Monte Carlo 1.6 TDI - Six Month Review

[DarkThunder]

First post so thought I would post a review of the 1.6 TDI Monte (Dark Thunder)

Lost my company car this summer just gone so was on the lookout for a replacement which would give decent MPG as I currently have a 120 mile round trip daily commute, gave up on used cars as for the budget I was prepared to spend nothing seemed in good enough condition or had acceptable mileage.

My other half has had a Skoda Fabia estate as a company car and when she changed jobs she bought a new Greenline II estate so we ended up at Walkers Skoda in Kings Lynn.

I had given up getting anything decent my then and was happy to go with anything, but at the time they had a White Monte Carlo in the showroom which was on the VAT free deal (June 2013)

We took it out for a test drive and then I also had it for a full day so I could see what real world MPG I could get out of it. I was happy with the results so did the Bruce Wayne 'Does it come in Black?' routine and placed an order for the 1.6 as I wanted the largest engine they did and it had to be a diesel.

Received the car at the end of June, so six months on this is my first review. I have covered just over 7000 miles and have recorded all of my fill ups since new.

Miles Per Gallon

Skoda claim a combined mpg of 53.3 – 67.3 and for the first 6800 miles I have averaged 55.44 mpg overall so this is pretty much as claimed. My regular commute is mostly on A roads with a couple of stints through Thetford and Diss, I was hoping for 60 mpg so I'm not too far off expectations. Highest shown on the computer was about 76 mpg but I was driving like my mum. I do not generally drive the car hard but do make the occasional spirited overtake.

Handling

It’s a tall skinny car and it does roll a bit when pushing on, having said that I haven't pushed it too much as I'm paying for my own fuel now! I do intend to lower the car by 30-40mm using either Eibach or H&R springs next summer

Trim and general build quality

The seats are nice and slightly sportier than the Greenline, they remind be a little of my old Alfa 156 seats material wise which is a good thing, slightly velvety plush finish which is easier to keep clean than the usual more tough feeling fabric used in modern cars (and the Greenline) Headroom is fantastic, I am 6ft 2" and have loads of room and do not have the seat fully back.

The carpets are ok to keep clean, much better than the brillo pad carpets in our old Clio but the gap between the seat runners and the door sill is very tight so you will need some extra attachments to get your Dyson in there!

The plastics are soft touch for the most part and the dash arrangement is fairly basic but clean looking and functional. The headliner is much darker in Dark Thunder than the Greenline which suits the car better and keeps with the overall 'dark' theme.

I have the traditional Fabia rattle from somewhere around the glove box area but I usually have music on so it’s not too annoying.

The leather trimmed steering wheel and gear knob/handbrake are a welcome addition and compliment the car. The design of the gear knob itself is much improved over the Greenline one which is ugly and more bulbous (it’s a 2011 car)

The only thing I really don’t like about the interior is the small amount of Chrome trim, logo on steering wheel, tacho surround, gear knob etc. I may have these colour coded in Black at a later date.

The design and general fonts used on the instrument panel are horrendous! They all function ok but they are far too cluttered when compared to other cars/bikes.

The one optional extra I would recommend is the Maxidot display, I mistakenly assumed this was a standard fitment after test driving the demo car and was disappointed to find out that it wasn't when I picked mine up. It can be retro fitted but I believe this is a massive job and to me not worth the hassle. The standard display looks cheap and really detracts from the general finish of the interior.

Audio

I have the standard stereo fitted and bought another MDI cable so I could run a USB stick instead of an iPod. Much more subtle and less likely to be nicked. Runs fine provided the USB is formatted to FAT32 and not NTFS. Occasionally cocks up but excellent to be able to store the entire music collection in the car. I will be upgrading to a double din unit at some point but further research is needed and this is a low priority. Only negative is that I didn't choose steering wheel controls for the stereo and wish I did as I had these on the company Ford Focus.

The speakers are hit and miss, tweeters in the front pillars are well placed and work really well, the larger speakers in the door cards resonate too much at anything more demanding than Enya, so Metallica fans may wish to upgrade these.

Engine

I was really pleasantly surprised with the performance of the engine, it’s really punchy and good fun to drive, it will happily cruise along at a ton all day long on motorways, I had cruise control fitted which is excellent and very useful in restricted speed limit zones on motorways etc, stick it and 50 mph and forget until you can floor it again. The engine is really quite torquey low down but quickly runs out of puff. I plan to visit Shark Performance to have it mapped next year as this should increase the power to about 130 bhp and around 200 ft/lb. of torque, that is similar to a modern Golf GTI.

The engine doesn't seem to be as noisy as the 1.2 Triple in the Greenline either.

Lights

Crap and the DRL's are not LED so everyone flashes you thinking you have your fog lights on. The main and dipped beam are operated on one bulb (H7) which I am replacing with Philips X Tream. I was changing these over this morning, passenger side no problem. Driver side - completely impossible unless you have the build of a small child, access is VERY restricted to the bulb housing so I will need to enlist the help of a little person to assist. Will report on the lights when I have completed them.

I will also be changing the DRLS to LED and the rear number plate bulbs. Fogs will be upgraded with better H8 bulbs to see if I can improve them. Full report once everything is installed.

