Skoda Yeti 103TDI 2012 review

Deep in Siberia earlier this year a group of scientists gathered to study the yeti, the legendary humanoid creature also known as bigfoot or abominable snowman.

The region around Tashtagol, more than 3000km east of Moscow, has had a spate of sightings. 

After finding tracks and other evidence, the scientists declared themselves 95 per cent certain it existed. Cynics, of course, say it was all a publicity stunt for the tourism-starved region and the yeti is as real as the Loch Ness monster. 

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A few weeks later, deep in the Northern Territory, a little off-roader called the Skoda Yeti is making tracks of its own. Witnesses say a dozen Yetis meandered along the Finke River, leaving deep ruts in the sand, before settling into a makeshift camp where lots of beer was drunk.

Cynics, of course, say it was all a publicity stunt to prove to Australians that Skoda exists. Now, I'm not a scientist, but I can see the problem. There have been increasing reports of sightings during the past three years, but the evidence for Skoda's existence here is thin.

Some motorists are only 95 per cent certain. The beast may or may not be imaginary, but the Yeti SUV should be the car that confirms the Czech brand means business. 

Executives say it will be Skoda's most important model and, with sales expectations of up to 300 a month, we'll soon notice them.  Truth is, the Yeti car has nothing to do with the shaggy troglodyte and seems to be another victim of Skoda's random naming strategy. This has given us the Octavia, Roomster and Superb.

Anyone detect a theme here? Skoda's other SUV is the Scout, really an Octavia in desert boots with half a foot in the traditional station wagon segment. In engineering terms, the Yeti is related to that car, but where the Scout straddles, the Yeti jumps feet-first into the bunfight for compact SUV buyers.

In the minds of marketers, these are tanned 20-something couples setting off on life's journey with mountain bikes and smiles. In reality, everyone must be buying them because they are the only type of vehicle with a sales graph pointing north.

Most brands already have at least one, and the Yeti joins two dozen rivals to compete for about 110,000 buyers this year.

VALUE

Only the two smallest categories of car sell more. That suggests the Yeti is in the right place. At 4.2m long, it's one of the smallest SUVs you can buy: shorter than a Mitsubishi ASX or Nissan Dualis and shorter than the upcoming Subaru XV.

With a tiny 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine, the 77TSI is the other bookend of the Yeti range. From $26,290, it goes against the entry-level Japanese on price, and if it goes to form, four out of 10 Yeti buyers will save money and forget their offroad ambitions. Despite what the scientists in Siberia found, there's nothing to see out in them thar woods.

DESIGN

Its upright shape means interior space doesn't suffer, with plenty of headroom, while the rear has taken the marketing cliché and gone nuts, with seats that fold, flip, slide or can be removed so that even the most awkward snowboard or baby seat can fit. If the centre section is taken out, the outboard seats can be relocated more centrally. There's probably a good use for that, but I'm struggling to imagine what it is.

The cabin turns plain into a virtue, lightened here and there by shiny details and soft materials. For the cargo space, the tailgate opens high enough to stand under unless you're indecently tall, and they are hooks and tie-downs to secure at least 310 litres of stuff with all the rear seats in place.

It could be deeper, and probably is in some markets, but for Australia, Skoda has fitted a false floor with a space-saver spare below. Like many new small cars, the design cribs from Mini. In this case it's the Mini's colour-contrasting flat roof.

The cabin glass appears to wrap around the rear thanks to blacked-out pillars and, although that's a visual trick, it contributes to a successful design. It's pleasing to see a car that bucks the trend towards high beltlines and shallow glass relative to the body sides for some old-fashioned SUV proportions. At the same time, the Yeti looks nothing like a normal offroader.

SAFETY

Skoda was keen to demonstrate that it's not all hat and no cattle either, hence the excursion to Finke River. A check of the spec sheet suggests the Yeti has some bush credentials, with underbody protection and a Haldex all-wheel-drive system that heavily prioritises the fronts until they slip, when up to 90 per cent can be directed to the rears.

The rear axle has its own limited slip differential and individual wheels can be braked to stop them spinning. Specialised offroad software, such as hill descent control, is available in an optioned bundle. Not many compact SUVs come with all this.

TECHNOLOGY

Before we get to the national park there's 120km of tarmac, very little traffic and Territory speed limits to exploit. The diesel engine in this 103TDI has been shared by many brands in the Volkswagen group and holds no surprises.

It is easily powerful enough to get this 1.3-tonner to 130km/h and keep it there in a relaxed manner. It isn't quick, of course, at 9.9 seconds to 100km/h, but economy of 6.2 litres is some compensation. Those figures are for the manual, and the double-clutch DSG auto isn't as good on either count.

DRIVING

On the highway, the ride and refinement are acceptable, although with quite a lot of tyre noise on a coarse surface. The steering feels vague and handling has all the vices you would expect of a tall, boxy device.

But at least it's not pretending to be a sportscar, like most SUVs seem to do. There's honesty to the way it goes about its business. It's the same offroad. The Finke River trail to Boggy Hole runs along the riverbed much of the way.

There are large stones, water crossings and long stretches of soft sand. LandCruisers have trouble here. Too slow in the sandy sections and you'll get bogged. The double-clutch automatic isn't the first choice of outback adventurers and, left to its own devices, it doesn't work well.

The manual felt more assured. It wasn't long before a tricky section caught out a Yeti, and if the one in front gets stuck, it slows everyone, bogging them too. Once they are grounded underneath, they are like upside-down turtles. The Yeti's relatively low clearance is a drawback here.

With a little help from the offroad toolkit carried by a Volkswagen Amarok support vehicle, though, everyone got through. There was little damage except to tyres. Skoda says the car is robust, and it stood up to the test. 

If its limits were explored as an offroader, it wasn't just about the car. Since the Yeti is not ideally equipped for bush-bashing, the margins for driver error are smaller than they would be in a full-strength four-wheel drive.

The return journey was less problematic, at least partly because everyone was more aware of the car's limits. With sufficient skill, and only a small fleet of support vehicles, you could go quite a long way in a Yeti.

VERDICT

It could take Skoda a long way too, on to many shopping lists for the first time. The diesel all-wheel-drive version is only half the story. Like most compact SUVs, the Yeti also comes with front-wheel-drive only, as yet undriven.