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Old 3rd January 2012, 12:40   #1
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The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Hello Everyone!

I know I have been lazy, but have now decided to make out an attempt at an ownership thread of the new Yeti.

A sort of "picking up the threads" activity, from the long debate between a New Yeti Elegance or an Used Tucson or any other suitable change from the Scorpio.

During this time, I have barged in without so much as a "by your leave" to Pramods, SushilBajpai, Behemoth and Contessa's threads about their Yetis.

I thank them all for their patience and tolerance with me on account of my laziness.

Not to mention my other pals SunilRJ, KMT and Ampere who helped me along to take the decision over months of agonizing and hemming and hawing! And of course a big thanks to all those who voted for the brand new Yeti Elegance vis a vis the used Tucson on myearlier poll thread!

So I have now decided to plug in my own ownership thread with the 9th car in my life, my brand new lovely Silver LittleBigFoot - my Yeti Elegance.

Prelude:
As you all know and are probably sick and tired of hearing, I have been an SUV sort of person for ages now. Never liked conventional sedans (they are very conventional, 'go by the book', sort of exec. wagons in my opinion and I prefer if possible to take my own path through life).
Despite their excellent practicality I am generally not fond of small hatches either.
So the history was always there - right from when I was a youngster, I used to request my Dad to take the Jeep out instead of the Car, because of that good feeling and general go anywhere ability that the Jeep offered us. I guess it made a difference that we lived on various tea plantations in the middle of the Western Ghat jungly bits at the time and go anywhere-ness figured quite high on our priority list.

The Awakening:
As a first jobber some 19 years ago, I could only afford a motorbike on my own steam, like most people around that age group at that time. And the only 4 wheeler that I could afford was a Maruti 800 second-hand which I bought 3 years after I began my journey in the working sphere of life.
I clambered up then to buy my first second-hand Gypsy which I put to use very well indeed from an utility perspective - details appear on other threads if you care to view them.
Fell back into the hatch syndrome with a brand new MPFI Maruti and then a nice new Santro DX, which was a good car overall.
Went 'upwardly mobile' to an Esteem and rubbed noses for a bit with the fellows in the "exec sedan territory".
Then I took a sideways leap to another Gypsy which served me well and faithfully - again details are on some other thread here.
From then on, its been only Jeep-ish things, the Gyp gave way to the Bolero which also was a good machine in its way and which I was very fond of and will still swear by, in terms of utility value and toughness. However, it is a crude beast and my needs and wants have long evolved.
Then out of a desire to upgrade to better technology, came the Scorpio. This coincided with my getting onto TBHP as a member. It too, as you know, served very well indeed till I simply got sick of it being my daily driver in the city. Details of both these critturs appear on several threads here because I really liked both of them very much indeed, when I owned them.

Which brings me at length, to the present day and the Skoda Yeti, my latest in a reasonably long line of pet monsters of the machine variety!

The long search for the right on-road and off-road going luxury utility vehicle on some sort of a (stretchable) budget!
The Skoda Yeti was launched around late 2009 in Europe. I have loved that vehicle ever since I first heard of it and first saw it in picture form.
Then there were many speculative articles both on TBHP and else where about it being brought to India as a possible alternative to the Scorpio and others which were ruling the roost at the time. Nice to know and all that, but till some sort of price was revealed, no sense in getting all excited or so I thought!
As we all know they launched it in 2010 Auto Show and it had hit the dealerships early in 2010 in CBU/CKD form. We also knew by then that the pricing was rather high. I was amongst those thronging the shops for a TD and of course, grumbled a great deal about the expensive pricing and lack of space and failure of the golf bag lateral placement test and so on, ad nauseam.
I loved the fit, finish, safety kit, 4x4, comfort, euro feel and sheer quality that the Yeti offered, but I still thought it was an expensive toy for a rich man - which I do not consider myself to be.

Iam reasonably sure I ended up hassling a lot of our colleagues on this community too, with my semi-deranged rantings and ravings.

