[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Behemoth,
Very well explained !
Was always curious about that and also the Q as to why such an important function like hill descent control or the lack of it should be the differing feature between variants of an SUV/soft roader is concerned. Whereas, as per me, this critical function should have been common and the difference could have been in terms of leather/plastic and other cosmetic stuff...

Comments ?

Does the Amb also have the front sensors and adaptive headlamps etc found on Ele ?

In the case of the Yeti, The differences between the current two variants are few, except for the two major ones I mentioned. The other features are mostly software enabled like DRLs and cornering fogs, and can be enabled even on Ambiente with VAG-COM. The adaptive headlights are not present in either model and are available only with the xenon headlamps, which should be there in the future L&K variant.
Cosmetically, one more difference in Ambiente and Elegance is the wooden trim finish, whereas in mine it is silver.
The front parking sensors are available only on the Elegance variant. The Ambiente gets only the rear sensors.

[creative420]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

@Creative420 : You wish is my command and I will take some good pics of the two beasts together over the weekend!

I am eager to take my Yeti to Leh (was planning this year), but proper AT tyres are a necessity and I still haven't found a solution. Ultimately we may fly down to Leh or other option is to go Leh next year, with proper boots on my Yeti!

Cheers!

Yup! Get them nice boots on it and drive into the wild. Leh is best experienced via roads, so don't fly in please. Whatever you're willing to shell out on flight...can be used when you buy new boots for the Yeti!

[ashish22]

Hi Behemoth, thanks for sharing such an interesting comparison and this indeed cleared certain doubts regarding the Yeti. Great car it is. Would like to extend my heartfelt wishes and hoping that the beast serves you well for a long long time.
Just one quick question. You actually had a drag race with your wife and even compared performance at such speeds?? Mighty you!

[GTO]

Super write-up, thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by Behemoth

The Duel that I wish to present to you is that between our Grey Steed (Honda Civic 1.8 V AT) and the Behemoth (Skoda Yeti 4x4 Ambiente).

The Yeti is one heck of a vehicle. As a product & in terms of engineering, I find no faults with it. The quality inside is A+, ride & handling very balanced and the engine is a great performer. The only two things I don't like about the Yeti are it's quirky looks, and Skoda's after-sales.

The Civic, on the other hand, has a number of product flaws; poor low end torque (evident in the manual version), useless boot and badly tuned rear suspension.

BTW, you missed out on one important consideration : Long-term reliability. We'll talk after 75,000 - 100,000 kms

The torque comes in with minimal turbo lag and the engine and drivetrain responds with urgency to even the slightest input to the accelerator.

Did you take any time getting accustomed to the Yeti requiring higher revvs when moving off from 0 kph? All of us on the review drive (supposedly *expert* drivers ) stalled it...not once, but innumerable times.

In real world drag racing between me (Yeti) and my wife (Civic), the Yeti is the clear leader at least till 140

Get an MT Civic to compare with, then we'll talk!

The Civic is a typical sedan and has average boot space (420 L if I remember correctly).

HORRIBLE boot space....my Civic is absolutely useless for airport runs. Not only is the boot smaller than even the City, usable space is very limited too. What was Honda thinking?

Originally Posted by Behemoth

(I am yet to figure out the multi quote functionality, so will try to answer your queries one by one!).

Please refer to our FAQ section.

Drive safe will you!

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by GTO

Super write-up, thanks for sharing!



The Yeti is one heck of a vehicle. As a product & in terms of engineering, I find no faults with it. The quality inside is A+, ride & handling very balanced and the engine is a great performer. The only two things I don't like about the Yeti are it's quirky looks, and Skoda's after-sales.

The Civic, on the other hand, has a number of product flaws; poor low end torque (evident in the manual version), useless boot and badly tuned rear suspension.

BTW, you missed out on one important consideration : Long-term reliability. We'll talk after 75,000 - 100,000 kms



Did you take any time getting accustomed to the Yeti requiring higher revvs when moving off from 0 kph? All of us on the review drive (supposedly *expert* drivers ) stalled it...not once, but innumerable times.



Get an MT Civic to compare with, then we'll talk!



HORRIBLE boot space....my Civic is absolutely useless for airport runs. Not only is the boot smaller than even the City, usable space is very limited too. What was Honda thinking?



Please refer to our FAQ section.

Drive safe will you!

