[sbraj]

Originally Posted by Digital Vampire

20 Lacs for Skoda Yeti = Suicidal and certain death for Skoda
Place it around 10-12 Lacs and you may see some action.

See here for the extent of functions available on this vehicle. Includes the below.

• Starting assistant enables a driver to start in more difficult conditions, such as on a hill, with a heavy trailer, or on an unhardened and slippery surface.

• In Off-Road mode the ABS system is set up in such a way that on a loose surface it takes advantage of the wedge effect.

• Anti Slip Regulation on a soft or slippery surface.

I am not sure how many vehicles in the 10-12 Lakh range or even 10-20 Lakh range offer all these.

Hence, even Fortuner is pretty low on function compared to Yeti, 3.0 diesel engine notwithstanding.

Originally Posted by Digital Vampire

Anyways nothing will change until Skoda does something about their A.S.S

That is right. If all the above functionalities are not reliable, then there is every chance that one may be stranded in a remote hilly off the road area waiting for the so called Skoda after sales&service to arrive.

[nilanjanray]

As many of you have pointed out, given the reliability and A.S.S issues with Skoda (disclaimer - I have only read about it, don't have first hand experience), one would think twice before taking a Skoda SUV to roads less traveled.

On a separate note, I would love to have whatever the Skoda folks are smoking.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Guess what - Skoda want to sell Yeti for @20lakhs and all feedbacks they have received so far have indicated to them that this is ridiculous for such a small SUV and it would not sell.

A couple of months in delay doesn't matter. Better they think this out thoroughly and do a "Superb" instead of a "Jazz". The Fabia was also way overpriced and has been a perpetual failure since introduction. Laura under extreme heat from Cruze and Altis Diesel. The Superb is the only "safe" success story Skoda has right now. They desperately need the Yeti to click; my recommendation : Do a "Superb" for 15 lakhs.

Another reason that Skoda needs the Yeti's success : In two quarters, VW is poised to overtake Skoda in Indian sales.

Originally Posted by Guna

Anyway, these two are different type of vehicles and will have different type of target buyers (while there may be some overlap)

Very true. The Yeti's target market will primarily include the urban customer, whereas the Fortuner is popular within urban, semi-urban and rural India.

Originally Posted by sbraj

See here for the extent of functions available on this vehicle. Includes the below.
I am not sure how many vehicles in the 10-12 Lakh range or even 10-20 Lakh range offer all these.

The first two are useless for any Indian car buyer. For one, we don't have any snow and second, anyone who offroads in a Yeti is a nutjob.

[reppy]

Originally Posted by GTO

The first two are useless for any Indian car buyer. For one, we don't have any snow and second, anyone who offroads in a Yeti is a nutjob.

Agreed. The Yeti doesn't need all the bells and whistles. 2 Airbags, ABS and AWD with a 2L+ engine is enough to grab anyone's attention. And anything above 15L on-road doesn't make sense. After all, the Yeti looks more like a cross-over style overgrown hatch, rather than a compact SUV, no matter how they market it.

[sanstorm]

After all, the Yeti looks more like a cross-over style overgrown hatch, rather than a compact SUV, no matter how they market it.

Don't know why but Skoda is living in fools paradise. It looks the company who managed to get first mover advantage (Octavia, Laura), is in a rush to vanish off Indian roadmap.

It is high time they introspect deep with VW around. Lets face it, Skoda does not command a brand value to appease high-end customers (the way Hs, Ts have) and may not be able to play the 'desi' price ( Mahindra, Tata). It is better they become higher midddle class aspirational brand in India.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by sanstorm

Don't know why but Skoda is living in fools paradise. It looks the company who managed to get first mover advantage (Octavia, Laura), is in a rush to vanish off Indian roadmap.

It is high time they introspect deep with VW around. Lets face it, Skoda does not command a brand value to appease high-end customers (the way Hs, Ts have) and may not be able to play the 'desi' price ( Mahindra, Tata). It is better they become higher midddle class aspirational brand in India.

Do not forget Superb is the best selling car in its segment, the Laura is a good seller too. Skoda brand is very well accepted in India, its regarded a premium brand here, the reason why Laura still sells in good numbers despite being considerably more expensive than Civic, Corolla Altis and Cruze.

The only downside with Skoda cars are more expensive to maintain(Expect same from VW cars) and the after sales support is not good.

[Guna]

Just watched Overdrive and Sirish Chandran answering the queries. He continues to tell that yeti may start at 10-12 lakhs and could go up to 15 lakhs for the high end version with DSG.

[Axe77]

Nothing would make me happier if Sirish is right but most of these Mags are clueless when it comes to guessing prices. I'm often shocked at how ridiculously they are sometimes off the mark when they indicate prices for upcoming launches (although most often of course the reason they are off is also completely daft pricing by the companies).

