Road test report --- March 2010 --- by Kevin Fenix.

Skoda Yeti 1.2 TSI Experience

The test car came in the top level of trim and equipment, which translates into sumptuous leather upholstery and a whole host of fancy electronic gadgets. It was fitted with the 1.2 litre TSI petrol engine, mated to a six speed manual transmission, which drives the front wheels. The luxurious interior you can enjoy all the time. I especially liked the large glass roof and its associated sun-roof. That 1.2 litre petrol engine is turbocharged and is an absolute gem of modern engineering. Tuned to deliver an excellent specific output of 64.372 kW/lt, it is absolutely silent in operation and delivers a diesel like torque of 175 Nm from as low as 1,500 rpm all the way to 3,500 rpm. Maximum power of 77 kW is delivered at 5,000 rpm. The gearbox has a precise and silky smooth operation, making the Yeti both relaxing and a pleasure to drive. For most of the time in city and suburban driving the engine was running between 1,500 rpm and just under 2,000 rpm. I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to electronic gadgets, so I try to ignore them as much as possible.

Both front seats are superbly comfortable and have reach, height and lumbar support adjustment. The leather covered steering wheel has a good feel and includes controls for the Bluetooth telephone equipment and the audio system. It too is reach and height adjustable. There are four electric windows, the exterior mirrors are heated and electrically adjustable and there are front fog lamps.
The split rear seat is equally adjustable. The large centre section also doubles as a comfortable armrest, when only two passengers are travelling in the back. The three back seats are on runners, so can be adjusted forwards or backwards depending on the amount of kneeroom required. They also fold flat onto the seat cushions, when extra long luggage space is required and they can also fold into a vertical position behind the front seats, for maximum luggage space. They can also be individually removed completely or the centre may be removed and the outer two moved closer together.

Above left : Multi adjustable rear seats

Above left : Normal luggage space, with rear shelf removed
Above right : Normal luggage space, with centre section folded

Above left : Maximum luggage space, seat backs folded horizontally
Above right : Maximum luggage space, seats tipped vertically

As the pictures show, the luggage space is very adaptable. In addition there are rails along either side with two sliding hooks on each to hold things like shopping bags and prevent them from falling over. If all this space is not sufficient or incompatible with your requirements, you can carry up to 75 kg in a suitable container, mounted on the standard fitting, roof rails. The Yeti will also tow braked trailers/caravans up to 1200 kg in weight, or unbraked trailers of up to 600 kg. All this demonstrates the versatile and adaptable nature of the Yeti as a practical family car.
Perhaps its main drawback in this area, is that it only has ISOfix fittings on the two outer rear seats. It does, however, have two front and two side airbags for the front seat passengers, plus a driver’s knee airbag and two side air curtains. Naturally all five potential seats have lap and shoulder seatbelts plus adjustable head restraints.
The Experience specification comes with fancy 17” alloy wheels. The spare wheel is a full size tyre on a 16” rim, so it is a practical alternative, even when towing, although it is marked for restricted speeds of 80 kph (50 mph). This doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense when it is a full size wheel and tyre.

On the road the Yeti has a very comfortable ride, with good roadholding. Sitting up that bit higher you get a good view of the road ahead. Manoeuvring is made easier by the standard fitting parking sensors. The steering has a good positive feel and is geared to give a comfort oriented three turns from lock to lock. The brakes too have a reassuring positive feel. They incorporate an electronic stability programme, with anti-lock, anti-slip regulator, emergency brake assist, hill holder assist plus an electronic differential lock. They use ventilated discs at the front and plain discs at the back.

The instruments are well laid out for driving, safety, comfort and convenience. The instrument binnacle has a large analogue tachometer on the left with a small engine temperature gauge and a matching speedometer on the right, with a small fuel level gauge. Both have black faces with white lettering and red highlights. Between them there is an excellent rectangular digital information panel that shows a variety of different information, depending on the settings you select. It had a clock at the top, then I selected a large digital display of the speed, with the outside air temperature below, the trip recorder and the total distance recorder. The circular switch on the lower right of the facia is the light switch - Off, Automatic, Parking, Main beams, Front and rear fog lamps. The right hand stalk looks after the wipers/washers and the left hand one the direction indicators and headlamp beams and flashers. The centre console has the audio system below the two centre air vents, with the dual zone climate control below that.
My only complaint is a personal one, in that I would have liked to set the steering wheel a bit lower, but when I did that, the upper section of the rim obscured the two main analogue instruments.

As already mentioned the car is an absolute pleasure to drive. It has a top speed of 175 kph (108 mph) which should be more than adequate, considering that it is comfortably above the national speed limit in most countries in the European Union. Its 0-100 kph acceleration of 11.8 seconds is also more than adequate for a spacious, comfortable, versatile, practical, family car.
Fuel consumption on the urban cycle is 35 mpg (7.9 lt/100 km), which improves to 47 mpg (5.9 lt/100 km) on the extra urban cycle. This gives a combined cycle average of 42 mpg (6.6 lt/100 km). Remember this is a small capacity, 1.2 litre petrol engine driving a car with a gross vehicle weight of 1890 kg. Exhaust emissions are 154 gm/km, which allows the Yeti to just slip into Irish road tax band C, with an annual charge, at present rates, of 302 euro.

Technical data

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