But I am happy I at least had a patient bunch of listeners on the Forum who bore with my trespasses at the time. Grumble grumble grumble, that was the drumbeat at the time and frankly even I was getting a bit tired with my own voice, saying the same thing again and again. I had become a crib-o-logist and I wasn't too pleased with that at all!

I think I must have cribbed on possibly every single topic which dealt with SUV's and what I wanted and what the manufacturers were NOT giving me as a consumer and all that jazz.
I remember at the time grumbling a lot about the fact that M&M werent offering the Scorpio with proper safety kit and 4WD and so on. I got jerked awake by someone on one of those threads who simply asked me, with all my rantings, why I didnt go and buy myself a proper vehicle WITH all the stuff I was asking for!
The fact was, I simply had no option at all, other than the Scorpio at that time! I remember consciously evaluating the Fusion TDCi PLUS, with ABS in 2008 and rejected it only because they didnt see fit to give Airbags in it, there was no 4x4 and the space inside wasnt sufficient as per my perceived need state at the time.

You see, I have always wanted the best of both worlds at an affordable price. I didn't at the time, think that paying 20 lacs for what was essentially a compact Euro SUV with lots of bells and whistles, was worth it. Perceived lack of space and perceived need state dictated otherwise.I was also on a certain budget - and Champagne Taste on a Beer budget don't really mix, do they? My Dad has always said that my tastes ran to the former but the budgets were always severely constrained, causing me to live with the latter!

Then I got myself a 1:43 sized Yeti for my collection:
I thought let me at least buy a Yeti for my Scale Model collection. And went along and got a few Skoda's amongst which were a Maroon Yeti and a Silver Yeti. These were kindly gifted to me by a friend in Bombay sometime in 2010 or so.

More considerations and thoughts:
Then the Fortuner was hanging about in the background because it was a Toyota and because it is a solid SUV but I somehow did not like its overtly aggressive looks and I did not also like its extremely bland interiors and kit.
The XUV was being speculated on like nobody's business and everyone seemed to be waiting with bated breath.
Having owned a number of M&M vehicles in the past and with my high level of trust in that company, I thought hey, lets wait and see what this XUV beast looks like and then decide.
Somewhere around then I went on a couple of holidays to the UK etc and on one of them, we rented a spanking new Subaru Forester AWD Automatic in which we traversed many miles there.

That did it for me - I immediately wanted a Euro spec vehicle with all possible bells and whistles in it right then! And the seed of desire was born and began to rankle deep within! On the recent holiday I also happened to watch Top Gear, where Jeremy Clarkson spoke very highly indeed about the Yeti and its immense practicality and overall capabilities. I thoroughly enjoyed that program like I do practically all things that Jeremy Clarkson writes and/ or presents and perhaps on that day, the decision was all but made! I distinctly remember telling my wife at the time, that this was the car that did it for me!

I realized that to be a good utility vehicle, it doesnt necessarily have to give you saddle sores and make you feel like you've been through a wringer like the Scorpio did, every time one took it out of town on bad roads. An utility vehicle can also be very comfortable and loaded with goodies, hence the crossover thought process! While on the holiday I spent time peering at many a crossover beast, but that was merely window shopping because none of these were available in India for me to consider buying.

Around this time, there was also a lot of speculation on the Duster and how it would come in and change the world. I established contact with some of the powers that be at Renault and asked a lot of questions to which I got a number of half-answers which didnt satisfy me at all. There was also the fact that the Duster would only come in around mid 2012 and I wasnt willing to wait. In the meanwhile I was getting sick and tired of the bumpy beast the Scorpio and was keenly looking for something to change to. Chronic user fatigue if you will!

Then came the sudden summons from the M&M team, asking me to come along and be a part of the consumer testing panel with the XUV. Went to Bombay, met them, saw the beast, spent several hours with it and made extensive notes which I shared with them. Most of those notes were grumblings and I am glad that they did take a little notice, which meant that approx. 70% of my feedback, was attended to in production. Notes on this also appear elsewhere on the Forum on one of the early XUV threads.

