Quote:
Originally Posted by jkdas A friend got this for 18.45 OTR here at Kerala. TBHPian too. Lets see if he does post review about it though. |
Wasnt planning to, but here we go since YOU requested:
Vehicle: Yeti Elegance Mato Brown (VIN shows 2011, and every other Skoda dealer I've been to seem to have only the 2011 vehicles)
Bought: 17th August
Dealer: St. Antony's Automobiles, Cochin
OTR Price: 18.45 incl Skoda Shield
ODO as of yesterday: 4,200 kms
Changes to vehicle as delivered:
1. Michelin Latitude Tour HP 215/65/16 swapped for the OE Goodyears
2. 3M Film on front windshield
3. 3M Paint Protection
4. Yeti Front Mud-flaps
5. Yeti boot cargo mat
Quick impressions:
1. Stuck to a self-imposed 2 - 2.5k rpm limit for the first 1k kms. Gradually opened out thereafter, hit 5k (limit) a couple of days back.
2. Most of the power is in the mid-range. Revving to the limit wont give you matching returns as you would get in say, the Elantra (my previous car, which came alive at higher revs) or the Cruze (same engine as in Elantra, diff state of tune). For best results, use the 6-speed gearbox intelligently and keep your vehicle between 2,000 - 3,500. You dont need to use the range beyond that.
3. The vehicle is very stable at speed (Max 170 kmph so far) and yet extremely chuckable in traffic or while dodging potholes on really bad roads. Rare combination.
4. Clutch takes getting used to. I had several stalls in the beginning, but not many of late.
5. Mileage in the first couple of '000 kms was about 11 kmpl. Last tankful showed a drastic improvement to 13.5 kmpl. With my driving style, I dont expect it to go significantly over this.
6. Suspension noise does intrude into the cabin. It sounds rough, but the suspension does its job beautifully as the vehicle does not budge from its horizontal position - the wheel travel on this vehicle is quite incredible for its size.
7. Havent gone off-road much in this, but the little bit of mud-crawling I had to do gives me a lot of confidence in this vehicle's ability to tackle the terrain. It never lost grip on any wheel during a 1/2 km transit through red clay that had turned into a bog due to the late monsoons.
8. Plastic-on-plastic squeaks can be heard from the few locations identified by Behemoth, Shankar and some others. It pissed you off big time sometimes.
9. Middle seat at the rear is not very usable. Have to do something about the protruding a/c duct, but for now I'm happy with 4 seats. We did a comfortable trip from Bangalore with 4 adults and lots of luggage (2 full-size suitcases, 3 cabin-sized, 2 backpacks). Enough for long trips with the family, then.
10.The vehicle is a superb cruiser - at 165 kmph, the tacho was hovering at around 2,700 rpm on 6th.
11. Could go on like this all day, because there is very little driver fatigue. Goa to Bangalore via Ponda/Belgaum/NH4 took 6.5 hrs (Nelamangala) without having to break a sweat. Therefore decided not to break journey as originally intended, and carried on all the way to Cochin in one stretch. Even at that point, there was zero body fatigue, though the eyes were shot after the night drive in the rain.
For the moment, this vehicle seems to be a most practical choice - it can:
1. Cruise comfortably and is very stable and handleable at very high speeds
2. Be chucked around in traffic like a hatch
3. Take bad roads and seems to have decent off-roadability
4. Cross decent-sized obstacles with a ground clearance = Scorpio
5. Carry a decent amount of luggage (dont plan any accessories - luggage space is very decent if used intelligently)
6. Carry you in a certain amount of comfort
Minuses (other than mentioned above):
1. The Yeti likes mud - as in, it likes to cover itself in mud. Especially on the lower halves of the doors (despite the mudflaps) and the rear where the muck accumulates.
2. No bluetooth, iPod kit, powered ORVMs or auto headlamps. At 20.5 lakhs (before discount) this is not done, especially when the euro-spec elegance has all of this and then some more.
3. Skoda service still a concern, until proven otherwise.