Skoda Yeti News

However, Skoda Australia is confident the Volkswagen Tiguan-based off-roader will be a starter and potential best-seller for the brand. Volkswagen Group Australia spokesman, Karl Gehling, says VW Group Australia executives have assessed the car and loved it. But all he can say is that it is "under consideration at the moment". "It comes down to whether we can get it in and for the right price," Gehling says. "There is a lot of work to be done." Gehling believes the off-roader could be the one car that has a chance to propel Skoda Australia into the mainstream and lift the brand's awareness among buyers. The Czech brand is still trying to build momentum locally. It was relaunched at the end of 2007 into a strong market but since then the new car market has collapsed. However, with the refreshed Octavia petrol and TDI range on sale and the RS performance sedan and wagon and the Scout crossover due later this year, the company is planning for better times. If, and when the Yeti arrives, Gehling does not think it will compete or take sales from the competent Scout. "They are essentially two distinct cars," he says. Skoda's European executives say the Yeti would be a good fit for Australia. They believe that it could undercut the Tiguan on price, like it will do in Europe when the off-roader goes on sale in a few months. The Yeti will be available in Europe with both all-wheel drive and front-wheel drive with the opener being a 1.2-litre TSI petrol engine driving the front wheels. Buyers will also have a choice of another 1.8-litre TSI petrol engine, as well as three turbo-diesels of 81kW, 103kW and 125kW. The 81kW will be available with either front or all wheel drive, while the rest of the TDIs will use the same Haldex all-wheel drive system shared with Tiguan, which automatically engages when needed. The compact off-roader is 4200mm long a features distinctive styling. The wagon also has 1760 litres of luggage space with the rear seats removed. As it is based on the Tiguan, the Yeti is expected to handle well and cope with moderate off-roading. Momentum is building for the car across Europe and it has already received some favourable reviews. Germany's Autobild magazine has even voted the Yeti ahead of the Tiguan in a recent test of five Volkswagen cars against five Skodas.

Skoda unveiled the Tiguan-based Yeti compact SUV and a pair of new and updated Fabia models, the soft-road Scout and the performance RS at this week's Geneva motor show ... and all are on the Australian importer's wish list. “The Scout — and the RS — are part of the ongoing Fabia discussion,” Skoda Australia boss Matthew Wiesner says. “We have been working on it for a while but the exchange rate dive didn't do us any favours and while it is getting closer it is not easy.” While the pricing struggle has been painful, Wiesener can see a silver lining with a freshen of the range likely to correspond with any decision to import into Australia. “Realistically, there is a facelift due for Fabia next year and that will provide a good opportunity for us to introduce the car, and not just the entry hatch but the full range.” Wiesner says the addition of Fabia and Yeti to the Australian Skoda line-up will have the effect of adding emotion to the brand and better targeting the younger buyers the Czech brand is trying to reach. “These models, particularly the Fabia RS and Yeti will do a lot for the brand. The RS has real performance credentials and the Yeti is a perfect example of what the brand is all about —making cars that offer a decent interior size without being too onerous in their presence on the roads.” The current Skoda Australia garage consists of the Roomster, the Octavia range including a scout and RS model, and the recently launched Superb. “When you look at it there is plenty of room to add the Fabia range and the Yeti,” Wiesner says. Based on VW's Tiguan compact SUV platform, the Yeti is a high-riding urban softroader with the requisite plastic cladding and sculpted wheel arches giving it a look of civil toughness. At 4.2 metres the Yeti is not much bigger than a hatch and given the platform's VW Golf origins that is not in the least surprising. However, inside the car does a good impression of an East-European Tardis with generous passenger room front and rear albeit at the cost of any genuine luggage space. If you don't need the rear seats they can be removed and that will boost load carrying capacity to a very useful 1760 litres. Yeti will be available, in Europe at least, in both front- and all-wheel drive coupled to a pair of petrol engines (1.2-litre TSI and 1.8-litre TSI) and three tuning levels of a 2.0-litre turbo diesel.  

It has taken Skoda a little over 100 years to populate 90 countries around the world, so its arrival here was inevitable. Even if presence fills up an already maxed out marketplace

Australia is about to get another car brand. The total is already running close to 50, with only four local manufacturers, but that is no deterrent to Skoda of the Czech Republic.