Thanks for your feedback and comments GTO!
I completely agree with you on the Yeti, and yes reliability is one aspect which will only get tested over time.. till then I will just have to keep my fingers crossed and the Skoda Shield safely in my possession (and try everything not to get it dishonoured!).
Yes, the Civic is a prime example of a brilliant engine let down by a gearbox, especially so in the Auto version. The manual version certainly is a hoot to drive and with the custom Mods available, can be turned into one mean machine - Wish that the roads were good in India to really use its capabilities!

Initially, during the first month, it did take some time for us to get used to the stalling issue in the Yeti and it did stall frequently in 2nd and 3rd gears at low rpms (below 1000), but then we got used to it and changed our driving style. Now it doesn't stall any more, but I still feel that it trips the AC compressor to reduce the engine load in 2nd gear, if the rpms fall low. Somehow in the Ford Fiesta 1.4 ZXI which we drove earlier, it never used to stall at low rpms and would just keep going! The flipside (probably due to the Dual Mass flywheel) in the Yeti is that the engine is more revv-happy and has less inertia.

Yup, will certainly drive safe, and both me and my wife believe strongly in driving safe and being responsible. The drag race (not actually!) was a performance test we did on a completely flat 3 km stretch of road in Gurgaon at 6am, which has no traffic and is completely secluded at all times.

Thanks everyone!

[SushilBajpai]

That's a brilliant review and comparison. Your review provides interesting insights and perspectives. I have never driven a Civic. However reading your review, I could visualize what it must be like to drive one.

The Jazz and Yeti invariably get compared in case of my household. Both are lovely pieces - with such different personalities. I love them both.

I issue from the reliability point of view would be more of availability of spares etc, as the dealers might not be keeping adequate inventory and if Skoda too relies on imports rather than local manufacture then we could have delays in getting the issues fixed.

[oxyzen]

That is one great combo for a garage. A petrol & a diesel. A Honda (japanese) and a Skoda. (Check/German). A sedan & a SUV!
Whats even better is the review. Great work.
BTW these are my favorite C+ segment sedan and SUV.

Considering the handling between Civic and Yeti what is your take on body roll. The Yeti does have a higher CG but the suspensions are hard.

What about quick steering or agility?

I love the Yeti for everything it offers except the looks. The front looks aggressive and tempting but the rest of the car must have been designed by a drunken architect. To add to the final insult the bumpers are not even body coloured.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by GTO

HORRIBLE boot space....my Civic is absolutely useless for airport runs. Not only is the boot smaller than even the City, usable space is very limited too. What was Honda thinking?

Accord (396 L) has even lesser boot space then Civic (405 L) . City's larger boot space is purely because of the location of the petrol tank

[v.anand]

Wonderful write-up and comparison. Kudos to your garage, terrific choice of cars.

One thing I noticed in your Yeti is the headrests of the front and back seats are inter-changed. Any particular reason for this, since I believe its positioning also aides or affects seat comfort as well as safety.

[dot]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Hope you enjoyed my story!

Sure did, friend. What a wonderful review and comparo. Loved reading from alpha to omega. As noopster said, it is a mighty good thing to have an urban softroader in your garage, regardless of oddly placed vents.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

1) Ford Endeavour 3.0 4x4 AT - the table tennis table sized bonnet

Could not stop laughing. The size is humongous, but that is also the speciality of the vehicle. Wish the Endy was slightly wider, then the proportions would have been more appropriate.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

In real world drag racing between me (Yeti) and my wife (Civic), the Yeti is the clear leader at least till 140, after which the Civic starts to catch up as it has a higher power in the higher revs (5000 +).

Did you use the paddle shifters during the drag race? I have a feeling the results might have been a bit different with the paddle shifters and a 100% floored accelerator. BTW, it is awesomely cool to drag with your wife.

Regarding the bottoming out issue, in my experience if the Civic is taken over bumpers slowly, nothing really happens. Unless of course, the humps in your area are truly mini-mountains.

Originally Posted by Guna

City's larger boot space is purely because of the location of the petrol tank

Petrol tank is placed below the rear seat in both the cars (City and Civic). The shallowness in the Civic's trunk probably arises due deliberate design which helps to accentuate Civic's unmatched exterior form. I am hoping that mdsaab's upcoming comparo will help us to understand this enigma somewhat.

