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Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo 2012 review

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There's a bit of Mini-esque design trickery here with black mascara over selected body parts.
EXPERT RATING
7.0
Neil Dowling
Contributing Journalist
12 Jan 2012
3 min read
0 Comments

MONTE Carlo is an ostentatious and underwhelming attachment of expensive Med-side apartments glued to the side of a impressive rock. In terms of value for money, it doesn't rate. In fact, tourists only remember it for its casino and the room rate bill. It's ironic that Skoda should choose the name for its special edition Fabia hatch.

Monte Carlo is expensive and aloof - the Fabia version is cheap as chips and carries no pretence. The name, however, comes from Monte Carlo's association with motorsports and it's here that the look - and feel - of the Fabia starts to make some sense.

VALUE

So good. At $21,990 it's on par - and sometimes a little bit dearer - than rivals but it has lots to offer, especially that it looks as impressive as a Mini costing twice the price. The Monte Carlo is an ongoing model costing $3000 more than the standard Fabia and adding a new look and a few more features.

DESIGN

There's a bit of Mini-esque design trickery here with black mascara over selected body parts - including the roof - to give it a visual whack. It looks great in white with the standard black roof with the bigger 16-inch black alloys setting it all off. The cabin gets sports seats and more black.

TECHNOLOGY

The Polo-based Fabia five-door hatchback's drivetrain is unchanged in its transformation into the Monte Carlo. That is Volkswagen Polo's 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol attached to a five-speed manual gearbox. 

It comes only as a manual, countering its Polo GTI sister that gets only a dual-clutch auto. The Monte's bigger wheels slightly improve handling but in essence, it drives like the cheaper Fabia. 

SAFETY

Fabia gets a four-star crash rating but adds six airbags and electronic aids starting with stability control and brake assist. The spare wheel is full size an it doesn't impair on the big boot - other carmakers take note.

DRIVING

This is so much fun. The shift feel of the manual box is disappointingly rubbery but it's still an enjoyable stir while the engine surprises with good bottom-end torque and an eagerness to spin up high.

It is such an engaging drive that you can get too enthusiastic with the handling - it will lift a rear inside wheel with ease - but understeer and common sense will bring you and the car back to earth. The ride comfort is firm-ish but perfectly comfortable for city driving. Aside from the imprecise feel of the steering and the vague gearshift, it's a great package.

Read the full 2012 Skoda Fabia review

Skoda Fabia 2012: 77 TSI Monte Carlo

Engine Type Turbo 4, 1.2L
Fuel Type Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency 5.5L/100km (combined)
Seating 5
Price From $5,170 - $7,590
Safety Rating

Pricing Guides

$9,146
Based on 11 cars listed for sale in the last 6 months.
LOWEST PRICE
$4,500
HIGHEST PRICE
$12,990
Neil Dowling
Contributing Journalist
GoAutoMedia Cars have been the corner stone to Neil’s passion, beginning at pre-school age, through school but then pushed sideways while he studied accounting. It was rekindled when he started contributing to magazines including Bushdriver and then when he started a motoring section in Perth’s The Western Mail. He was then appointed as a finance writer for the evening Daily News, supplemented by writing its motoring column. He moved to The Sunday Times as finance editor and after a nine-year term, finally drove back into motoring when in 1998 he was asked to rebrand and restyle the newspaper’s motoring section, expanding it over 12 years from a two-page section to a 36-page lift-out. In 2010 he was selected to join News Ltd’s national motoring group Carsguide and covered national and international events, launches, news conferences and Car of the Year awards until November 2014 when he moved into freelancing, working for GoAuto, The West Australian, Western 4WDriver magazine, Bauer Media and as an online content writer for one of Australia’s biggest car groups. He has involved himself in all aspects including motorsport where he has competed in everything from motocross to motorkhanas and rallies including Targa West and the ARC Forest Rally. He loves all facets of the car industry, from design, manufacture, testing, marketing and even business structures and believes cars are one of the few high-volume consumables to combine a very high degree of engineering enlivened with an even higher degree of emotion from its consumers.
About Author
Disclaimer: The pricing information shown in the editorial content (Review Prices) is to be used as a guide only and is based on information provided to Carsguide Autotrader Media Solutions Pty Ltd (Carsguide) both by third party sources and the car manufacturer at the time of publication. The Review Prices were correct at the time of publication. Carsguide does not warrant or represent that the information is accurate, reliable, complete, current or suitable for any particular purpose. You should not use or rely upon this information without conducting an independent assessment and valuation of the vehicle.
Pricing Guide
$4,500
Lowest price, based on third party pricing data.
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2012 Skoda Fabia
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