Skoda Yeti facelift review, test drive

What is it?

Under the skin, it’s the same, solidly built, robustly engineered, fun-to-drive Yeti that we all know so well. That is to say it is mechanically identical to the old car – built on the same platform as the Laura, using the same 2.0-litre diesel engine in one of two power outputs (109bhp or 138bhp) depending on whether you opt for the 4x2 or 4x4 version. Also as before, there’s no petrol engine option and it’s still available only with manual gearboxes (a five-speed for the 4x2 and a six-speed for the 4x4), with no option of an automatic. The Haldex 4x4 system is, however, a newer version that’s a few kilograms lighter and comes with an optimised off-road software programme, which we’ll get to in a bit.

The big change is to the skin itself. Skoda has ditched the original car’s quirky, rounded, quad-headlamp look – which, frankly, we thought was quite unique and had a lot of character. In its place is a face that’s more in line with Skoda’s new square-jawed corporate look; full of straight lines and sharp angles. It may be missing some of the charm of the old Yeti’s nose, but the new one does look neater and it’s likely to be more appealing to more people. The new, rectangular headlamps have bi-xenon beams and integrated LED running lamps, and the fog lamps and cornering lights are more conventionally sited in the front bumper.