[Guna]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Nothing would make me happier if Sirish is right but most of these Mags are clueless when it comes to guessing prices. I'm often shocked at how ridiculously they are sometimes off the mark when they indicate prices for upcoming launches (although most often of course the reason they are off is also completely daft pricing by the companies).

I agree. Yeti is like a shorter and taller Laura with 4X4 mechanicals and there is no way it can be cheaper then Laura 2.0.

[ajmat]

The Yeti costs about 5 to 10% more than the Laura in the UK

[shankar.balan]

The Yeti is a very nice vehicle indeed in many ways.

UK prices start at 13000 Pounds approx for the 1.2 TSI 105 BHP Yeti upto 17000 Pounds for the 2 litre TDI 110 BHP 4x4 upper end one.

Effectively the base Yeti there is priced similar to a Scorpio here - say around 9 lacs. With duties etc, this one might just manage to hover around the 14-15 lac mark.

If the upper end one at 17000 Pounds straightaway equates to about 12 lacs there in the UK, then it can be expected with all duties and so on, that it will be more or less priced similar to the Fortuner here in INdia at around 20 ish lacs.

The thing is that abroad, people dont mind buying a smaller, compact SUV for a higher price if it meets their needs. The purchases are more defined by particular needs.
However, here in India, if one is paying top dollar, then one tends to want a bigger larger more capacious and 'proper' SUV to show that one has achieved a tangible and visible cost vs benefit ratio.

(This tendency amongst us is illustrated by the marked consumer preference overall for a sedan vs a hatch - especially when the price range under consideration is similar.)

But one cant seriously compare a Yeti with a Fortuner - the Yeti is an urban soft roader with limited though decent-ish off road capabilities - rather like the Toyota RAV4 and Nissan X Trail and Mitsubishi Outlander etc- indeed the Yeti would more or less fall into that segment.

The Fortuner is a young Landcruiser - a tough monster which is also a couple of size or two larger than the Yeti.

My own feeling is if the Yeti comes in at about 20 L, then the consumer will be hard pressed wondering whether to put down another 2.5 L and simply buy the Fortuner instead. And at 20 ish L, then why not a Chevrolet Captiva or Suzuki GV other similar SUV?

Its a tough set of choices out there I think.

If however Skoda comes up trumps by pricing the Yeti right, they can waltz away with the small SUV market leaving all the others standing.

At least they can make hay until Toyota is spurred into action and makes arrangements to bring the RAV4 here as a nice, well engineered, proven, less expensive, entry level SUV! And Hyundai not to be left behind will be forced to speed up the entry of the IX35 (new Tucson) and Santa Fe and Nissan might pop by with the Murano etc.

All pipe dreams so far. Lets see what the official pricing is from Skoda!

[agbenny]

Originally Posted by Guna

I agree. Yeti is like a shorter and taller Laura with 4X4 mechanicals and there is no way it can be cheaper then Laura 2.0.

Your logic is making sense, But I am not sure how many will be attracted by this pricing. If the price it around 20L, I think it will join the family of other soft SUVs like, GV, Outlander and X-Trail, you will hardly it on the road. Even the sales of CR-V is decrement now.

The only hope is given by its Diesal Engine.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by agbenny

I think it will join the family of other soft SUVs like, GV, Outlander and X-Trail, you will hardly it on the road. Even the sales of CR-V is decrement now.

The only hope is given by its Diesal Engine.

Actually there is a very good market for soft-roaders. These are typically better in the city (vis a vis body-on-frame SUVs like the Fortuner and Endeavour). The CRV sold well until its price rose to stratospheric levels, the Grand Vitara has its own set of issues (no diesel, Maruti brand, average interiors) and the X-Trail its CBU pricing + Nissan's paltry sales network. If Skoda is able to give the Yeti good pricing and a strong equipment level, it has the opportunity to rejuvenate the soft-roader market.

[ashok_lat]

Some details of Skoda Yeti India from Skoda India.

http://www.skoda-auto.co.in/ind/mode...ages/yeti.aspx

[.anshuman]

ACI has the Yeti as the cover story on September issue. They have driven the car in India, they say initially it will come with a 140bhp 4wd 6speed MT configuration fully loaded with stuff like ESP, leather seats etc.

According to them, it has a 0-100 time of 11.22 secs, it's faster than the Fortuner. The in-gear acceleration times are very good as well.

Specifications-

• Power- 140bhp@4200rpm
• Torque- 32.63kgm@1750-2500rpm
• Kerb Weight- 1543kg
• Power to Weight- 90.73bhp per tonne
• Fuel Tank- 60 liters
• Tire Size- 215/60R16
• Brakes- Discs all round
• Ground clearance- 180mm

Expected price- Rs.16 lakh.