74% Which? works for you. Which? Car review Skoda Yeti (2009-) On sale: Sep 2009 Class: 4x4s/SUVs New price: 15,125-28,140 Used price: From 6,250

Where did the Skoda Yeti feel composed?
What do car experts use to get an overall score?
How long is the turning circle?

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1 Which? works for you Which? Car review On sale: Sep 2009 Class: New price: 15,125-28,140 Used price: From 6,250 Performance: Boot & Storage: Adaptable interior and boot. Safe driving manners. Cheap to run. Cramped in the rear. Uncomfortable rear seats. Poor heater performance. Ride comfort: Safety: handling: Reliability: Total score: 74% Recommended models in the range Which? Car Top Choice Model 1.2 TSI SE 5dr New price: 17,395 Used price: 7,695 Fastest Model 2.0 TDI CR 170 Monte Carlo 4x4 5dr New price: 24,570 Used price: 16, mph: 8.4 secs Most Efficient Model 2.0 TDI CR SE L 5dr New price: 21,715 Used price: 15,550 Combined fuel economy: 62.8 mpg Cheapest Model to buy new 1.2 TSI E 5dr New price: 15,125 Overview The Skoda Yeti offers a different take to the mainstream contenders in the compact 4x4 SUV class - it s a low-cost competitor for the likes of the Honda CR-V and VW Tiguan (on which the Yeti is based). In 2014 Skoda introduced the slightly more rugged Yeti Outdoor, which can be bought with four-wheel drive. However, both Yetis are above all family cars rather than off-road machines. Please note that certain diesel-powered versions of this car built between 2009 and 2015 may be affected by the dieselgate emissions scandal. This means its engine may be more polluting than official figures suggest and could be recalled sometime in For more information, refer to our guide on how to check if your car is affected. The Skoda Yeti may have been a relative latecomer to the compact crossover party, but its low cost and versatile appeal have made it a major player. Refreshed for 2014, the Yeti has gained sharper exterior styling, new equipment and more environmentally-friendly engines. The range has also been split in two: on one side of the street is the city-focused Yeti, and on the other is the more macho looking Yeti Outdoor. The Outdoor isn t all about looks though, as many versions are available with an improved on-demand four-wheel drive system that claims to react faster than before. A rough road package can be added to this; it adds extra cladding under the car to protect key components if it s driven over rough terrain. Higher spec versions can also be had with an off-road mode button that adjusts the sensitivity of the traction control and ABS systems to give maximum traction on slippery surfaces. The standard Yeti has less rugged styling and is aimed more squarely at urban drivers. Cheapest Model to buy used 1.2 TSI E 5dr Used price: 6,250 Cheapest Model to Run (new) 1.2 TSI S 5dr DSG New price: 16,875 Running costs: 9,753 (3 years/36,000 miles) Owner s View Rugged, comfortable, go anywhere, reliable, great fun, extremely stable on or off road, great long-distance car, great equipment.

2 On the road You ll feel very safe driving the Yeti. It s very stable in both the two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive formats we tested, and inspires confidence. The ride comfort and brakes are strong suits, too, and all the engines we tried offer strong performance. Even the fit and finish are better than you might imagine, although visibility could be better. Performance We tested both the two-wheel drive 110bhp and four-wheel drive 140bhp and 170bhp 2.0 diesels. The lowest-powered output model feels a little sluggish from lower revs and will require dropping down a gear when overtaking. The 1540bhp model supplies strong enough performance and useful overtaking ability for all driving situations, while the 170bhp model puts more onus on power than efficiency, providing an acceleration time from 35-62mph of just 5.4 seconds. None are the smoothest diesel engines we ve ever tried, though. That said, the six-speed manual gearbox has a precise and fast action with well-chosen ratios, and the DSG automatic gearbox (tested with the 170bhp diesel) shifts smoothly and quickly, though it can be a little dimwitted on downshifts. We tested the 1.2-litre TSI petrol with the six-speed manual. While this engine is well suited to smaller Skodas like the Fabia, it s not quite powerful enough for the heavy Yeti. You ll really struggle to accelerate in sixth gear, so this can only be used for motorway cruising. Acceleration (37-62mph) 7.4 secs 6.4 secs 5.4 secs 7.0 secs Performance We use the sophisticated electronic timing equipment to record standing-start and in-gear acceleration, and repeat each test several times. Ride comfort Ride comfort is assessed by our laboratory experts who have driven hundreds of thousands of miles in a myriad of different models. Ride comfort The suspension is stiff yet comfortable, absorbing bumps with ease.

