Skoda Yeti Review (2009-2017)

What is the Skoda Yeti?

When is an SUV not an SUV? When it’s a Skoda Yeti, of course. The Yeti, launched in 2009, was Skoda’s answer to the rising tide of small SUVs – and yet it offered something rather different, with a slightly lower stance than most of its rivals and a profile more akin to a jacked-up estate car.

It might no longer be in production, but the Yeti still makes a great used buy. It was replaced by the Skoda Karoq in 2017 – which wasn't really a direct replacement, because it's bigger than the Yeti and more of a conventional modern SUV – but it filled the gap in Skoda's model range.

How practical is it?

The Yeti is a genuine five seater, with individual rear seats that are capable of housing three adults sitting side-by-side. All three seats can flip down or even tumble forward individually, too, leaving behind them an enormous, van-like rear load bay with a flat floor.

Boot space is a minimum of 405 litres with the rear seats upright, but that can be extended to 510 litres because of the cleaver and flexible back seats.

This astonishing practicality is coupled with robust plastics, decent amounts of equipment and excellent visibility from the Yeti’s raised driving position, and you can also choose your Yeti with four-wheel drive, if you need it. With that in mind, it isn’t hard to see why the Yeti has proven so popular.

What's it like to drive?

The engine range stretches from a brisk but efficient 1.2-litre petrol turbo right up to a trio of gutsy 2.0-litre diesels, with 1.4- and 1.8-litre petrols and 1.6-litre diesel thrown in for good measure along the way.

Whichever Yeti you go for, you get a reasonably comfortable ride. Granted, the need to stop the Yeti flopping over in bends means it’s quite firm, but not to the point of being unpleasant.

What’s more, the result of this is good body control which, allied to the crisp steering means the Yeti stands out in a class where driving dynamics aren’t always showcased at their best.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

There’s a choice of equipment levels, from the cheap-and-not-very-cheerful E right up to the plush Laurin & Klement (L&K) version, with SE and SE Plus the best of these.

The former works well if you’re on a budget, as it comes with dual-zone climate control, cruise control and a CD player, but the latter is even better if you can stretch to it, with Bluetooth, satellite navigation and folding tray tables all coming as standard.

Skoda Yeti running costs

The Yeti’s stance – sitting somewhere between that of a hatchback and a fully-fledged SUV – means it also sits somewhere between the two in terms of fuel economy. You can expect to see around 40mpg out on the road from the 1.2-litre petrol, while the 2.0-litre diesels should manage a little better than that, depending on which power output you choose. The 1.6-litre diesel, meanwhile, can achieve as much as 55mpg if driven carefully. The thirstiest Yeti is the 1.8-litre petrol, which is only available with four-wheel drive, so won’t achieve much more than 30mpg in the real world.

Tax costs vary from a very reasonable £30 a year for the 1.6-litre diesel model up to £300 a year for the 1.8-litre petrol variant. Expect to pay £160 a year for the 1.2-litre petrol. The only exceptions to these figures will be the very last Yetis – those registered after 1 April 2017 – which will be subject to the latest tax regulations and therefore cost a flat rate no matter which model you pick.

Servicing a Yeti is a relatively painless affair; Skoda offers a fixed-price service plan for cars aged three years old or more at its dealers, which these days includes most Yetis. A basic oil and filter change under this scheme will cost you £119, a minor service £179, and a major service £289. You’ll need to carry out a minor service or an oil change every year or 10,000 miles, with a major service due every two years or 20,000 miles.

Skoda’s fixed price scheme includes a selection of other maintenance jobs, one of which is the timing belt. Some Yeti engines – notably the early 1.2-litre and all 1.8-litre petrols – come with a timing chain, which shouldn’t need regular replacement. However, those engines that do come fitted with a cambelt will require this to be replaced every five years, at a cost of £429, or £529 if you include a new water pump in the job, which is a good preventative.

Skoda Yeti reliability

As good as the Yeti is, it does seem to suffer from quite a few common problems which suggests it isn’t the most reliable car around.

The first thing to note is that automatic Yetis use Volkswagen’s DSG gearbox, which has a reputation for poor reliability. Smaller-engined models especially have problems with clutch packs burning out prematurely and control units going haywire, while even larger-engined cars can suffer problems with their control units. It’s thought some of these problems were solved from 2016 onward, but there’s no official word from Skoda.

Petrol-engined Yetis can suffer from stretched timing chains or broken timing chain tensioners which results in significant engine damage. Listen out for a metallic rattling sound when you start the car up from cold, which is a telltale sign the chain is about to snap.

On early petrol-engined cars, too, the ignition leads are thought to be routed too close to the exhaust manifold which results in them burning out prematurely. Both 1.2-litre and 1.8-litre models can also suffer from high oil consumption, though Skoda says this is a characteristic of the engine design rather than a fault – you’ll nonetheless need to keep a close eye on the dipstick to avoid running the engine dry.

Diesel-engined Yetis are not exempt from problems; if they’re used only for short journeys, the diesel particulate filter can clog up which is costly to replace. Avoid any Yeti with an exhaust light on the dashboard and if you do buy a diesel, make sure you run it on the motorway every few weeks to allow the particulate filter to clear itself out.

All Yetis can also suffer from rust problems around the doors, so check carefully to make sure the car you want to buy isn’t affected. And because the air conditioning condenser is susceptible to stone chip damage and corrosion, you’ll also want to check it isn’t making any strange noises, particularly when you put the air conditioning on to maximum, and that the air conditioning is blowing out cold air.

Yeti owners have reported quite a few other little glitches over time, so go over any prospective purchase with a fine-tooth comb, and make sure you check that everything works. It also makes sense to seek out only the best maintained Yetis, as these have the best chance of future reliability – so insist on a full service history and look for telltale signs of fastidious care, such as matching tyres from high-quality manufacturers.