Lately I have been considering upgrading my Yeti to a higher grade Yeti, personally I quite like the 1.2 so I am going to stick with that, but possibly upgrading to an SE. So I thought I will have a look at the other competitors that weren't there when I bought the Yeti.

It is an unbiased view of all the cars, despite the fact that I own a Yeti.

1) Mini Countryman

Really like the showroom but I am not going to a Bar, but I can see why so many young people are attracted to the Mini, its the whole image.

Anyway, back to the car. The front looks like a Kia Soul, the mouth is way too big. Funny enough, it reminds me of the MGB, Unfortunately I wasn't born when the MGB was discontinued, however from literatures, I understand they had to raise the suspension to meet US collision regulations on the Rubber Bumper cars. To me, the Countryman looks like a stretched upwards normal Mini, not really attractive at all, but quite cheeky.

Interior was quite nice actually, lots of soft touch plastic on door cap and dash, however from feeling it I notice that it is not "one-mold" which means it has hard plastic underneath with soft padding on top (like the MkII Fabia), unlike the Yeti, where the whole of the top dash is molded with soft plastic. The gearbox has a really racy feeling, feels really precise and short throw. All the buttons were really nice, really like those stalks for windows etc. However, the trim are badly put together and on the one I was sitting in it was falling apart.

Space wise it was cramped, feels like a Golf, height of the cabin is also quite limited, having said that I have no problems with sitting the front or back, however the sitting position is lower than that of the Yeti and the sloping windscreen means lots of wasted space and the visibility felt quite limited looking on the road ahead. Generally the cabin felt narrower than the Yeti's and therefore shoulder room was quite limited. Whilst the rear has less leg room, the seats were better designed than the Yeti's, the Yeti have "invisible" head rests, the Mini has a visible one and although this limits the rear view whilst reversing, the seat backs are more comfortable.

The boot was really poor, I was expecting it to be as comodious as the Golf, but no, it was appalling. It has a really high platform. Size wise if I remember correctly it was similar on the Fabia.

Door thumbs was fantastic though, the front door has a reassuring thump like the Yeti and the back doors weigh more than the Yeti's.

Another interesting point is the door handle - similar design to the Golf MkII, quite like them.

Overall, I think the styling was a bit challenging, and despite it large exterior the interior was quite disappointing.

2) X1

It really isn't in my price range, but since BMW was next door I thought I would go in to have a look and see how it compares.

I could actually summarise the X1 in one word, don't get it! If you have to get a BMW group car, get the Countryman, it is simply much better in all aspect.

It was quite long for what I expected, it is also quite low, it actually reminds me of the XC70 without the ride height?!?!

The interior was not what I expected from BMW, for a car that cost 22k, I can't believe they get away with that interior. The door cap was like the Tiguan's, ie similar to the Mini's. However the dash was a molded soft plastic like the Yeti's, however the top of the speedo (instruments) pod was hard plastic. The bottom dash and bottom of the doors are hard plastic, however the front door side armrest has the same Material as the Yeti. The bottle holder is the same as the Yeti's - hard plastic, no lining. The exterior door handles felt really flimsy and plastiky. The white paint was dodgy. You also sit quite low, like a normal 3 series.

Cabin space was good actually, a little smaller than the 3 series but not too far off. Shoulder room was good, the space in the back was similar to the Yeti's. To be honest, I wasn't at all interested after that point, I don't see the point of getting a Crossover or SUV without the high driving position and views over the road. What's wrong with the normal 3 series, or even better the 1series??

The boot was good, long but not too deep, I guess a little like the Yeti with the spare wheel package.

My feeling after looking at this car was what's the point buying it, get a 3 series touring which is so much better in every respect, but hey, I can't afford anything in the BMW garage so its not for me to judge those who buy them.

3) Juke

I understand many people here thought it looks awful, but I really like the looks of it, small and butchy. I like the sloping rear, I also liked the weird funky headlight/fog light. It is quite short, but wide and tall, I really like it.

Interior wise it is a sea of hard plastic, no soft touch material anywhere. It was even less appealing than the Note. The interior's plastic are the same quality as the Fabia MkII S (or 1 model). The front is cramped, little headroom and little shoulder room. The steering wheel can not be adjusted for reach. With price considered, it is a better place to be than the Countryman which is similar size.