The XUV certainly did appeal to me, but I was thinking that they would end up pricing it high. Of course I was blunt about the bad bits in the XUV in terms of fit and finish etc. I also told them that they needed to take a reality check on pricing from the dismal performance of the Aria. But even then, I had realized that the XUV was quite large and perhaps too large for me.

It also was nowhere in terms of fit, finish, finesse and so on, compared with the Yeti, Tucson and other such beasts!

During this time I did many rounds of the used car dealerships hunting for that elusive SUV - checked out a large number of used Tucsons, X Trails, Endys and even Pajeros and the like, rejecting them all forthwith on account of sheer over sized-ness and the fact that they were used and the dealers felt a little dodgy somewhere or other. I realized then, that buying brand new was where I was headed - in my opinion, there is nothing quite like being the first owner of a car that one has lusted after, saved, bought and driven as the first chap. I wont draw any parallels here but Im sure you will understand what I mean!

The decision gets made:
Having gone through all of the above iterations, deliberations, speculations, cribs and curses. Having spent innumerable hours poking around the various internet based info sites on vehicles, their specs, any news on likely launches in India etc, I realized that the only vehicle around, which would meet my set of needs/ wants, was the Yeti.
My newly evolved/ evolving need and want state dictated the following but not necessarily in the order named:
1. Vehicle had to be Fully loaded with max safety kit and driver aids
2. 4x4 ability with good power and torque.
3. Compact and yet utility oriented with a technologically advanced diesel engine
4. Excellent ride comfort and handling characteristics at higher speeds
5. A vehicle which would not induce or increase my tendency towards backaches and spondylitis.
6. High ground clearance to go over all sorts of terrain - not least our horrendous Bangalore roads!
7. Good for 2 people plus luggage OR 4 people max with a little luggage
8. Ability to fit a golf bag some way or other without intruding into the driver + passenger space
9. A vehicle I could use at a pinch to take my dog(s) to the vet in.
10.Smart looking and understatedly elegant without being butch and un-necessarily aggressive.
11.Good Fuel Economy and as green as possible (within my need/want state)
12.Good music system with all modern stuff.
13.Lumbar support and other comforts
14.Leather interiors would have been nice but were not a deal breaker for me
15.A very high quality of fit, finish and finesse was necessary to have.
16.Ease of use in the city and park-ability
17.A vehicle which would be my one stop shop for all my daily driver and wekending vehicular needs because I didnt want to own and maintain 2 vehicles any more. Indeed I have been happily managing with only my Scorpio from Jan 2010 onwards and don't feel constrained in any way on account of this!
18.A nice, stylish, functional, comfortable, ergonomic, modern all rounder which was well conceived, designed and had good press and other reviews overall.

All of the above criteria pointed clearly to the Yeti and nothing else came close, given the choices available in India right now!

The more I tried to convince myself that no, it was way too expensive and no it wasn't anywhere near big enough etc, the more I was met with a spectacular lack of success.
Both head and heart conspired together and pointed me clearly in the direction of the Yeti and the Yeti alone.
The only other decision to make was between the Ambiente and the Elegance.
Suddenly there came some speculation about the new 4x2 110BHP Yeti - but nah! that didnt suit me at all.
I took many a look at the Ambiente and the Elegance, thinking I would not want to spend so much on the Elegance, but again, both my head and my heart tugged me to the Elegance.
So the Elegance it was - that lovely 140BHP 4x4 TDi CR with all the bells and whistles that I have been craving for quite a long while - around 2 years in fact!
From concept to execution it has been a long and painstaking haul but this particular chase has been very satisfying indeed and the cherry on top has been the acquisition at long last, of this super-little beast which I can now call my own!