3 On the road continued... Handling Both Yeti models tested have impressive handling, with both feeling composed in corners. Our avoidance test uncovered no problems in two- or all-wheel-drive forms, with docile understeer the predominant characteristic, and the stability control system performing well. In wintery conditions, 4x4 is always going to have the marked advantage, thopugh The car is unfazed by lane ruts, even when fully loaded. The steering is also has plenty of feel and is precise and light-acting. Brakes Short braking distances, no fade and a good pedal feel all result in a strong rating in the braking department. Braking distance (62-0mph) 37.7m 37.0m 35.4m 36.2m Refinement and noise Interior noise is low at motorway speeds, when there s hardly any road or wind noise. The diesel engines are pleasantly quiet at low speeds, though they do get noisier with speed; the 1.2TSI petrol is very much the same: clearly heard at high revs, but not a nuisance in any way. Cruising noise 69dB 69dB 69dB 69dB Handling On-the-limit handling is explored well away from public roads to ensure a fair test. Our obstacle avoidance test is one of the harshest tests in the industry.. Brakes The Which? Car braking test measures stopping distance from 62-0mph and is repeated ten times in quick succession to highlight any brake fade issues. Refinement and noise The Which? Car experts use a decibel meter to record interior sound levels at common UK motorway speeds, and combine this with subjective assessments to arrive at an overall score.

4 On the road continued... Cabin and controls Anyone who thinks Skodas are cheaply finished should try sitting in the Yeti. While it s not up to Audi standards, the fit and general quality is very impressive. There are lots of oddment bins, bottle holders, pockets and drawers. The steering wheel is height- and reach-adjustable, and the pedals are well laid out. However, the gear lever is sited very low, making it awkward to operate with the armrest down. Gauges are quite easy to read and controls are mostly easy to use, although the air conditioning is fiddly and there are no reading lights in the rear. Visibility and parking Visibility is no better than average. The front end is not visible at all, while the rear view is impaired by the high-set tailgate window. Wide pillars don t make matters easy, either. One good point: the turning circle is excellent for a 4x4. Turning circle 10.5m 10.5m 10.7m 10.5m Cabin and controls We penalise cars with difficult controls, and we look for things like backlit light switches and easy-to-use heating and ventilation adjustments. Visibility and parking Visibility is a major issue for motorists today, so each car gets a 360-degree swivel view test to reproduce the driver s eye view and any obscured areas.

5 Comfort and practicality Skoda has designed the Yeti to be very adaptable, and its generous maximum boot space and versatile seating certainly make it that. However, the rear seats are very tight on legroom. We re also less than impressed with the air conditioning system. Getting in and out With its high roof and comfortable seat height, it s easy for front seat passengers to get into the Yeti. It s not quite so easy in the back: the doors could open a little wider and the high sills require you to take a big step up. We also don t like the fact that you can lock people in the car, and yourself out of the car, if you aren t careful. Seat space and comfort Headroom is certainly not an issue with the Yeti: there s absolutely loads of it front and rear. Cabin width is a bit tight, though. The main problem with the Yeti occurs in the rear. Legroom is particularly tight, and the centre rear seat is all but unusable. It s a similar story with seat comfort: the front seats are firm and supportive, but the rear ones are poorly contoured and too low. Getting in and out We take measurements all around the driver and passenger s door apertures and note the height of the seat, door sills and step down onto the car floor. The best cars don t require too much bending or stretching to get in and out. Seat space and comfort We assess seat comfort subjectively, using our road testers expert knowledge and experience from thousands of different cars. And we measure the head-, legand elbowroom on offer in every seat, to see how well the car caters for people of all shapes and sizes.

