[samyboy]

The Prelude

Let me think.. How did it all start? I remember first seeing her on TV. She was very much a celebrity and had not yet arrived in India. This was an episode hosted by Sid Patankar of NDTV reviewing a new vehicle launched by Skoda named Yeti. Throughout the 7-9 mins segment I was totally glued to the TV. I said to myself if this car ever comes to India – I am going to buy it. Of all the new cars we see in international segment, hardly a few end-up being in India. So even if he said it will be introduced in India I took it with pinch of salt.
Let’s now fast forward to June’11. By this time we had started seeing few Yetis on the Mumbai roads. My wife at times, had to nudge me to look back at the road in front as I rubber-necked to absorb every bit of this passing by beauty.

Come Dec'11, my Getz is 6.5 yrs. old. I was now serious on replacing her. I was initially impressed by the looks of XVU500 but more I saw them on road, I thought they are too crude (for my taste). Another constraint was size of my stilt parking. It would not have possibly accommodated XUV500.

Wanting to read more on Yeti, I bumped into Team-BHP and then came across these amazing threads by Reehan ( official review), Behemoth, Shankar, Promod and SushilBajpai. Just like a kid hooked on to a comic staring his favorite super-hero I read and re-read every bit of information posted on these threads.

I had to keep thought of buying a new car on hold as overseas travel was expected on job front and there was no point in buying something and keep it idle in garage.

This was during my visit to Paris in June’12, like everybody else; I waited outside the airport for my turn in the queue for a cab - with hope to get a cabbie who knows English. Yeti in her Mato brown attire rolls by as my turn comes. It was the 1.2 TFSI version, I tried to get more info from Cab driver but I see him having extreme trouble putting together English words for my Yeti related questions. So I decide to sit back and listen to her and experience how she behaves on the expressway. I reached my hotel and called wife – my first line was – we are buying a Yeti once I am back.

Decision making

Which version was the big question. First class (Elegance 4x4), Business class (Ambition 4x4/4x2) or Economy (Active trim). Selection thought process was as below. I stared from top.

1. Of course I wanted 4x4 elegance but gap between 4x2 Ambition and top variant was about 3L OTR. That’s a lot of money at least to me.
2. We all know the spares could be pretty expensive with Yeti. I decided to set aside some money invested as a contingency fund in case things go wrong after 4 years of ownership. Hopefully money will grow as my car gets older and eventually out the 2+2 years of warranty period.
3. I am a city slicker and travel outside would only be with Family and on tar roads only. It’s a nice to have of 4x4 but there is a good chance that it will never be used.
4. Any 4x4 has more complicated mechanics at play. Why not lower risk of failure by going a bit low-tech to 4x2. It might help lower the malfunction risk.

So 4x2 it’s going to be!

Buying experience / Tests drives

I had test driven Yeti 2 times by then. Both were Elegance 4x4. I asked them to get a 4x2 to my home, had Sales person park the vehicle in my little parking lot and then took it for a ride myself. I was not able to feel any tangible difference between 4x4 and 4x2 in terms of pickup, ride quality etc.

Dealership experience

I am not very impressed with Sales team of Autobahn. These folks are low on energy. All along my sales rep appears not very interested in anything. Not sure if it’s a one off experience or not. Even in test drives earlier, he was a mum like a bucket of rocks, I was explaining and talking about features in the car and he replied in mono syllables. I wondered who is selling car to whom.
Delivery day

Last week of July, on my father’s birthday, we bring her home. Delivery formalities were quick but again the energy level was too disappointing. All along, I thought is there something wrong in me buying this car? Sad if you are purchasing a new vehicle at this price point. A close relative had purchase Honda city 4 weeks prior and I was there to take the delivery. The environment was very bright and enthusiastic there. Not sure if anybody from Autobahn reads this but if do you. Please take a note.
First 6 months of ownership

She has been what I expected her to be. An Excellent car overall. I have by now clocked over 5K Kms making few trips outstation. Here’s a summary of my likes and not-so-likes.