The back was appalling, with my pre-set drivising position, I could just go into the back seats but my knee was touching the front seat and the sloping roof means I have no (or negative) head room. The boot is a joke, that was it for me, I thought it is way too small, it has a stupid compartment under the carpet which I guess you can store cucumbers or fairy liquid. Overall the boot was smaller than even the Triumph TR4a.

However, you can't really argue with 12.5k starting price, which is lower than the Yeti E and the Juke is better equipped, However, people who look for SUV want the practicality and for me, the Juke was not practical at all and I would be better off with the Note, which is cheaper and much much much more spacious.

4) Qashqai

This brings me to the Qashqai, to give an unbiased view, it was the best interior (plastic quality wise) I sat in today, including the Yeti. The styling is old but doesn't feel dated. The front looks more aggresive after the facelift, but doesn't feel that it fit the rest of the car.

The cabin was quite airy, however there is less headroom than the Yeti. There are soft touch plastic on door caps as well as dash. It was really pleasant. Although this car makes up for the quality of the dash material, the fit and finish and buttons were quite far off from the Yeti's. There are massive panel gap and some plastic felt flimsy. Door thumps was unsatisfying as well. The boot was OK, very similar to the Yeti's. Overall, there are lots of use of soft touch plastic, however the quality is not as good as the Yeti's.

The interior is not as clever as the Yeti's as well, although space wise it is very similar, however you can fit more in the Yeti as you can reconfigure/remove the seats to carry loads.

The Qashqai would a strong contender if they are still offering that build in British discount, which would mean it would start at 14k, however, the cheapest Qashqai is now 15695 and the cheapest Yet is 13999. Taking price out of the equation the Yeti is still a better car. One advantage of the Qashqai is that you can have it with 7 seats!!

Conclusion:

Needless to say, I drove home happy, knowing that I have got the best car. So next step would be thinking whether I should keep the S or upgrade to the SE, I personally like the 16 inch wheels as they are easy to manage. I also understand they perform quite well in the snow from an earlier thread.

Edited 16 November, 201015 yr by My_Yeti

That was really interesting, and cheers me up too. I did try quite a lot of cars - Tiguan, X-trail, Freelander, Kia, Subaru etc - but I admit I did not look anything like as closely as you have here - and I didn't 'do' the cars you have. So thanks very much for the detailed descriptions!

Good mini-review that, an interesting read.

What do you miss on the S though, that you get on the SE? Just curious really :yes:

Cheers,

Steve

Good mini-review that, an interesting read.

What do you miss on the S though, that you get on the SE? Just curious really :yes:

Cheers,

Steve

Thanks! I am not too bothered about Bolero or the centre armrest, as I think it intrude on rear passenger room a little anyway. However, what I really want is rear speakers and black out windows, I am also thinking about having it in white with the sunroof if it comes back.

I understand I could get after market black out windows and possibly in a darker shade which I think fit the rear of the Yeti better since it has the blackout C pillar. However, I was told there is no wires to the rear doors so I would need to pay to get someone to run wires to the rear door, which is quite fiddly and not sure about workmanship.

Edited 16 November, 201015 yr by My_Yeti

That was really interesting, and cheers me up too. I did try quite a lot of cars - Tiguan, X-trail, Freelander, Kia, Subaru etc - but I admit I did not look anything like as closely as you have here - and I didn't 'do' the cars you have. So thanks very much for the detailed descriptions!

Thanks, how is the Freelander actually, I like them but they are almost double of my Yeti so price wise it is a no for me.

I received a publicity thing from LR today offering a "deal" on a new Freelander..............................

£33k !!!!!!!!!! FFS

Anyone done a comparison with a RAV4 (or CX-7)? Those (2nd hand) are currently contenders if I don't see a used Yeti that meets my desired spec between now & March/April (when my current loan car needs to go back to its rightful owner).

I also drove the Mini Countryman Cooper S All 4 and the BMW X1 Xdrive 2.3d before trying the Yeti and as you can see I've ordered the Yeti.

The Yeti was far nicer to drive had better fit and finish and was alot cheaper. I previously owned a Qashqai Tekna 2.0L diesel which I think is also better than the Countryman and X1. I'd probably still have the Qashqai but due to problems with the DPF sold it after 3500miles. The speed limit of 40mph didn't allow it to regenerate and had to go to the dealer for a forced regen 4 times at a cost of £120 a time!