Paint

Shocking. I do not drive particularly aggressively, don't do many motorway miles and hang back from the car in front but my bonnet and bumper are already peppered with stone chips, and I do not understand why Skoda use a White undercoat on a Black car? It makes them stand out like a sore thumb. I have purchased the touch up kit and will work on this when the weather warms up. The thickness of the paint is questionable and is by far the worst on any car I have owned.

The alloy wheels are painted and it’s almost as if they have sprayed through the gaps in the spokes rather than turn the wheel around and do the job properly.

The poor paint finish on the car is by far its most negative point (I have detailed it from day one 2BM, no sponges, good quality wax etc so it has been looked after)

I de-badged the car on day one using a hairdryer, fishing line and some AG Tar Remover. Skoda and Fabia lettering were easy but the Monte Carlo badges were tough, paint held up well though and you wouldn't know they were there.

I plan to have the Skoda logo badges colour matched to the car at some point, keeping with the Dark Thunder theme.

Brakes and Wheels

Brakes are adequate for the power of the car, should have fitted discs to the rear though as the drums look awful in comparison, I understand this is standard across Europe so the brits seem to have a bum deal here. The drums haven't rusted up yet but I will be spraying them matt Black in the summer regardless as they stand out too much in Grey.

The 17" Black wheels look great and really help with the aggressive overall styling of the car, I am considering an upgrade to OZ Superturismo GT's (in Black of course) if funds permit, again I will report any mods as I go on.

Dealers

Walkers Skoda were pretty good, kept me well informed regarding the build dates and were accommodating when I changed to a cherished number plate half way through the process.

I haggled for free Cruise Control and an Armrest in the deal but was let down by not being talked through the options in more detail, this means I missed out on Maxidot.

I hit a Pheasant at 90 mph which completely destroyed the passenger wing mirror, Walkers Skoda were quick to replace (they have to be painted to colour match your car) and this was fitted in about half an hour costing £250 fitted including VAT.

Summary

All in all a great little car that is fun to drive and economical too. Well styled and with a few small tweaks will be a satisfying car to keep over the next few years.

Positives

Engine

Styling and wheels

Fuel Economy

Negatives

Paint

Access to headlights for bulb replacement

Ride height

[Noggythenog]

Greetings darkthunder

Welcome to a fellow biker , monte & fabia owner

Excellent review & good first post

I came from a greenline estate to a monte estate, i love my monte but the only gripe i have is that the monte doesnt handle as well as the greenline i had, greenline i believe has the lowest suspension for fuel economy so it could be that or the massive monte wheels, im not sure...your monte is a hatchback so maybe not the same comparison but what's your thoughts on the handling comparison??, i could get my greenline tyres screaching on the limit & could chuck it over onto the suspension on entry & feel the limits, once i had the initial roll it was planted, my monte though feels like it will keep rolling & understeer me into a hedge.

Anyhoo theres a group buy about to go ahead soon on here hopefully for rear anti roll bars for £160 & im hoping it will sharpen things up a bit.

[DarkThunder]

Well the Greenline is the other halfs car and she sticks religiously to the gear indicator (despite me telling her she's labouring the engine) so I haven't really thrashed either, but it would be fair to say the Monte does roll a little more.

I thought about the RARB but then decided I don't usually push the car enough to justify the expense, although it will/HAS to be lowered as they look ridiculous on the standard springs. Funny didn't notice until I parked it next to a Vauxhall Corsa VXR (?) may have been an SXI, anyway they look much better lowered as standard so new springs it is! I'm just trying to decide whether to go 30mm or 40mm.

And TBH, I have the R1 for the fast sunny days!

[promethian]

Hi DarkThunder,

 

You must be a local yokel, like me then.

 

I live in Lynn and got my Fabia from Walkers too, although it was 2nd hand.. but a good deal none the less

 

Was almost impossible to haggle with them though, all I got was 6 months tax.

 

I'm sure I've seen your reg around on my travels, as I work travelling around Nofolk/Suffolk/cambs in my van.

 

My fabia is just a run around, but I went for to old 1.9tdi version as I used to have the Seat Ibiza pd 130 version. I have remapped this and the difference is amazing.

 

I shall be looking out for you now, as I often travel on the A134 in the mornings.

Edited 28 December, 2013 by promethian

[DarkThunder]

This is our second car from Walkers and the other half has her eye on an Octavia Estate VRS next so we'll continue to haggle!

The A134 is a drag at this time of year . . and has loads of suicidal Pheasants . .

[threadbear]

Pheasants are the ultimate bird brain.....

[Race Blue]

are you really flashed for having your drls on? its never happened to me in 30000 miles of driving in my current car. do your headlights not have to be on first before the fogs will operate

[savaphil]

Interesting point about the paintwork. I thought that I was being too fastidious about it but thought it was a generally bum finish and agree with the ****e wheel spraying!

[TomR88]

I constantly get flashed and was told by a 'youf ' in Tescos car park to switch my fogs off. told him they werent fogs and were DRLs. Proceeded in telling me that it is a criminal offence to drive with fogs on in day time. I told him "Good job they aren't foglights then!!!"