Skoda Yeti Suv 2014 Review - Carbuyer

It came first in our Driver Power owner satisfaction survey in both 2012 and 2013 -- so there is no denying the Skoda Yeti is popular with its owners, but with tough competition in the compact SUV market can it stay there after its recent facelift? THe biggest change is the new fit for town look with body coloured bumpers and sills to help it blend into the urban environment. These cars are fitted with front wheel drive rather than four-wheel drive and the lower powered engines from the Skoda range. inside the changes are very minimal with fresh seat fabrics and new leather steering wheel, although it still looks as smart as it did before. The new entry level model is the S and it comes with air con, 16 inch alloys, daytime running lights and front fog lights. all models also come with the clever Varioflex seating system, which means you can slide, tumble and completely remove the back seats as you see fit -- effectively turning your Yeti into a van. This is a decent size, larger than the Nissan Qashqai and thanks to that fancy seating arrangement means this is one of the most versatile cars on the market in terms of practicality and boot space. As much as I would love to show you its off road capabilities, sadly this is the trendy city version. If you are a rough terrain thrill seeker -- or maybe you just have a bumpy driveway -- then the four-wheel drive Skoda Yeti Outdoor comes complete with protective plastic under cladding, silver effect grille, rear bumper and matching wing mirrors. All versions have accurate steering, a great manual gearbox and easy to use controls. The best thing about the Yeti is that despite its van-like dimensions it feels like a car to drive, it's nimble and turns into corners well. but is all this enough to keep its owners happy? Well with new kids on the block trying to knock it there are factors that could prevent it being quite so popular. It is not as economical as it could be, the greenest model fitted with the 1.6 litre TDI engine returns 61.4 miles to the gallon while the new Nissan Qashqai impresses with 74.3 miles to the gallon and free road tax. Skoda has managed to get improved economy out of its best sellers, the 1.2 TSI petrol and the 2.0-litre turbo diesel, but they're still pretty costly to run at 46.3 miles per gallon and 55.4 miles per gallon respectively. However, if you add the DSG automatic gearbox, or the grippy four wheel drive to any model, you'll see these figures worsen. Finally the diesel engines are a little noisy under acceleration and the firm suspension setup will be a bit uncomfortable for some. However will that put you off? Owners of the old Yeti sing its praises loud and proud, so these slight imperfections could be just part of the character that makes up the Yeti. What's more, you can now pick between a rugged off roader with four-wheel drive, or a cheaper-to-run, high riding two-wheel drive model, which is perfect around town. Before you visit your Skoda dealer why not check out its competition -- watch the new Nissan Qashqai video here, and the Kia Sportage video here. Oh and don't forget to subscribe to the Carbuyer channel - where we'll send you a new video every week - by clicking here.