Planning and Execution:
It was then time for the deal seeking, negotiations, finance gathering and other processes - all of which took up some of my time between April 2011 and December 2011. Saving money specifically for the Yeti. Discussions with the two dealers here in Bangalore. Lots of internet research and much grumbling at the dealers. Another friend on the Forum (Sunil) came up with the bright idea of doing a group negotiation and purchase - which we executed very carefully. Went to TAFE, where I knew someone from way back - but despite coming very close to making a deal, we didnt, for various reasons. In Sunil's case it was another emergency. In my case it was because the fellows there went back on their word on the final deal. During this time, I had been chatting with Vinayak, the other dealers. Upon talking to them one last time, I met their GM and got myself a really fantastic deal. A huge amount off on the on road price plus some fiddly stuff thrown in, including sun film, mats, an elegant little mini idol of Ganesha and so on. A good registration number was chosen and executed properly on those nice embossed IND plates. Add a couple of tiny little mods like those gleaming silver exhaust tips and the light grey/silver metallic door rub strips and I was good to go.

Colour choices and my thoughts.
I had a dream about Mato Brown and would have probably chosen it like a shot. However, practical concerns reared their heads in ref to things like high noticeability, scratches and general jealousy on the roads and overall maintenance etc, so I thought, consulted, thought again and decided on the Brilliant Silver colour. I have no regrets about that because part of the desire was to remain relatively anonymous while still enjoying the vehicle privately for what it offered.

Deal Closure & Delivery:
Finally I went with Vinayak in preference to TAFE. Paid them a very large down payment over a week or so. Made arrangements for a special loan with excellent rates of interest plus flexi pre-payment terms and just did the deal.
I was in absolutely no hurry at all so the moment I made my first down payment amount, I told the dealer to take his time. He very kindly ordered the vehicle to be shipped down to BLR immediately on the strength of the first downpayment amount and while we were expecting it to land up in about ten to twelve days, it actually landed in about one week's time.
Then there was the whole rigmarole about PDI and updating the ECU software patch and all that, which I had read about on the forum and which I got done with the help of the dealer.
He absolutely fixed everything for me, given my reasonably busy schedule of work and for this, and the relationship we have built in the process, I am obliged to him.

At the same time my old pal came up and said he wanted my Scorpio, which I promptly gave him! The timing could not have been better and this time I will get to see that Scorpio occasionally even after it was sold! All to the good I think! So a fair price was set and the deal done seamlessly and perfectly in concurrence with the arrival of the new Yeti!

Let the games begin!!!
So as you know, we took delivery of the Silver LittleBigFoot on Dec 2nd 2011 and have been having fun and games with it ever since!

Road Trip and general experiences:
We had planned to be with friends in Coorg for the New Year celebration and hence buzzed out of town on 30th morning. Beautiful experience driving this Yeti along the highway. It had perhaps done about 800kms when we set out and I babied it quite a bit till we reached 1000kms after which I started gunning it just a bit, occasionally taking the revs between gears, while shifting up, to 3000-3500. On this last trip I can feel that the engine, tyres, and brakes etc have really bedded down well and the car is going from strength to strength in terms of feel!

Handling, load carrying and other general stuff:
The vehicle holds the roads really well. The music system is an experience worth having on account of pure sound quality. One can hear every single instrument and the mid-range, which is terribly important for high quality, is just fantastic. Listen to some Jazz or Rock or anything and life begins to take on a pleasant rosy glow when all seems right with the world. CD or Ipod or Radio - it all sounds superb!
All the fiddly stuff like 4x4, TCS, ABS, EBD, ESP and ASR etc comes into play beautifully and seamlessly just when you need it. The theatre lighting experience is excellent.The seats and overall comfort is really tops. The day night mirrors are superb. The cornering fog lamps are superb on ill or unlit roads! The optical park assist facility both front and rear, which is just like the similar system in the Audi Q5, is truly excellent and helpful, especially when parking in tight spots. The build quality and overall fit, finish and finesse in this vehicle, leaves nothing to be desired, at least, for me, at the moment.

