Skoda is planning to launch two all new cars in 2009 and first of it is there new Yeti compact SUV. It will be out on UK showrooms in late summer. Built to compete with the likes of the Ford Kuga and Toyota RAV4, the Yeti is all-terrain car with a Haldex full-time 4×4 system, with the option of a front-wheel-drive version for tarmac-only drivers. The powerplants are currently unspecified, but we expect 1.8 or 2.0-litre petrol units and 1.9 or 2.0-litre TDI dielels.Skoda believes that despite the slump in car sales, the Yeti will appeal to fans of 4×4s who are looking to downsize. Yeti, which shares components with VW’s Tiguan, Skoda believes it will generate more fleet sales courtesy of lower fuel consumption and CO2 emission levels on the front-wheel drive versions.

Production of a second new model, the superb estate, will also begin in 2009, with sales starting at the start of 2010. The estate version will feature the same engines as the current saloon, including the 3.6-litre V6 that will be added to the range in the UK next spring.

Skoda’s Yeti small off-roader – using four and front-wheel-drive formats – will be aimed directly at Ford’s Kuga and Nissan’s Qashqai when it arrives on the UK market in October next year.