6 Comfort and practicality continued... Boot and storage The Yeti s boot looks bigger than it actually is: with all seats in place, its 375-litre capacity is no better than average. That can be boosted to a more impressive 710 litres (up to the window line) by removing the rear seats. The rear seats are arranged as two wide outer seats and one narrow centre seat, each of which can be folded forward separately, or removed entirely. With the centre seat removed, the outer seats can be slid in towards the centre. The rear load lip is rather high, but the tailgate opens up tall to reveal a very practical boot shape that can be loaded up to the roofline with no problem. Boot space (seats up/down) 375 litres / 710 litres 375 litres / 710 litres 300 litres / 635 litres 375 litres / 710 litres Heating and ventilation E (used only) and S models come with manual air conditioning, whose performance is far from impressive. It takes fully 20 minutes for the rear to reach room temperature, the maximum temperature isn t warm enough and you can only set the temperature for the entire car. Even worse, the ventilation system is poor and the rear side windows don t open fully. It might be worth considering the SE and Elegance models, which come with standard dual-zone climate control. Boot and storage Carmakers give official stats for boot space, but our tests are more realistic. We load the boot up with measuring blocks only as far as the rear window line, so that luggage is well secured and won t obscure rear visibility. We repeat the test with the rear seats up, and folded down (where possible). Heating and ventilation Feel sorry for the tester who has to warm each car up from a frosty -10 degrees in our climate chamber. Starting with a cold engine, we measure how long it takes to warm up the front and rear of the cabin. Diesel cars usually take longer. We also check the effectiveness of air conditioning, where fitted.

7 Running costs and depreciation In the compact SUV class, the Yeti is competitively priced, if not the super-budget option that some Skoda models are. Strong residual values should help overall running costs, although we are a little disappointed by the fuel consumption. Fuel consumption Fuel consumption The main petrol engine is the 105bhp 1.2 TSI, which achieved 41.5mpg in our tests. There s also a used-only 1.4 TSI and a 160bhp 1.8 TSI only offered on the pricey L and K model, which achieved a lowly 35.3mpg.. There are just two diesel engine sizes: 1.6 and 2.0-litre. The former is only available new with a 105bhp output, while the 2.0 can be had with either 110, 140 or 170bhp. The all-wheeldrive 170bhp diesel we tested bettered its mpg claims - that is a rarity for a mainstream car. Petrol (combined mpg, claimed) 35.3 mpg mpg We test fuel economy under strict lab conditions using realistic test cycles to reveal the facts behind the figures. Our figures rarely match manufacturer claims as, unlike the official mpg test, we measure economy with both a hot and cold engine, and on the motorway. Diesel (combined mpg, claimed) 43.5 mpg mpg Urban (claimed/measured) 52.3 mpg/46.3 mpg 39.8 mpg/36.2 mpg 36.7 mpg/36.7 mpg 37.2 mpg/38.2 mpg Extra urban (claimed/measured) 60.1 mpg/62.8 mpg 53.3 mpg/54.3 mpg 52.3 mpg/54.3 mpg 47.9 mpg/52.3 mpg Motorway (measured) 42.2 mpg 37.7 mpg 39.8 mpg 33.6 mpg Combined (claimed/measured) 52.3 mpg/50.4 mpg 47.1 mpg/42.8 mpg 44.8 mpg/45.6 mpg 44.1 mpg/41.5 mpg

8 Running costs and depreciation continued... Emissions Official CO2 emissions for petrol model range from 149g/km (1.2 TSI) to 189g/km (1.8 TSI). There s a greater variety of diesel models and emissions outputs: the 1.6 TDI is the most economical with 119g/km, while the 2.0 TDI unit provides an emissions range of g/km. Emissions Petrol (CO2, claimed) Diesel (CO2, claimed) 128g per km - 189g per km 118g per km - 169g per km Emissions (claimed/measured) 140g per km/147g per km 157g per km/173g per km 164g per km/199g per km 154g per km/156g per km While testing fuel economy, we also collect exhaust gases to enable us to measure the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted. We also check whether particulate filters are effective at removing sooty emissions from diesel engines. Safety Safety and security Traction and stability control is standard across the range now, but not all used models will have stability control - in particular we d avoid the 1.2 E, S and SE with a manual gearbox. Likewise, the base E which is no longer available new, lacks a driver s knee airbag, but all Yetis have side and curtain airbags as standard. Four-wheel drive (when chosen) is a definite safety benefit. The front headrests are the correct height and size to protect occupants, but the rear headrests are only good enough for people up to 1.7m tall. Child safety is good overall and the front passenger airbag can be deactivated to install a rear-facing child seat. Euro NCAP score The Yeti is a five-star Euro NCAP performer. It scored a very impressive 92% for adult protection and 78% for child protection. Pedestrian protection of 46% and safety assist features of 71% leave some room for improvement. Here is the video of the 2009 Skoda Yeti Euro NCAP frontal crash test. (Year tested: 2009) Adult occupant 92% Child protection 78% Pedestrian protection 46% Safety assist 71% We rate cars for safety using Euro NCAP crash test scores (where available), alongside our own comprehensive safety checklist. Uniquely, we also feed in results from our accident avoidance test after all, it s far better to steer around a crash than rely on the airbags... Security Security scores come from the security experts at Thatcham, who break into hundreds of cars each year. Most modern cars are very difficult to drive away, but are still too easy to steal from. Which? safety rating Active (crash avoidance) 68% Passive (crash safety) 77% Child 66% Pedestrian 45% Security Theft of car: Theft from car:

9 Which? Car Survey results The Which? Car Survey is the UK s most robust reliability and owner satisfaction survey. In 2015, drivers told us about 58,000 cars, covering more than 484 million miles in the previous 12 months (that s equivalent to driving to the moon and back a hundred times). This unique feedback allows us to rate satisfaction and reliability for hundreds of new and used cars. Note: Star ratings below are from 1-5 (1 is very poor and 5 is very good). Percentages shown under Most common faults indicate the proportion of owners reporting each problem in the past 12 months. Brand Skoda ratings Sample size: 2,924 people Overall owner satisfaction for this brand 89% Brand reliability - Dealer Sales Service Dealer Servicing & repair Model: Ownership ratings Sample size: 466 people Overall owner satisfaction for this range 93% Driving enjoyment Ease of driving Comfort Dash layout and controls Practicality Value for money Running costs In-car technology - - About our survey Brand ratings Everyone who takes part in the Which? Car survey tells us about their car and the dealers who sell and service it. We analyse this feedback across all cars to give top-level satisfaction ratings for each brand, including the brand s reliability record over the last eight years. All star ratings are out of five. Model ownership ratings These show how owners score this car in 12 different areas, from performance to heating. Owners ratings are subjective so may differ from Which? Car test scores but they give a good idea of what the car is like to live with. Where relevant, cars are scored against other cars in the same class (e.g. for space). Owner s View The Yeti seems to handle very well in all weather conditions. On long journeys it is comfortable and relaxing to drive. The Yeti is well equipped and very good value for money. I recently moved house and was able to fit a lot of Owner s View It is very well built and feels very sturdy when driving it. It makes you feel very safe when inside. The level of extras over the standard is very impressive and very practical. It feels like a big car when on the inside and looks (and is) so small from

10 Which? Car Survey results continued... Reliability ratings Overall Reliability Up to 3 years old 4-8 years old Petrol cars Reliability breakdowns 2% 10% average annual repair cost Diesel cars Reliability breakdowns 1% - average annual repair cost All cars Reliability - - breakdowns - - average annual repair cost - - Breakdowns: Percentage of cars suffering a breakdown in last 12 months Average annual repair cost: Average annual cost of repairs (not servicing), in past 12 months About our survey Reliability ratings We split reliability into breakdowns (including failure to start), faults (where parts need replacing) and problems (minor issues e.g. squeaks and loose trim). Where the car has been on sale for some time, and we have numerous survey responses from owners, we also split scores by the age of car and fuel type. Star ratings are out of five the more stars, the more reliable the car. Most common faults Most common faults Up to 3 years old Electric windows 3% Engine - Other (P) 2% Cooling System (D) 2% Other Minor 2% Exterior trim 1% 4-8 years old Air Con 8% Exterior trim 6% Exhaust System (D) 5% Springs (D) 4% Fuel System (P) 3% Want to know what s most likely to go wrong as the car gets older? These are the five most common faults reported by owners, grouped by age into new, recent and older cars. A score of 40% means four out of 10 owners reported problems with that part of the car over the previous 12 months. Engine electrics and non-engine electrics (e.g. windows, stereo) cause more headaches than mechanical parts in most modern cars. Failure rate: The proportion of owners reporting this problem in the last year