[Axe77]

What a fantastic piece. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I currently own a 2009 civic A/T. Love it to bits. I am 60% chauffeur driven and 40% self driven. Comfort while I'm at the back and driving pleasure when I'm at the wheel are both equally important to me - I would find it very tough to compromise too heavily on any one of these in favour of the other. Given the above, if I had to define what I'd really like as an upgrade in my garage, here's what I'd want:

- CRV / Outlander size SUV that can provide somewhat car like handling with all the softroader advantages;
- Neither as small as yeti, X1, Q3 etc nor as big as Fortuner, Endeavour, Captiva etc. (5 seater is fine for me);
- DIESEL engine that's FAST!!! Doesn't have to be outright fuel efficient. Any reasonable FE will also do if it's diesel powered;
- Auto tranny (sophisticated and at least 5 speed);
- Honda / Toyota type long term reliability and peace of mind;
- Generous boot size;
- Price: 20 to 30 Lakh acceptable although I'd even pay more if something checks all the boxes above.

Unfortunately, at this point, I can't think of any offering that even meets 90% of these requirements.

PS: On a side note, even if I get all of the above in another vehicle, I can't imagine giving up my civic. I'd probably try and talk my wife / mum to give up one of their cars (i20 & city automatic respectively) and peddle my civic down to them rather than let it go. Like I said - I absolutely love my civic to bits even with all it's minor shortcomings.

Cheers.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by SushilBajpai

That's a brilliant review and comparison. Your review provides interesting insights and perspectives. I have never driven a Civic. However reading your review, I could visualize what it must be like to drive one.
I issue from the reliability point of view would be more of availability of spares etc, as the dealers might not be keeping adequate inventory and if Skoda too relies on imports rather than local manufacture then we could have delays in getting the issues fixed.

Thanks Sushil! Same is the case with us and both cars have completely different characters and different strengths and weaknesses, but like they say, even the strongest have an Achilles heel!

Originally Posted by oxyzen

That is one great combo for a garage. A petrol & a diesel. A Honda (japanese) and a Skoda. (Check/German). A sedan & a SUV!
Whats even better is the review. Great work.
BTW these are my favorite C+ segment sedan and SUV.
Considering the handling between Civic and Yeti what is your take on body roll. The Yeti does have a higher CG but the suspensions are hard.
What about quick steering or agility?
I love the Yeti for everything it offers except the looks. The front looks aggressive and tempting but the rest of the car must have been designed by a drunken architect. To add to the final insult the bumpers are not even body coloured.

Thanks oxyzen! The Yeti has negligible body roll and you will not feel it at all even if you corner at 100+ speeds. The civic however is in a different league altogether and is designed like a low slung race car - so its body roll is very less. The Yeti's body roll in comparison to other SUVs is a very small fraction as the CG is not too high. The overall height is not more than a Wagon R, and track width (distance between the wheel on the same axles) is wide, giving it a wide, squat stance, which is good for stablility.
Steering is excellent on the Civic (typical race car style, with good high speed handling, but a little stiff at slow speed. Comparatively, the Yeti is a little soft at slow speed, but weights up with speed. As it is a pure EPS (electronic power steering)so there is a little loss of road feel, but it is very accurate and there is no understeer / oversteer.
The front looks quirky and aggressive, but the back is definitely too plain . I have tried to add some spark to the back by adding a small chrome strip. Skoda should definitely work on the rear end of the Yeti to beautify it a bit! The unpainted bumpers are actually by design, as when vehicle is taken off road, the body coloured bumpers get badly damaged. However, we also did not like the unpainted bumpers and hence took it in Black where it is least visible! Also, in the Yeti, the B Pillar is body coloured and not black, while A and C pillars are.. this also looks odd and is visible in other colours, but not in black!

Originally Posted by v.anand

Wonderful write-up and comparison. Kudos to your garage, terrific choice of cars.
One thing I noticed in your Yeti is the headrests of the front and back seats are inter-changed. Any particular reason for this, since I believe its positioning also aides or affects seat comfort as well as safety.

Yes, you have a sharp eye! I did swap the front and rear headrests for two reasons: The back headrests give slightly better support to the neck as they are more forward than the normal ones (however, they are not active head restraints) and the second being is that for passengers sitting in the back the view is better if the front headrests are smaller. With the normal ones, it completely blocks the front view for the rear passengers!

Originally Posted by dot

Did you use the paddle shifters during the drag race? I have a feeling the results might have been a bit different with the paddle shifters and a 100% floored accelerator. BTW, it is awesomely cool to drag with your wife.
Regarding the bottoming out issue, in my experience if the Civic is taken over bumpers slowly, nothing really happens. Unless of course, the humps in your area are truly mini-mountains.