I saw a Juke on the M1 yesterday. I nearly crashed.

Great review My_Yeti. I took friends to see the Cashcow and Juke as well and as much as they loved the Juke their faces fell when they saw that rediculous boot! Parents with baby buggies need not apply. That car is only for single people and estate agents upgrading from their MINIs - as they are the only people that would think the boot is in any way an "upgrade" from the pathetic slot that MINI insists on calling a boot in the 3 door MINI.

Are you going to also look at the Kia Sportage and Mitsubishi ASX?

I dont really understand why people and magazines compare the Yeti to the Juke?! Isnt the Juke based on the Micra platform so Skoda would have to produce something on the Fabia platform to have a direct competitor? Ive always seen it as a Cashcow competitor though. My neighbour has one and its very similar in terms of space (rear legroom and boot with no spare seem identicle to me) but in terms of ride quality, flexibility, build quality and quality of plastics the Yeti is superior imo.

I dont really understand why people and magazines compare the Yeti to the Juke?! Isnt the Juke based on the Micra platform so Skoda would have to produce something on the Fabia platform to have a direct competitor? Ive always seen it as a Cashcow competitor though. My neighbour has one and its very similar in terms of space (rear legroom and boot with no spare seem identicle to me) but in terms of ride quality, flexibility, build quality and quality of plastics the Yeti is superior imo.

True. But you can spend your £15,000 wherever you like surely? And these days people don't tend to shop just in a specific class. There are so many niches now that it is the money that talks in the end of the day. So for that 15 grand you can have a base Cashcow, a higher level Juke, a Yeti S or indeed a Peugeot 107 with every option you can think of... So I don't see a problem with magazines or people pitching the Yeti against the Juke. It is not apples and apples no, but you can buy either with the same amount of dough.

True. But you can spend your £15,000 wherever you like surely? And these days people don't tend to shop just in a specific class. There are so many niches now that it is the money that talks in the end of the day. So for that 15 grand you can have a base Cashcow, a higher level Juke, a Yeti S or indeed a Peugeot 107 with every option you can think of... So I don't see a problem with magazines or people pitching the Yeti against the Juke. It is not apples and apples no, but you can buy either with the same amount of dough.

Yes thats very true. I guess I should have said more so that it annoys me when cars from different classes are compared and they slate the smaller one for being to tight on room and having a small boot or the larger engined, bigger car for having comparitively excessive running costs etc...

All I know is I wouldnt buy a Nissan Joke and I'd be hard pushed to buy a Cashcow having owned a Yeti now.

Yes thats very true. I guess I should have said more so that it annoys me when cars from different classes are compared and they slate the smaller one for being to tight on room and having a small boot or the larger engined, bigger car for having comparitively excessive running costs etc...

All I know is I wouldnt buy a Nissan Joke and I'd be hard pushed to buy a Cashcow having owned a Yeti now.

Very true again. They go to the trouble to compare different classes of cars (due to similar cost) and then bemoan the OBVIOUS differences in size! Doh! But on the whole I think one should read all the different tests of a car to get a full picture. In its own right the singular tests of the Juke in various magazines gives the car a 3 star or maybe 3,5 star rating out of 5. The Yeti gets much more of course. Each to their own I say. I happy the Puke exists as it makes the world a more interesting place for sure.

Very interesting review. Thank you.

Did you also drive these contenders?

When I was doing my tests here in France, a better ride quality was one of my major wants, and apart from many other points you observed it was a major reason for my choosing the Yeti.

Whenever I read reports in car magazines going on about whether a dashboard is soft feel or not - I always wonder "who cares ?".

Now I've found someone who does. I stand corrected.

I also was amused by the "damped" grab handles in my Touran. Yes, then were nicer than the undamped in my then Fabia - but hardly ever used.

Are you going to also look at the Kia Sportage and Mitsubishi ASX?

I had a test drive in a Sportage before deciding on the Yeti. I thought it was a pretty nice car, spoiled by one serious problem: every time I went to move my right foot from the accelerator to the brake, the toe of my shoe caught on something protruding in to the footwell. For me that was a showstopper: I'm not going to buy a car in which I cannot rely on being able to reach the brake pedal! It's not even as if I have particularly large feet (they're size 10). I found the same problem when I test drove a Hyundai iX35, which I believe shares a lot of its design with the Sportage, so that ruled that one out as well.

