about avoiding collisions but 4x4 will certainly help while driving in rains!
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Old 25th January 2012, 09:13   #53
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Certainly helps in better handling overall and definitely on snow, wet roads, roads on which a lot of sand has fallen and of course, dirt tracks, dusty tracks and muddy or slightly slushy bits.

Greater traction, grip and tyre bite makes for a far better and safer experience.
As mentioned before, the entire Rallying scene has had its game changed by the arrival of 4x4!

However, when driving on a proper motorway/ tarmac surface, yes it does help, but so will a 2WD vehicle do the job well enough. The main thing is that these other driver aids like ASR, ABS, EBD, ESP and so on, make all the difference in building confidence at higher speeds. After having experienced the Yeti on long drives I dont think I can ever go back to a car which doesnt have all this safety kit built in. I would simply be afraid to drive such a car at high speeds if it doesnt have this kit in it and hence, will avoid doing so if possible.

Quote:
Originally Posted by androdev View Post
I don't know about avoiding collisions but 4x4 will certainly help while driving in rains!
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Old 25th January 2012, 09:29   #54
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Congrats Shankar for decision of going with Yeti. I feel it's real Value for money car with strong and proven background in other markets.
It is having good gadgets for Indian market in my opinion.
Enjoy the drive.
This thread is quite active BTW with your regular feedback on queries and experience.
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Old 25th January 2012, 09:44   #55
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

A Shankar-Balan certified ownership review would be incomplete without those all-important golf-bags in the boot!

Congratulations Mr. Balan. You've got yourself a wonderful car. I've always liked the yeti, and it pains me to see Skoda milking the lesser variant in India, when they could have so easily sold a 'L&K' variant, complete with sun-roof, DSG, projector-lights, et al. But no matter. You've got yourself a littlebigfoot. Something that can tackle and negotiate tarmac, rough roads, light terrain, the odd cow on the highway () and of course, notorious Bangalore traffic.

Congratulations once again!

Oh, and yes. I'm subscribed *winks*
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Old 25th January 2012, 10:32   #56
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Yup. I think so too, given what it offers. However, I didnt always think so on account of its relative "small-ness"! Im glad I matured as a consumer though!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicky View Post
Congrats Shankar for decision of going with Yeti. I feel it's real Value for money car with strong and proven background in other markets.
It is having good gadgets for Indian market in my opinion.
Enjoy the drive.
This thread is quite active BTW with your regular feedback on queries and experience.
Ha! The golf bag and trolley test! Yes, it is important for fellows like me who can have or wish to have only one car at a time!

While I agree they could have sold the L&K and indeed, had it been available at a nice price I might have considered it, I still say that the perception overall about the Yeti is that is already an expensive car. I think they've done the right thing in trying to increase consumer adoption by introducing the 2WD variant minus some bells and whistles. This will hopefully result in more Yetis on the road and in turn, lead to better parts and spares and service availability.
Yes, they should certainly consider the L&K - maybe around 6-9-12 months from now, by which time the small SUV segment would have hotted up a lot more than now. And such an L&K would be a very viable alternative to things like the X1 and Q3 etc in terms of cost vs benefit ratio!

Quote:
Originally Posted by suhaas307 View Post
A Shankar-Balan certified ownership review would be incomplete without those all-important golf-bags in the boot!

Congratulations Mr. Balan. You've got yourself a wonderful car. I've always liked the yeti, and it pains me to see Skoda milking the lesser variant in India, when they could have so easily sold a 'L&K' variant, complete with sun-roof, DSG, projector-lights, et al. But no matter. You've got yourself a littlebigfoot. Something that can tackle and negotiate tarmac, rough roads, light terrain, the odd cow on the highway () and of course, notorious Bangalore traffic.

Congratulations once again!

Oh, and yes. I'm subscribed *winks*
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Old 25th January 2012, 14:38   #57
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Congrats shankar.balan on bringing the Yeti home! As with the others, I had the hunch this would be the vehicle for you.

Sorry to be a noob, but what are the service intervals like and how often do you have to visit the Skoda service centres?
Also, if I remember correctly, some bhpian (pramod?) had a pending query about the tyres and how to procure them if one needed a single tyre. Not sure if you are aware of this. thought I should bring it up here. I tried to jog my memory cells, but as with the rest of me the jogging part isnt getting activated :(

Wish you many a safe mile ahead in the LittleBigFoot, I am tuned in to hear more updates and hopefully see some more offroad antics. Ok not antics, but experiences!
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Old 25th January 2012, 14:57   #58
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Skoda India puts the Yeti on a "fixed service" plan.
15000 kms or One Year from purchase, whichever comes earlier.
I havent had so far to visit the dealership for anything other than purchase related or insurance related stuff. So far so good. The vehicle has been in my ownership for 2 months now approx and I ve done about 2800 odd kms in it.
Its been a nice experience so far.
Yes, the tyres could have been more rugged instead of these nice, soft rubber, high performance road going tyres that they give as OEM, but finding suitable off road or All Terrain tread type tyres doesnt seem to be easy, at least in India. Do refer to the other thread on Yeti Tyres because there's some good info there.
Anyway, in my case I am hoping to go through at least 2 years with the OEM tyres and then possibly change if required. By then, there should be more options available to us!

Quote:
Originally Posted by selfdrive View Post
Congrats shankar.balan on bringing the Yeti home! As with the others, I had the hunch this would be the vehicle for you.

Sorry to be a noob, but what are the service intervals like and how often do you have to visit the Skoda service centres?
Also, if I remember correctly, some bhpian (pramod?) had a pending query about the tyres and how to procure them if one needed a single tyre. Not sure if you are aware of this. thought I should bring it up here. I tried to jog my memory cells, but as with the rest of me the jogging part isnt getting activated :(

Wish you many a safe mile ahead in the LittleBigFoot, I am tuned in to hear more updates and hopefully see some more offroad antics. Ok not antics, but experiences!
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Old 25th January 2012, 18:17   #59
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Quote:
Originally Posted by shankar.balan View Post
I just did a quick BLR-CHENNAI-BLR trip - around 810kms travelled all told.

Excellent drive and handling. Near Poonamallee a cow suddenly decided to amble across as I was passing at 90kmph. Her path would have brought her directly in front of me. I simply swerved left and right and the vehicle stayed true to its line. No tyres squealing or anything out of the ordinary. The ESP, ABS, EBD and all the fiddlies must have sprung into action silently and brilliantly, keeping me safe.
Amazing vehicle this Yeti.
We got an F.E of 15.6 on the trip - mix of highway, in city and main roads to the outskirts of Chennai and back. The kms clocked were 464 and I filled up 30 litres or so.
The fill up was done on the way back before leaving Madras and we have done another 350Kms so far and tank has not reached the half full mark as yet.
Am very happy with the vehicle and its performance. On this trip I went up to 160Kmph for short bursts on some empty stretches. The confidence this var inspires on highways has to be experienced to be believed.
Hi Shankar,

I have now decided to head out to Chennai tomorrow.. I did Chennai by road about 8yrs ago However i did come back from pondicherry recently by getting to Vellore and hitting bangalore on the highway.. I basically wanted a quick tip, if you could recommend, on a decent south indian type place for breakfast.. We would be leaving early by around 545am and something on the way that could be about 2 hours away? Thanks for your time and sorry for the number of times i bug you..

Thanks in advance..
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Old 25th January 2012, 21:45   #60
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Stop at Vellore and eat at Saravana Bhavan. Best. You should reach Vellore at 9am or so max.
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