Nope..! (Luckily wife does not know how to use the paddle shifts!) But it was in S mode and she did drive it flat out. It was still very close, but I am sure with the paddle shifts, the Civic would have won, due to the higher power to weight ratio and better aerodynamics. But you really need to push the engine to 5000-6000 rpm to draw its power! The Yeti on the other hand comfortably pulls ahead in the 2000-4000 rpm range, due to its peak torque in the range.

If the Civic is with 1-2 passengers, there is never an issue, but load up 4-5 heavyweights, then the underbelly does scrape the mountains near our house! (The breakers are much larger than acceptable standard in Gurgaon). Same was also the case with our earlier Ford Fiesta 1.4 Zxi, which also scraped the breakers.

Originally Posted by Axe77

What a fantastic piece. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I currently own a 2009 civic A/T. Love it to bits. I am 60% chauffeur driven and 40% self driven. Comfort while I'm at the back and driving pleasure when I'm at the wheel are both equally important to me - I would find it very tough to compromise too heavily on any one of these in favour of the other. Given the above, if I had to define what I'd really like as an upgrade in my garage, here's what I'd want:
- CRV / Outlander size SUV that can provide somewhat car like handling with all the softroader advantages;
- Neither as small as yeti, X1, Q3 etc nor as big as Fortuner, Endeavour, Captiva etc. (5 seater is fine for me);
- DIESEL engine that's FAST!!! Doesn't have to be outright fuel efficient. Any reasonable FE will also do if it's diesel powered;
- Auto tranny (sophisticated and at least 5 speed);
- Honda / Toyota type long term reliability and peace of mind;
- Generous boot size;
- Price: 20 to 30 Lakh acceptable although I'd even pay more if something checks all the boxes above.
Unfortunately, at this point, I can't think of any offering that even meets 90% of these requirements.
PS: On a side note, even if I get all of the above in another vehicle, I can't imagine giving up my civic. I'd probably try and talk my wife / mum to give up one of their cars (i20 & city automatic respectively) and peddle my civic down to them rather than let it go. Like I said - I absolutely love my civic to bits even with all it's minor shortcomings.
Cheers.

The Civic is a great car, both as a driver's car and also as a Chauffeur driven one. The Yeti on the other hand is only a driver's car!
My wishlist is also similar, and only a CRV with a diesel engine may come close to this! But unless Honda decides to start assembling the CRV in India and price it at reasonable levels, this dream may not come true. To give you an idea of the unreasonable price levels in India. I was in Dubai recently, and came to know the Civic 1.8 V MT costs around 8 lacs (equivalent INR) there. The CRV there costs Rs 9.5 Lacs . Also, the Fortuner costs 16 Lacs there and hold your breath, the Land cruiser costs 20 Lacs! Couple that with the cheap cost of fuel Rs 22 per litre of Petrol and Rs 21/ Liter of Diesel, you can buy and afford any car there!
I tend to think that the Indian Auto segment also needs to be deregulated a bit to encourage better quality cars to come into India at more affordable prices!

Drive safe!

[crackingride]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

6) ICE: This is in the Swing system in my Ambiente (lower version). The Elegance trim of the Yeti has an even better Columbus system.

Thought to point out that the Elegance version comes with the Bolero RCD 510. The Columbus is a Sat-nav system that is not offered here and is badged RNS.

Very good comparo, though. As you point out, its a battle of apples and oranges, chalk and cheese, horses for courses, and all that ...Jazz?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by crackingride

Thought to point out that the Elegance version comes with the Bolero RCD 510. The Columbus is a Sat-nav system that is not offered here and is badged RNS.

Very good comparo, though. As you point out, its a battle of apples and oranges, chalk and cheese, horses for courses, and all that ...Jazz?

Thanks for the correction Crackingride! The name and the codes do get a little confusing for the HUs. In Europe they offer almost 5-6 different HUs - Swing, Bolero, Columbus, Amundsen, DAB.. and others! In some countries they can even customize and order the Yetis to the finest level with many features available for selection. (Source Skoda UK Yeti brochure.. some of the prices are expensive!)

Wish we had such customization options in India. But the drawback is that there is a 6 month waiting period for the Yeti in Europe!

[evo]

Great thread, rated 5 Stars. A very apt comparison too, as a lot of sedan owners would be looking for a laura/yeti sized upgrade, and its quite useful to have an SUV/SUV type vehicle along with a sedan as it brings flexibility.

Though I`m still not sure about Skoda A.S.S. Do elaborate on the Skoda Shield and how it works, how much it costs etc.

OT : As someone else said, dragging with your wife is quite cool. I sent the link to a friend who`s getting married soon and is worried about marriage being the end of "life" to show him that all isnt bad!