Who is kidding who?

[K1W1]

I haven't seen any comment on this yet. I guess it reflects the general lack of activity on the Skoda section of this forum.

For those who missed it last Friday the Melbourne Age Drive section (and presumably the SMH equivalent) ran a light duty SUV comparison that included the Yeti. The Yeti scored okay but only okay and certainly was not the recommended option at the end of the story.
The bit that interested me was the statement in the story that the Yeti had established itself as Skodas top selling model in Australia. Really? It's strange that the official Skoda line was that the Yeti was going to be the top selling model and now 6 months after the release the press are promoting that statement as fact when everybodies eyes tell a completely different story from the lack of observations of Yetis on the street.
I guess we now have a situation where some journalist turned a prediction into fact because it sounded good or Skoda Australia are now peddling lies to the press or the Yeti is in fact the top selling model but 90% of Yeti owners take their cars home from the dealership and park them in the garage and never drive them in order to maximise the resale value based on spurious UK figures. I sincerely hope that the second option is not the correct one as it bodes very badly for Skoda in Australia if it were true.

[team_v]

I read the article and was also surprised at the top selling model comment.
I will easily see 3 octavias and 1-2 superb's daily but i am yet to see a yeti at all.

[Jake02]

For those who missed it:
Compact 4WD comparison review (http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-car-comparison/urban-dwellers-20120412-1ww8o.html)

I certainly agree with your assessment KIWI and also hope for the latter rather than the former. I think the writer was just trying to talk the Yeti up. Another thing I caught was a certain Volkswagen bias. He claims the Yeti will most likely be unreliable beyond its three-year warranty and this is one reason that it was placed fourth, yet the second-placed Tiguan had none of those doubts placed upon it. I'm sorry but what a load of crap! As we all know, Skoda is constantly placed higher in European reliability surveys than Volkswagen so shouldn't it be the opposite? Finally, as one commenter picked up on, the review didn't mention anything about practicality with the rear seats down (which the Yeti is pretty much best in class), yet claims that Compact SUVs have become so much more popular than traditional wagons and because they're somehow 'more practical'. Reliability of this article? Worse than a Peugeot.

[brenno]

I see quite a few Yeti's around in central Sydney. I did a trip to Katoomba and saw at least 4 of them in the one day. Stacks of Superbs too, but I guess they are rentals.

Yet to see one Fabia on the road though, except for my own.

[Ryan_R]

I've only seen one Yeti and it was on TopGear. :)
I work in Melbourne's CBD.

[K1W1]

For those who missed it:
Another thing I caught was a certain Volkswagen bias. He claims the Yeti will most likely be unreliable beyond its three-year warranty and this is one reason that it was placed fourth, yet the second-placed Tiguan had none of those doubts placed upon it. I'm sorry but what a load of crap!

To be fair the exact quote was, "Based on the anecdotal feedback we've received - and glitches we've experienced over the years - we would be cautious about recommending a Skoda (or Volkswagen) beyond the factory warranty period of three years." so VW was included but I take your point the writer should have included the same statement in the Tiguan report if her or she was being balanced in the article.

[BluChris]

Yep, Wheels did a similar thing recently with its mid size comparo. Had a go at the Octavia but not the Jetta on issues they would have had in common, because different journo's reviewed the 2 cars. Mind you they also compared an Octavia 90 wagon with an Accord Euro Luxury sedan with (etc) because 'that's what the manufacturers offered'. Not really a fair fight, or even worth doing in some ways.

The SUV comparo was at least with similar vehicles, but was criticized by readers for ommitting popular choices.

I see a Yeti every day, because there's one at work. Otherwise I see few, likewise I see a Fabia every now and then. I see Octavias on road every day and Superbs reasonably regularly.

[brenno]

....the writer should have included the same statement in the Tiguan report if her or she was being balanced in the article.

In the test they had different engines and more importantly, gearbox combinations which is probably what the Journo was referring to.

[K1W1]

In the test they had different engines and more importantly, gearbox combinations which is probably what the Journo was referring to.

The comment in the review was about the brand(s) in general and was not directed at the gearbox or the engine therefore it should have appeared in the section for both the Tiguan and the Yeti in the interests of some sort of balance.

[bobski]

Read the article too and was a bit confused that reliability appears to be taken into account with the Skoda and not the VW. A balanced article might have mentioned Skoda's popularity and reliability in Europe...

It actually made me think I should ask how many people have experienced these claimed reliability problems with their Skoda? I haven't seen too many people have anything major happen (a wheel bearing failure the other day?). It seems most of the owners here are quite happy with their purchase and I would have thought unhappy owners would also seek out a forum to discuss their problems.

[K1W1]

That's the stupid part about the comment in the story. It was talking about reliability after warranty and probably over 80% of Skodas on the road in this country are still under warranty so there is very little if any basis for the statement to be even made.

[Ocy_RS_TDi_Kombi]

I saw the article and was surprised by the final result and the negativity the Yeti got about the reliability and warranty. You would think VW have the same problem but no mention of those issues in the article.

Speaking of Yetis, I drove a Yeti 1.8 Auto on the weekend and also looked at a Tiguan (didn't drive it though). Doing this as the lease runs out on my Octavia soon. I liked the Yeti but the Tiguan looks that bit classer inside.

Heres the catch, I get fleet discount thru my work and when you apply fleet to both, the Tiguan is the same price (132TSi Pacific Auto) as the Yeti 112TSi DSG with the same options (auto park & dual climate control). Skoda HQ (or VW) only give a couple $ fleet on the Yeti, but give at least 10% on the Tiguan. Ok I finished haggling yet, but it means you'll go the VW product everytime as its a known quantity plus its a 2.0 vs 1.8. I have heard the same thing happens on Passats & Superbs. It's like VW HQ want to push VW and not Skoda. Why not offer the same discounts on both?

Just on extended warranties (and contrary to the article), the warranty on my Octavia is about to run out and I have been offered an extension of 2 years to the full manufacturers warranty for $1,295.

Decisions, keep the Ocy or replace it with a Tiguan? I still luv driving the Ocy so I'm swayed to keeping it but not sure about the warranty.

Cheers

[bluey]

Skoda HQ (or VW) only give a couple $ fleet on the Yeti, but give at least 10% on the Tiguan.

I got a fleet discount on Yeti of about $1500 on the advertised $36k on road (rrp >40k). Other dealer offered fleet 10% off Yeti rrp to start with. When I was looking at Tiguans when they first came out, there was no fleet discount at all. Sounds like you need a different Skoda dealer.

Main advantages for me of Yeti TDI over Tiguan.
1. Packaging - removable rear seat versatility
2. Manoeuverability - turning circle 10.3 vs Tiguan 12
3. Real handbrake rather than the electric one

(And the more subjective - I like the cleaner styling of the Yeti, don't like the new LED lights of the Tiguan, nor the new grille.)

Certainly the Tiguans look classier inside because local Yeti's are specced poorly by VWA. Yetis in UK match Tiguans for interior finishes and colors.

Not surprised they could be fudging the figures - car companies have always fudged the rego figures by pre-registering vehicles. It may be Yeti's are selling faster than other Skodas per week/month but because they are new on the market, we don't see them much yet. Which doesn't bother me.

[Transporter]

Decisions, keep the Ocy or replace it with a Tiguan? I still luv driving the Ocy so I'm swayed to keeping it but not sure about the warranty.

Cheers

If you had relatively no problems in the first 3 years, the chances are that you will have no problems in the next 2-3 years as well. You could have more problems with the new car, no matter what you buy.