An Affordable Snowman

Far from being Abominable, as Bigfoot-hunters have always imagined it to be, it seems the Yeti is actually rather cuddly and family-friendly. Coming soon to the UK, the Škoda Yeti is the latest ‘crossover’ vehicle from the VW-owned Czech manufacturer.

Crossover means it’s an economical and practical family car, but with some burly 4x4 toughness thrown in. Perhaps most impressive though, is its refreshingly cheap insurance. Czech this out (sorry): the two top-of-the-range engine choices are a 1.8 turbocharged petrol or a 2.0 turbodiesel, both of which have as much power as you’d have expected from a proper hot hatch not long ago. But while some of those boy racer cars from earlier this decade would be around Insurance Group 16, a brand-new Yeti with 170 horsepower is only in Group 9.

Of course, the Yeti’s not built so much for speed as for solidity, and if you’re not interested in grunt, there’s always the parsimonious little 1.2 engine option, which still has over 100BHP but drinks fuel like a mouse – and that’s in Group 3! Prices from £13,750.

The big Bentley is back

Is it just us, or has everyone got a Bentley Continental GT nowadays? When the big coupé first came out it was lauded as a masterpiece, not only for its uncompromising presence but also for the fact that at well over two tons, it could still explode like a racing car to almost 200mph.

So then – and maybe it just seems that way to those of us fortunate enough to live in the rarefied atmosphere of south Manchester and north Cheshire – they were suddenly everywhere. You certainly can’t park in West Didsbury for them nowadays.

So now Bentley has upped its exclusivity game – here’s the all-new Mulsanne, designed to sit above the Continental at the top of Bentley’s product range as its flagship model. Scheduled to be launched next year, the V8 grand tourer will effectively replace the current Arnage, but not much more has yet been confirmed. Don’t expect it to be cheap – the first one produced has just sold for over half a million dollars!