The load carrying capacity is fine by me because it fits in pretty much all that we wish to carry about with us on our holidays. As I have written elsewhere, this time we carried assorted laptops, ipod, ipad, golf bag, two suitcases, assorted hats and coats and sweaters and suits plus a number of gifts etc. We used the luggage capacity well, with the rear seats down. Indeed the rear seats in our Yeti are mostly kept flat because no one sits there.

The vehicle feels absolutely planted at higher speeds, behaves brilliantly around the curves on the hill roads and is, to me, the perfect combination of sports car like handling, sedan like comfort and SUV like utility and capability. The low and purposeful Skoda Diesel growl is very nice to enjoy when accelerating especially up the hills and around curves. Just the right amount of purpose and a light garnish of aggression there! I love it!

Having 140 BHP on tap plus a very healthy amount of torque at your disposal when you need it is a superb experience indeed. Helps you to overtake effortlessly when needed and chugs along excellently at other times! I have not tried breaking any speed records in this vehicle and certainly dont intend to. But suffice it to say that as a pretty experienced hill driver I have taken it up to 90kmph on some good roads these last few days in the hills. On the highways I have not exceeded 120kmph but this vehicle is certainly good to go upto 170 should you wish to take it there! Personally I would rather enjoy the drive than to attempt any land speed records in it! The feeling of safety, comfort and security is truly amazing - especially because I have graduated to this vehicle from the relative crudity of the Scorpio. Taking the vehicle off the beaten track is surprisingly enjoyable - a sort of luxury rugged roading if you will. This is not meant to get into serious mud plugging or rock riding and personally I would never take it to try such things out! However, I will certainly take it off the beaten track in my pursuits of either leisure, utility, photography, wildlife spotting or any other necessity that takes me there - including the condition of our roads and tracks in dear old Bangalore city!

The confidence that one gets with all the electronic and tech wizardry working overtime on ones behalf is really something else. Having a 4x4 again, for me, is a real joy!!
The quality of experience with the Yeti off the beaten track, can possibly in a sense, be likened to going on camp/ safari and enjoying the benefits and luxuries of home at the same time - rather like those luxury 5 star safaris with white table linen, fine crockery, cutlery, fresh food and beverages served to one by a small army of people waiting on one hand and foot throughout!

I dont wish to accord superlative accolades of this kind lightly - but the pleasure of owning this vehicle can only be appreciated if one drives one regularly enough!

Tyres etc:
The one thing that can be said to let the India Spec Yeti down are the OEM tyres which are NOT designed to go onto very bad stony and broken roads. These are superb in terms of ride comfort and everything else as long as one restricts their use to the highways. I have found this to my cost because my tyres are showing clear signs of displeasure with the bad roads and rugged roads I have been driving them on. However, given my general care patterns (possibly enhanced care patterns given the high price of this car), I do believe I shall be able to extract atleast 25000-30000 kms from these tyres over the next 2-2.5 years or so.

Fuel Efficiency experience until now:
Till date we have clocked around 1500 kms in the beast. It is one month old almost to the day!
I have filled up Diesel exactly four times in the last month, around 54 litres the first time on the day we took delivery, drove aout 569 kms and filled up another 44 litres the second time, twenty one days later, then I filled up another 18 litres the third time just 7 days later, to fill up the tank just before our trip last week (in this third top up, as per the indications, I have clearly not got much mileage on account of really heavy traffic-laden and typical start-stop, city driving). Then after doing 702kms on the trip alone, I have filled up 47 litres today. Overall, in a combination of start-stop city + highway traffic + hill driving etc I have consumed 163 litres of diesel and the vehicle has returned around 9.25 kmpl on average. Of course the first tank full gave me about 13kmpl in city driving which I thought was great. This last tankful has returned almost 15kmpl which I think is fantastic. If it continues in this vein with a little jollying along, I cant really grumble at all!

So what next?
I hope to be able to enjoy and use this vehicle for at least a few years to come. The trouble will come whenever the time comes for the next upgrade/ change. Once one gets used to this European quality and finish, it is very difficult indeed, to consider any non-european vehicle! Idle thoughts of vehicles like the Freelander2, the Audi Q3 etc seem to be springing to mind, if not one more Yeti - in case they bring in an L&K version at a later stage!

