The Skoda Yeti is one of the best-loved Skodas of recent years. A cute and charismatic-looking machine, it’s a fun yet practical alternative to a conventional family SUV such as a Nissan Qashqai or Ford Kuga.
Its cute, chunky appearance was well received and sales started to grow as buyers warmed to the idea of a Skoda SUV. It was considerably more successful than the Skoda Roomster and, while that car faded from view, the Skoda Yeti went from strength to strength.
The Skoda Yeti was facelifted in 2013, which only added to its popularity. The new, more upmarket appearance was very well judged, and Skoda even offered it in two design styles: the regular Skoda Yeti and the more rugged-looking Outdoor.
It brought many new buyers to the Skoda brand and, even today, remains very popular. The model that replaced it in 2018, the Skoda Karoq, is a more conventional SUV with the Skoda 4x4 ‘family look’. There is also the smaller Skoda Kamiq, but neither is quite like the Skoda Yeti. This is why many still seek out the Skoda Yeti on the used car market.
Rivals to the Skoda Yeti include the good value Dacia Duster, the impressive Suzuki Vitara and the Ford EcoSport. Take a look at a Skoda Yeti for sale on heycar to discover just what’s on offer.
The Skoda Yeti is a clever model that remains a very good car to buy. Indeed, it’s never been better value for money, with the prices of early models now very affordable.
Although it measures a relatively compact 4.2 metres long on the outside, a cleverly-packaged interior means there is still decent space inside, even for growing families.
All models come with Varioflex rear seats. The outer rear chairs slide forwards and backwards, and can recline by 13.5 degrees, and they can all be folded down individually. There are more than 20 different configurations, claimed Skoda.
Better still, the entire seat structure can be flopped forward behind the front seats, creating a huge load area of more than 1,700 litres. Even with the seats simply folded, there’s more than 1,500 litres of room, while the Skoda Yeti has a 416-litre boot with the seats in place – bigger than the latest Volkswagen Golf.
It has an all-turbo range of engines, with the TDI diesels proving particularly efficient. And 4x4 models with all-wheel drive are good on rough ground, partly thanks to a dedicated off-road button that assists both uphill and downhill.
Skoda offers some appealing model variations, including the sporty Monte Carlo and super-plush Laurin & Klement. Even the core SE has a good haul of extras though, with plenty of clever touches to make life easier.
All of this makes the Skoda Yeti a very capable small family SUV. It drives very well, with safe handling and a commanding feel from behind the wheel. Quality is good, reliability is proving very impressive and the friendly styling continues to appeal – particularly the more upmarket-looking facelifted versions.
It’s easy to see why the Skoda Yeti remains such an appealing car – and as a family-focused used car bargain, it’s one we can highly recommend.
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Because the Skoda Yeti is quite a versatile machine the best engine choice depends a great deal on what kind of driving you expect to do. If it’s running about town on a regular basis then the 1.2-litre TSI is probably all you’ll ever need.
It’s quite refined, usefully torquey and economical with it, and you won’t be bothered by its modest high-speed performance. For most buyers however, the diesel option makes the most sense. If you don’t need four-wheel-drive, and most people don’t, then go for the 110PS version in two-wheel-drive guise - otherwise the more potent 140PS 2.0-litre TDI has the 4x4 option as standard and is ready for anything.
As for trim levels, for pre-facelift cars the Skoda Yeti SE offers the best balance of price and equipment and is one of the more popular options, with rear parking sensors, air con, cruise control and an MP3-compatible CD player as standard. On post-2014 models the basic Skoda Yeti S spec is quite generous, but the SE again adds the same useful features.
The Skoda Yeti can be bought with a broad range of engines – many of which offer the choice of all-wheel drive alongside the standard front-driven setup. Most are also available with a DSG automatic transmission instead of the five- or six-speed manual. Here are the engine options available on the Skoda Yeti.
Skoda Yeti 1.2 TSI 105 petrol: The smallest engine in the Skoda Yeti line-up is a 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbo. It produces 105PS and accelerates from 0-62mph in 11.4 seconds. Average economy is a decent 46.3mpg. It’s available with an optional DSG automatic gearbox or the standard six-speed manual.
