The New Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo Is A Quick Little Hatch We Can't Have In India

• The Fabia Monte Carlo has been revealed for Europe.

• It gets black exterior trim and special 16- and 17-inch wheels. 

• Standard sports seats and carbon fibre interior trim bits. 

• Available with 1-litre NA, 1-litre turbo petrol and 1.5-litre turbo petrol engines. 

• Based on the global MQB A0 platform that’s not produced in India. 

Skoda has unveiled the fourth-generation Fabia Monte Carlo for the UK and Europe. It gets a sporty exterior and interior and adds a new top-spec 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine to the Fabia’s lineup. It’s unlikely to be offered in India, but it has plenty of rivals in Europe, such as the Ford Fiesta ST-line and Renault Clio.  

On the outside, the Fabia Monte Carlo isn’t as shouty as other hot hatchbacks such as the Hyundai i20 N or the Toyota GR Yaris. It has a blacked-out grille, a contrast black roof, and special black ‘Proxima’ 16-inch and ‘Procyon’ 17-inch alloy wheels. It’ll also be available in European countries with 18-inch black wheels. 

Oddly, instead of the usual two-spoke Skoda steering wheel, the Monte Carlo gets a three-spoke flat bottom steering wheel. There are red accents on the dashboard and doors, carbon fibre trim bits, and red ambient lighting.  Sports seats are standard in the Monte Carlo variant.  

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You also get a 10.25-inch infotainment screen, digital instrument cluster, and similar equipment as the regular Fabia hatchback. Safety features include up to nine airbags, Park Assist, blind-spot monitoring, road sign recognition, and auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection. 

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In the absence of a Fabia vRS, the top-spec Monte Carlo variant is the quickest variant available. It’s powered by a 150PS 1.5-litre TSI turbo petrol engine paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, good for a claimed 0-100kmph time of eight seconds. The Monte Carlo trim is also available with 1-litre TSI engines in 95PS and 110PS states of tune, and you can even get the special trim with a 90PS 1-litre MPI engine. 

The Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo is unlikely to make it to India, but we’ll soon get the same 1.5-litre TSI EVO turbo petrol engine in the Slavia sedan. To know how the engine performs in Indian conditions, head to our Slavia review.