But that is another story and I would say at this point, better left to another day!

This is it for now - enough of waxing eloquent and possibly boring everyone out there and/ or seeming like a Skoda Ad.

I will end by simply saying that buying my Silver LittleBigFoot- the Yeti Elegance, has left me with a permanent grin on my mug - that grin hasnt left me since December 2nd 2011!

Cheers and all ye out there who have a similar set of requirements to mine and are considering an upgrade/ change - look ye no further, I would venture to suggest!
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Last edited by mobike008 : 4th January 2012 at 12:27. Reason: Lets stay away from direct or indirect abuses
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Old 4th January 2012, 12:19   #2
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Great to see your ownership review finally up ! And I must admit that your decision process was probably one of the most long drawn battles between the head and the Heart, in which the Head and the Heart finally came to a consensus and you went for the Yeti!
It is a great choice especially for today's crowded cities and may it reward you with exciting performance everytime that your drive it!

Regards,
Behemoth

Last edited by Behemoth : 4th January 2012 at 12:21.
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Old 4th January 2012, 12:25   #3
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

hi Shankar,

Finally ! The thread seems to have taken a similar amount of time to appear, as did the decision process for the Yeti. Congrats ! No, not for the thread - but for the LBF itself. Or may be I should wish you for finally putting up the thread itself ?

Where were the off-road pics taken ? Doesn't seem too far from BLR.
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Old 4th January 2012, 13:06   #4
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Thanks! And you helped a lot with your inputs!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Behemoth View Post
It is a great choice especially for today's crowded cities and may it reward you with exciting performance everytime that your drive it!

Regards,
Behemoth
Yes. I am as I said, a lazy chap or lets just say pressed for time.
Off road bits and pieces done in Coorg over the New Year time.

Quote:
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hi Shankar,

Where were the off-road pics taken ? Doesn't seem too far from BLR.
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Old 4th January 2012, 13:29   #5
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

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 4th January 2012, 13:53   #6
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Great narration Shankar! I am sure many will go through similar dilemma before committing to Yeti at this price. However, I am very sure the sheer pleasure of driving Yeti with such level of finesse will alleviate all pains.

Wishing you a fun filled ownership experience!
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Old 4th January 2012, 15:33   #7
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Thanks Dev. I am sure I will.
Will do this back seat thingy one of these days.
I have, however sat in the back seat behind the driver seat with the driver seat adjusted for my own use. And frankly I can only manage to sit there for short journeys.
Incidentally, it was the same case with the Scorpio. My Dad who is about as tall as I am never sat behind me, ever on account of lack of adequate leg room.

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.

Thanks Kevin. Actually it was not too difficult to make the committment because the vehicle is just such a high quality one. I think it is more the need, want and evolutionary state that one is in, in the moment when one makes that decision.


Quote:
Originally Posted by kevintomin View Post
Great narration Shankar! I am sure many will go through similar dilemma before committing to Yeti at this price. However, I am very sure the sheer pleasure of driving Yeti with such level of finesse will alleviate all pains.

Wishing you a fun filled ownership experience!
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Old 4th January 2012, 15:48   #8
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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
Thanks Dev. I am sure I will.
Will do this back seat thingy one of these days.
I have, however sat in the back seat behind the driver seat with the driver seat adjusted for my own use. And frankly I can only manage to sit there for short journeys.
Incidentally, it was the same case with the Scorpio. My Dad who is about as tall as I am never sat behind me, ever on account of lack of adequate leg room.
Hi Shankar,
Hope that you have done all the adjustments to the seats to liberate some extra legroom for the rear passengers. First, slide the rear outside seats to the back most positions (using a handle below the rear seats) - they will slide back on the rail. Second, for the front seats, raise the seat heights to as high as you feel comfortable, and change the tilt / telescope of the steering to desired comfort. This way you will be able to liberate a little more legspace for the rear passengers (if required). There are so many adjustments possible to the Yeti seats (details are in the user manual), which makes it quite versatile!
(In default condition, when the Yeti is delivered to customers, most of the time, the rear seats are in forward most condition - we also came to know of this adjustment only later!)