In its favour (for those drivers with petite feet) the Kia/Hyundai does have a significantly bigger boot than the Yeti, and a full size alloy spare as standard. Despite that, we much preferred the styling of the Yeti to that of the Sportage/iX35.

, we much preferred the styling of the Yeti to that of the Sportage/iX35.

I think the Sportage is one of the best looking soft roaders out there

The boot size is a slight issue for us when we go on hols but is otherwise fine. I think if there was one thing we could change with the Yeti it would be the boot space left with the space saver in place. Saying that, if the boot was bigger, it wouldnt be as compact overall and would be detrimental to one of its best atrributes imo - its compact size!

So imagine how easy of a choice it was for me when Taiwan has:

Honda CRV with only a petrol engine

Nissan x-trail petrol only

Toyota RAV-4 again only petrol

Mazda cx-7 overpriced

Bmw X3 at double what you pay

VW tiguan again at double the uk price

My Yeti has the smaller engine so cheap tax, a proper gearbox (DSG), airbags (others only have 1 or 2) and costs at least £3000 less than the cheapest listed (CRV)

I saw a Juke on the M1 yesterday. I nearly crashed.

Nearly spat my tea out laughing.

I'm in agreement with Johann though about cars like the Juke making the outside world a bit more interesting, even if I'd never buy one myself.

That car is only for single people and estate agents upgrading from their MINIs

By their own admission, Nissan have aimed it at a target demographic of young couples, not young families.

Whenever I read reports in car magazines going on about whether a dashboard is soft feel or not - I always wonder "who cares ?".

Do you not stroke your interior plastics?

It's not a particularly good benchmark for quality anyway, as it's exactly the same plastic that is used and the only difference is the finish. It'd be like saying cars with metallic paint are better quality than cars with non-metallic paint.

Thanks, how is the Freelander actually, I like them but they are almost double of my Yeti so price wise it is a no for me.

I did enjoy driving the Freelander - I didn't like the previous one. It also looks good to me, too - and general opinion is it's very able off-road. I don't know if this latest version has better reliability record, but the old one was not good. I worked for a company with a large fleet of them - there were many problems back then. On balance, I like driving the Yeti on the road much better than I remember feeling about the FL.

But the rub is the price as you say. Llanigraham was offered a 'deal' on one for £33K! And after I got my Yeti I did a 'build your Freelander' on the LR site, with all the gizmos my yeti has and I think, from memory, it came out to more than £38K - that would probably get discounted a tad. But there you go - much too pricey for me too. Also, now I have the Yeti, I have come to love how it looks, and how it drives, regardless of price. The Yeti works.

I did enjoy driving the Freelander - I didn't like the previous one. It also looks good to me, too - and general opinion is it's very able off-road. I don't know if this latest version has better reliability record, but the old one was not good. I worked for a company with a large fleet of them - there were many problems back then. On balance, I like driving the Yeti on the road much better than I remember feeling about the FL.

But the rub is the price as you say. Llanigraham was offered a 'deal' on one for £33K! And after I got my Yeti I did a 'build your Freelander' on the LR site, with all the gizmos my yeti has and I think, from memory, it came out to more than £38K - that would probably get discounted a tad. But there you go - much too pricey for me too. Also, now I have the Yeti, I have come to love how it looks, and how it drives, regardless of price. The Yeti works.

38k!!!! That's going into Discovery territory, saw they Dtd is offering an XC90 for 27k!! I am sure you are happy in the Yeti!

I am still facing the dilemma of whether replacing my 6 months old Yeti S with an SE? I cant seem to get a valuation of my car, there isnt much on sale on autotrader and the price varies a lot!

Unfortunatelt, given the large proft margin people at WeBuy(Rip)Any(You)Car(Off).com are looking at, I am not planning to go down that root, preferably selling to a dealer

Anyone sold a 1.2 S recently? What kind of price should I be looking at? (6000 miles)

Edited 17 November, 201015 yr by My_Yeti

Take a look at what the Skoda dealers are selling them for and work backwards. A quick search on the Skoda site shows a 1.2 S with 6580 miles, March 2010 going for £14,995. Trade in say £12,900? (Based on Parkers guide for a '59 PLATE retailing at £12425, PX price £10,680 (approx 86% of retail value)). Or as dealers will tell you..."It's only worth what someone will pay" - so in their case £10.50