Likes

1. The Engine is superb. Provides the right amount of power with no turbo lag that I can feel.
2. Road handling. Does not feel like a tall-boy ride. Hugs the road no matter how twisted it is.
3. Small size, fits in my parking and easy to drive on a daily basis
4. Cabin Fit and finish. I see some excellent craftsmanship there.
5. A different-ness - not many Yeti’s around and that’s what makes her stand out

Not-so-Likes

1. Come on Skoda, 16L+ car and you cannot add Bluetooth, a SD media slot there?
2. I even today get cold feet with a thought of needing to visit service center in future.
3. Accessories are too expensive. I inquired for upgrade to Bolero stereo from swing audio unit and it only costs Rs. 70K.
4. Stalling in initial days. I had 66K Miles in US and 80K Kms in India under my belt and I still managed to stall it during first 2 weeks of ownership. Yikes!
5. AC is not a chiller. Mumbai October heat, no sun films and it does take time to cool things down.

What’s on the wish list?

1. I want to active needle staging, cornering fogs and if possible DRLs. I wonder if anybody else/shop/non Skoda service center can help me get these “software” options changed. It’s too painful to visit Autobahn for this and wait for hours for them to resolve it.
   
2. I have disliked the idea that a 140bhp capable engine made 110bhp on 4x2. Thinking of using a tuning box but warranty related concerns have kept me away from it. Would love to hear from any Yeti owners who have tuning box installed.

I just want to recognize my 2005 Getz which gave me excellent service. I had to sell it as there is no place to keep the second car.

Thanks to Sheel, Sunilrj and Shankar.Balan who inspired me write this review. Hope this becomes place for Yeti 4x2 owners to meet.

Few pics for your viewing pleasure







Driving Experience

• One of the things I really appreciate about this car is – it drives like a car. Seating high perched. In addition to provide usual forward movement, it also allows you to raise the seat. So if you are vertically challenged like me, it’s a good thing.
• Turn the ignition and car comes live with a recognizable roar. I have never been a fan of noisy cabin so it took a little time to de-tune the engine noise. I think Skoda can do a better job on limiting engine noise in cabin.
• Gear shifts are smooth but slightly on a harder side. It takes more effort to shift than what I was used to in my 7 yr old Getz.
• There is no turbo lag what-so-ever. In fact I was told it’s to be expected with diesel engines but this engine is tuned to minimize it.
• Pick up is excellent, let it be a red one turning green or need to quickly get ahead of a truck. Engine responds to urgency very well.

Comfort

• Passanger seating is very comfortable. Back seat is not really for 3 persons. It can be best enjoyed by two.
• Suspension does a very good job to handle usual broken Mumbai roads.

Some notable features

• Superior safety offerings - ABS, EBD, ASR EDL, TCS and ESP
• 416 Lt of boot space.
• Rain sensing wipers
• Ability to adjust mirrors electrically, of course I would have liked auto folding mirrors too.
• Foldable and Removable seats

[Batfreak]

Great purchase. Wish you many happy miles in the abominable snowman! Hope to see more pictures in the future.

[thumpingheart]

Congrats Samboy!! Excellent choice. You just bought my all time favorite SUV in the much sensible 4X2 guise. If I ever own an SUV I would buy the Yeti 4X2. But don't have the budget so... If your running is not that high I might just buy it from you if you ever decide to sell it!

Enjoy your amazing ride and wish you many many happy miles! And please treat us with more stories and pics. Cheers.

P.S. - Take good care of her for me in advance!!!! LOL.

[DeKay]

Samboy,
Congratulations! The yeti sure is a brilliant choice. If you don't mind me asking, what was the OTR price? The last time I test drove the Yeti, the SA told me that they were offering huge discounts on the 4x2. How much did you manage to squeeze out of them?