Regards,
Behemoth
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Old 4th January 2012, 15:59   #9
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Yes.
Have actually done all these things the day I got the vehicle. No one else has driven it except my pal in Coorg who drove it briefly. He is of the same height and overall size as me.
I have also placed the rear seats at the rear-most position possible.
But the fact is also, that in our particular Yeti, it is very "once in a while" that someone may get in the back seat. Ours is a 2 person vehicle and like I said, the rear seats for the most part are kept folded down flat!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Behemoth View Post
Hi Shankar,
Hope that you have done all the adjustments to the seats to liberate some extra legroom for the rear passengers. First, slide the rear outside seats to the back most positions (using a handle below the rear seats) - they will slide back on the rail. Second, for the front seats, raise the seat heights to as high as you feel comfortable, and change the tilt / telescope of the steering to desired comfort. This way you will be able to liberate a little more legspace for the rear passengers (if required). There are so many adjustments possible to the Yeti seats (details are in the user manual), which makes it quite versatile!
(In default condition, when the Yeti is delivered to customers, most of the time, the rear seats are in forward most condition - we also came to know of this adjustment only later!)

Regards,
Behemoth
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Old 4th January 2012, 16:08   #10
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Amazing writeup, it summarises all your thoughts for the past year or so. Thanks for the same. I am sure many who are thinking that the Yeti as expensive, even though meets all their needs, would become converts reading your experience.

Congrats on buying the Yeti. It looks like you have finally found the right vehicle to keep you happy for the next few years. All the best with the vehicle.

Would it be possible to share the price paid?
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Old 4th January 2012, 16:16   #11
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

CONGRATULATIONS!
The steering and the instrument cluster is beautiful. I love the typical german understated interior.

And nice trail there.
Enjoy.

Do share the real life effectiveness of the off-road ABS, etc.
I wish Yeti had >200mm GC and a low range...
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Old 4th January 2012, 17:37   #12
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

A wonderful gift to your-self for a wonderful year, I trust, ahead.

The Yeti has always lured my eyes from the very first time I saw it at the showroom almost a year ago, when I had walked in to purchase my Fabia. I did watch the review on Top Gear by Jeremy before then, and I wasn't too sure about Skoda bringing it to India. The helicopter-landing on the Yeti was a true attention-grabber.

One thing about the Yeti that I've observed in common - people either luuurrrrrve it, or they loathe it. I belong to the category of formers, and practically, I believe a vehicle is all about it's capabilities in 'transport'ing you between point A and point B, than the gizmos that come along.

A 2.0 litre diesel is all that the Yeti needs for all the practical tasks that will EVER be thrown at it here in India, as I haven't till date seen a maniac who'd throw in 22lakhs of hard-earned money to get his metal-chunk hanging off a cliff or do a titanic 2 to test off-road capabilities !

A wonderful choice indeed! Hope to bump into you some time around in Bangalore. Wish you KMS and KMS of safe and fun driving. Take care of the Skoda, and she'll be your Shield of Achilles for a long time!
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Old 4th January 2012, 18:22   #13
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

@mempheS.D
Yes that car is really wonderful in terms of what it offers to the user. I saw that program in the UK when it was telecast there in March and watched it again when it came on BBC Entertainment here in India around 1.5 months back.
Good fun overall but I liked that JC didnt have anything bad to say about the Yeti at all!
While the top spec in Europe is called the Elegance and comes with a 2 litre diesel that develops 170BHP and has all the possible bells and whistles, this one which is called the Elegance in India is actually the Experience version there.
I agree that one is not going to attempt rock riding, mud plugging or anything of that kind in the Yeti but it really feels great on the loose surfaces when the 4x4 and TCS and ASR and and all that jazz kicks in to help you.