Skoda Yeti 1.8 TSI 160 4x4 petrol: The larger 1.8-litre turbo petrol alternative has 160PS. It only comes with a manual gearbox, but has all-wheel drive as standard. Zero to 62mph takes 8.4 seconds and fuel economy drops to 36.2mpg, with 184g/km of CO2.
Skoda Yeti 1.6 TDI CR 105 Greenline II diesel: The most fuel-efficient Skoda Yeti is the Greenline II version, which has a bespoke 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine. Despite only having a five-speed transmission, it returns 61.4mpg, thanks partly to standard engine stop-start, while CO2 emissions of 119g/km are impressive.
Skoda Yeti 2.0 TDI CR 110 diesel: The entry-level diesel engine is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder TDI turbo motor with CR common-rail technology. It produces 110PS and can accelerate to 62mph in 11.6 seconds, also averaging 55.4mpg and emitting 134g/km of CO2. It’s available with a DSG automatic gearbox instead of the standard five-speed manual, plus there’s an all-wheel-drive version.
Skoda Yeti 2.0 TDI CR 140 4x4 diesel: The mid-power diesel only comes in 4x4 guise, either with a six-speed manual transmission or six-speed DSG auto. The dash to 62mph takes from 9.9 seconds and it averages up to 48.7mpg.
Skoda Yeti 2.0 TDI CR 170 4x4 diesel: The speediest diesel is the 170PS version of the 2.0-litre TDI CR engine, which again only comes with an all-wheel-drive setup. It does 0-62mph in 8.4 seconds and averages 49.6mpg, although this drops to 44.8mpg with the optional DSG automatic transmission.
Skoda offered a comprehensive range of trim levels for the Skoda Yeti, which was available in both regular Skoda Yeti and rugged Skoda Yeti Outdoor guises.
The Skoda Yeti S has an acceptable spec for an entry-level car, with standard alloy wheels, air conditioning and electric windows all-round.
The Skoda Yeti SE has a more comprehensive list of kit, including larger alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control and a whole host of the ‘Simply Clever’ features that define the Skoda brand. These range from useful horizontal rails in the boot to a neat touchscreen infotainment system.
The Skoda Yeti Monte Carlo is the sporty-looking mid-range model, with a black appearance pack and striking ‘Monte Carlo’ upholstery inside. The sports seats and steering wheel look the part, too.
The Skoda Yeti Elegance is a more luxurious alternative, with leather upholstery, heated front seats and bright bi-xenon headlights with LED running lights.
The Skoda Yeti Laurin & Klement is the range-topping model and Skoda really went to town with the standard spec. It added unique brown leather upholstery, piano-black dashboard trim, a panoramic glass roof and a top-spec touchscreen media system with sat-nav and DAB radio.
The Skoda Yeti’s exterior dimensions are:
Length: 4222mm
Width: 1793mm
Height: 1645mm
Ground clearance: 180mm (Skoda Yeti Greenline II: 155mm)
The Skoda Yeti’s boot space is:
416 litres
1760 litres with rear seats folded against front seat-backs
The very last Skoda Yetis that were registered after 1 April 2017 are charged road tax at the flat rate of £180 per year. However, most Yetis will be older than this and pay varying amounts based on their carbon dioxide emissions. The cheapest for road tax is the 1.6 TDI Greenline II that comes in at a very affordable £35 for a 12 months. The popular 110PS 2.0 TDI emits 134g/km to pay £180 per year, while the 140PS version of this engine in the 4x4 model pushes that to £240. With the petrols, the 1.2 will cost you £200 and the 1.8 a heftier £320.
Most Skoda Yeti models fall into a group 14 car insurance rating (out of 50 groups in total), which means they will be reasonably affordable to insure. Indeed, all Skoda Yeti S-grade trim levels are in group 14: that’s the 1.2 TSI, 1.6 TDI CR and 2.0 TDI CR 110. The Skoda Yeti 4x4 models lift insurance ratings by a group or two, while the 2.0 TDI CR 140 starts from group 19 – and the Skoda Yeti 2.0 TDI CR 170 in Monte Carlo spec is a more expensive group 23. The Skoda Yeti L&K 2.0 TDI CR 170 falls into group 24.