[shankar.balan]

Nice, clean, crisp, heart-felt review. I really enjoyed reading it.

Your photos are of very good quality. Much better than I have ever been able to take, of my Yeti.

The insides of your Yeti look so clean and pristine - I have been trying very hard to maintain them this way and am only just succeeding because I load it up with golf stuff, luggage, dogs occasionally and so on. And it takes a lot of effort to clean up with the vacuum cleaner and brush and then leather polish etc.

Good work and good luck and many enjoyable miles in your Snowman!

Cheers!

[pradyblr]

samyboy,
Congrats on a wonderful and tasteful purchase.
A very good review as well.
About your concern on skoda service, are there no other options in terms of other dealerships near you?

[samyboy]

Originally Posted by DeKay

Samboy,
Congratulations! The yeti sure is a brilliant choice. If you don't mind me asking, what was the OTR price? The last time I test drove the Yeti, the SA told me that they were offering huge discounts on the 4x2. How much did you manage to squeeze out of them?

Oh no problem at all.. I was able to land it for 16.5L OTR Mumbai/Individual registration all included. Frankly I am not a good at negotiations at all. In this case, I have been wanting to own it for so long and I could not play a good Poker with them. I recollect around the same time, somebody else on the forum got this for 30K less than I paid for. What's a current OTR they are offering?

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Nice, clean, crisp, heart-felt review. I really enjoyed reading it.

Your photos are of very good quality. Much better than I have ever been able to take, of my Yeti.

The insides of your Yeti look so clean and pristine - I have been trying very hard to maintain them this way and am only just succeeding because I load it up with golf stuff, luggage, dogs occasionally and so on.

Cheers!

I am a bit of a photographer so that explains photo quality. Yes, keeping the Yeti interior clean is difficult. Especially with my two little once going at it. It's impossible to talk sense in a 5 and a 2 year old so only thing you can do is clean-up behind them I want to try the Skoda OEM leather cleaner as it seem to do better job than Meguiar's gold class cleaner I use ( based on Sunilrj's reply )

[Abhinav667]

Congratulations on the Yeti Samyboy! Love the colour. A lot of Skoda Laura owners have swapped their Swing units for Bolero's here on Team-BHP. Perhaps, after a year or so, you too can get one from eBay and get it fixed for cheaper. Besides, it being a genuine Skoda unit, it won't void your warranty. Anyway, cheers. I will be following your thread closely as the 4X2 is the next prospective buy for me.

[Carcrazy60]

Congratulations. Your thread was needed. There are plenty of people who think they do not need four wheel drive. Will be able to point them to your thread.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by samyboy

[*]I have disliked the idea that a 140bhp capable engine made 110bhp on 4x2. Thinking of using a tuning box but warranty related concerns have kept me away from it. Would love to hear from any Yeti owners who have tuning box installed.

I have not done anything similar to my car, but understand from Pete's outfit that he can easily put the official VW maps onto it. He offered to put the 178bhp Passat map on mine but I find my 140 more than adequate for our roads. Perhaps you should try that route - there is no tuning box involved, they just overwrite the code on the ECU with another official VW map. Given the level of knowledge at their service centers, I dont think any dealer of theirs will be able to pick it up - even if they do, the map is official VW.

If you're going to be putting in a warranty claim, Pete's outfit will map it back to the stock map for the period.

[samyboy]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Given the level of knowledge at their service centers, I dont think any dealer of theirs will be able to pick it up - even if they do, the map is official VW.

If you're going to be putting in a warranty claim, Pete's outfit will map it back to the stock map for the period.

Steeroid, I find following problems with this approach

1. There is a turn around time of about 7 days - of sending ROM over to Pete's and getting it back for installation. It's not flashed in Mumbai but done at Cochin.

2. God forbid, if there is an accident and we have to get things fixed, It would be too impractical to get car to Pete's local outlet have EUC removed, sent it over and then put it back once stock flashed. Same will be case in case something malfunctions.

