Why did they call this 4×4 the Yeti?  I suppose it’s because the name is kind of outdoorsy and tough, with a suggestion of rugged mountains, which is rather appropriate for an offroad vehicle like the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 but when I hear the word “yeti”, I still get mental images of a massive lumbering and shambling monster that’s fortunately rather dense because it’s trying to kill you.  Blame it on too many fantasy RPG games.  Because the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 is not (a) lumbering and shambling, (b) a monster, (c) dense or (d) trying to kill you.

Let’s start with why the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 isn’t lumbering.  “To lumber”, in my dictionary, is defined as “to move in a clumsy blundering noisy way” and “to shamble” means “to walk or run in a shuffling or awkward or decrepit way”.  This is as about as far as you can get for this vehicle, which is properly designed as a REAL 4×4, not an “urban tractor” that offers the extra safety of size but is hopeless on anything more rugged than grass.  For a start off, it’s equipped with “Intelligent 4×4” that is able to detect when you need that extra four-paw traction and kicks in automatically.  When the traction is good, it puts most of the power to the front wheels.  If it detects mud or snow, then it quickly acts to send power to all wheels.  And if it detects that the front wheels are losing traction, then it quickly sends the power to the back.  If things get really, really hairy, then it can even put most of the power (85%) to just one wheel.  This adds up to excellent performance off the road as well as on it.

The power in question, which gets to whichever wheel the Intelligent 4×4 system thinks it should via the automatic 6-speed transmission, comes from quite a nice little 2.0-litre diesel powerplant.  This provides a good 350 Nm of torque in the 1750–2500 rpm range, which is exactly what you want in a 4×4, and the power peaks at 103 kW at 4200 rpm.

The Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 is no monster, either.  Yes, it’s got a high stance and has lots of room for five occupants, and it’s got all sorts of storage compartments – in-cabin storage is something that Skoda does really well.  But it’s not at all ugly.  If the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 resembles any fictional villain, the white versions are sort of reminiscent of the stormtroopers of the Evil Empire in the Star Wars films.  The styling, which is based around classic 4×4 looks, is edgy and modern.  Any good fashion stylist will tell you that having everything too matchy all over is a bad look, and the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 has taken this advice on, with the trim in a mixture of silver and black – take the roof rails, for example.  These standard features are mostly silver, but the ends are in black.  The side mirrors are silver and the lower bumpers are black.  In the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4, you can opt for a complete two-tone colour scheme, with the possibility of having a white or black roof and a different body colour.  Fuel consumption-wise, the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 is no monster, either, with a combined fuel economy figure of 6.7 L/100 km.

One of the other exterior design features is one that you won’t notice when giving this the once-over at the car yards: it’s got the “rough road” package underneath: a tough protective covering for the engine, transmission, fuel and brake lines, and rear suspension arms, meaning that grass, dirt, dust and mud can’t get into them and wreck them.  As I said, the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 is a real 4×4 that’s meant to be a bush-basher.

The Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 is also something of a “smart vehicle” rather than being dense.  It’s got eyes in the back of its head in the form of a rear view camera, dual-zone air conditioning with a humidity sensor (for those days when it ain’t the heat, it’s the humidity) and keyless entry with smart starting.  It also communicates what’s going on to you clearly via the 5-inch colour display screen, which also interfaces with the 8-speaker audio system (which has Bluetooth audio streaming, USB input, an SD card slot and auxiliary input).  The sound system and the phone prep can also be controlled via the switches on the multifunction leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Lastly, but definitely not least, the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 definitely not trying to kill you.  It’s got so many safety features, both active and passive.  The electronic stability control package includes Hill Hold Control; the brakes have the works, including ABS, ASR (anti-slip regulation) and EBD.  It’s also got an electronic differential lock, and front and rear parking sensors. There are airbags everywhere (including a driver’s knee bag), pretensioned height adjustable three-point seatbelts for everybody and ISOFIX child seat preparation in the back.  You could probably count the tie-down system and the two nets for securing things in the boot compartment as being a safety feature, too: nobody wants to be hit in the back of the head by a flying can of baked beans while going down a bumpy downhill trail.

As a matter of fact, if you were setting off on the sort of rugged adventure of the sort often depicted in fantasy novels and RPG games, the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4 would actually be a pretty good thing to have along with you.  In real life, it’s just as tough and practical.

Current model series include:

• Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4

For any more information on the Skoda Yeti Outdoor 4×4, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Skoda dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!