@anand
Yes I also love the understated german looks and high quality interiors. The ABS works brilliantly - a few nights ago we were driving back from a friends house in Coorg when a little pup darted out in front. I just slammed the brakes and the Yeti just stopped dead! I must have been doing close to 60-70 kmph going uphill at the time! Amazing. The car stayed firm and held its line beautifully. No ill effects to the pup or the car or us sitting inside!
Frankly no need for hardcore low range because the electronic 4WD detects everything and does the job beautifully. 200GC also is not required because most of the time 180GC works beautifully and this is not a serious mud plugger anyway so low range would not be used most of the time.
For serious off road work I would personally not take this vehicle. Better to buy a cheap MM or Gypsy and bash it around - not the Yeti!

@ Basil
Thanks! Yes I agree that my experiences so far may help change perceptions for what it is worth. Either way no skin off my nose because I buy cars to please myself and hopefully I have made the right choice this time also! If and when I upgrade a few years down the line, I will by then have gotten so used to Euro Luxe that I shall possibly have to consider something like a Q3, LR Freelander2 or possibly the Yeti L&K in case they bring that out! And indeed, next time I go on holiday I shall probably have to rent an Euro vehicle to continue to experience the better things in life!


Quote:
Originally Posted by mempheS.D View Post
A wonderful gift to your-self for a wonderful year, I trust, ahead.
did watch the review on Top Gear by Jeremy before then, and I wasn't too sure about Skoda bringing it to India.
A 2.0 litre diesel is all that the Yeti needs for all the practical tasks that will EVER be thrown at it here in India, as I haven't till date seen a maniac who'd throw in 22lakhs of hard-earned money to get his metal-chunk hanging off a cliff or do a titanic 2 to test off-road capabilities !

A wonderful choice indeed! Hope to bump into you some time around in Bangalore. Wish you KMS and KMS of safe and fun driving. Take care of the Skoda, and she'll be your Shield of Achilles for a long time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by anandpadhye View Post
CONGRATULATIONS!
The steering and the instrument cluster is beautiful. I love the typical german understated interior.

And nice trail there.
Enjoy.

Do share the real life effectiveness of the off-road ABS, etc.
I wish Yeti had >200mm GC and a low range...
Quote:
Originally Posted by basilmabraham View Post
Amazing writeup, it summarises all your thoughts for the past year or so. Thanks for the same. I am sure many who are thinking that the Yeti as expensive, even though meets all their needs, would become converts reading your experience.

Congrats on buying the Yeti. It looks like you have finally found the right vehicle to keep you happy for the next few years. All the best with the vehicle.

Would it be possible to share the price paid?
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Old 4th January 2012, 19:46   #14
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

Congrats on your new buy! This is one of my favourite cars. Took a test drive last month and found the low-end torque to be less. Also, the clutch kept vibrating with the engine. Since you've been on a hill drive, how do you find the low-end torque? Did you face any stalling on steep inclines?
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Old 4th January 2012, 19:50   #15
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re: The Silver LittleBigFoot and a Skoda Yeti New Year 2012 EDIT: Sold!

No worries mate!
No clutch vibration in my vehicle at all.
Low end torque is great provided you keep the revs at the optimum level of atleast 1500 rpm.
No trouble climbing a 40 degree incline to my friends house on a mud + stone track. Sharp right hander to enter. Stop, plug it into 1st and chug happily up the hill to the house. The Hill Hold control, 4WD and everything else ensures your comfort without having to worry about rolling back. Amazing vehicle this!
I just loved driving it in the hills around those twisties! More details appear below in my experience post as also on Pramods thread Skoda Yeti @ India - An ownership review!

Cheers

Quote:
Originally Posted by swiftdiesel View Post
Congrats on your new buy! This is one of my favourite cars. Took a test drive last month and found the low-end torque to be less. Also, the clutch kept vibrating with the engine. Since you've been on a hill drive, how do you find the low-end torque? Did you face any stalling on steep inclines?
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