3. I agree, knowledge level of these folks is low, but EUC check could be a simple step that says ROM version XXX which they realize not to be stock and update their CRM systems as a vehicle with remap. Checking software version is the simplest thing anybody can do with a VAG/Laptop.

On the other hand, turning box can be removed and put back by an end-user like me without expert intervention. I see this as a huge advantage over remap.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by samyboy

Steeroid, I find following problems with this approach

1. There is a turn around time of about 7 days - of sending ROM over to Pete's and getting it back for installation. It's not flashed in Mumbai but done at Cochin.

2. God forbid, if there is an accident and we have to get things fixed, It would be too impractical to get car to Pete's local outlet have EUC removed, sent it over and then put it back once stock flashed. Same will be case in case something malfunctions.

3. I agree, knowledge level of these folks is low, but EUC check could be a simple step that says ROM version XXX which they realize not to be stock and update their CRM systems as a vehicle with remap. Checking software version is the simplest thing anybody can do with a VAG/Laptop.

On the other hand, turning box can be removed and put back by an end-user like me without expert intervention. I see this as a huge advantage over remap.

Honestly I would nt mess with the manufacturer's stock setup. They de tuned the 2WD for various reasons I am sure, and I would always hesitate to do anything which might ruin the set up and the warranty!

[F150]

Originally Posted by samyboy

The Prelude
[*]I have disliked the idea that a 140bhp capable engine made 110bhp on 4x2. Thinking of using a tuning box but warranty related concerns have kept me away from it. Would love to hear from any Yeti owners who have tuning box installed.

Tune O tronics can do it for you in Mumbai. There was a remapped 110 HP Laura. Please search the forum.

EDIT: Here is the URL http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...edc17-ecu.html

Originally Posted by samyboy

Steeroid, I find following problems with this approach

1. There is a turn around time of about 7 days - of sending ROM over to Pete's and getting it back for installation. It's not flashed in Mumbai but done at Cochin.

2. God forbid, if there is an accident and we have to get things fixed, It would be too impractical to get car to Pete's local outlet have EUC removed, sent it over and then put it back once stock flashed. Same will be case in case something malfunctions.

3. I agree, knowledge level of these folks is low, but EUC check could be a simple step that says ROM version XXX which they realize not to be stock and update their CRM systems as a vehicle with remap. Checking software version is the simplest thing anybody can do with a VAG/Laptop.

On the other hand, turning box can be removed and put back by an end-user like me without expert intervention. I see this as a huge advantage over remap.

Same as above. I think its worth the risk after 20K kms when you start getting bored.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Honestly I would nt mess with the manufacturer's stock setup. They de tuned the 2WD for various reasons I am sure,

Dear Shankar,

There were few threads discussing the same question. I don't think there was conclusion ever . But I personally think it is unfair on the part of SKODA. Details in the thread above.


Samy Boy,

Congratulations !! Wish you a peaceful journey with this SKODA. Check with other SKODA users from MUMBAI about the receommended service centers

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by F150

. But I personally think it is unfair on the part of SKODA.

ers

Why would you consider it unfair on Skoda's part?
Suppose one were to do some 'souping up' of lets say a Toyota engine, do you think they will honour their warranty?
I, for one do not think they will because all manufacturers will prefer doing a CYA on this aspect.

[F150]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Why would you consider it unfair on Skoda's part?
Suppose one were to do some 'souping up' of lets say a Toyota engine, do you think they will honour their warranty?
I, for one do not think they will because all manufacturers will prefer doing a CYA on this aspect.

Dear Shankar,

It was not about the remap and SKODA has to honour warranty.

Restricting the 4x2 to 110HP is what I think is unfair, when the part numbers of the clutch,injectors etc match with the 140HP engine.

Edited the previous post for more clarity.

This has the potential to become OFFTOPIC. Please PM me if you have any other questions.