bazz2004

I agree with the last comment in that the electronics and software are well below my expectations. As for reliability who can say as we are talking about a current model but for us the Monte Carlo is certainly great to drive. Built in sat nav is the way to go because Skoda have made it very difficult to mount my large screen Garmin unit. Pity they never made sat nav available on the mc we ordered. Connectivity is tricky to set up and there is an abundance of gizmos that annoy rather than assist. Love the rear camera and parking sensors though.

I've only owned six models of car in over 50 years so my breadth of experience is a bit limited by comparison with Kentdale. We've stuck with Peugeot models for most of that time 309 and then 307 diesel. The intention for some years now was to go electric but that didn't work out. The killer was that of electric supply. All you have to do is install a home charger and you're all set up, right? Not necessarily, because in the UK in the 60's builders used a link system for electric supply on new housing estates. The neighbouring semi has its supply branched or "looped" off our house which severely limits the available supply for both houses. No car charger or heat pump for us. The solution is for our neighbour to have his drive ripped up and a new connection made from his meter to the road supply. He's not on board with that. Next, was the SUV size and enormous weight of electric vehicles plus the fact that I wanted a spare wheel. Loads of scare stories about batteries blowing up and garages parking ev and hybrid vehicles away from other cars are still doing the rounds. The VW strategy of going electric hit snags with the ID3 (Golf replacement) because the software issues just went on and on. VW group still lack the expertise in electronic design and software engineering of their main competitors. That's why I reluctantly went for the Skoda Fabia believing it would be the epitome of a last generation petrol car - well built and reliable. I do agree with Kentdale that it's too expensive and there are loads of things that could easily be improved but the Fabia is a good car and easy to like.

The comments are a bit harsh. Our 1.0 Fabia mc is is good to drive and the seats are very comfortable. My main complaints are with the electronic gizmos which seem more like prototypes to me and the price which is a bit on the high side. I couldn't care less about hard plastic trim and the size of cup holders. As john1952 points out the feel and appearance of steering wheel and gear lever is reassuring. There's lots that could be improved though which is surprising considering this is meant to be the last edition before electrification.

2023 Mk4 Fabia Monte Carlo 1.0 TSI 110. (6 forward manual gears) showing around 38.5mpg with short hops for shopping and gym. So far, no long motorway journeys. The 2002 Peugeot 307 HDI 90 it replaced was giving us just over 34mpg. We had a short break and covered more ground visiting North Wales. On the way out we used A roads and mpg was around 57mpg. Returning, we went mainly by motorway and the figure was 71mpg with no stopping or hold ups. I didn't belt along at 70mph but kept up a fair average speed. Be aware that in North Wales there are loads of 20mph zones and you can really see the way slower speeds reduce fuel consumption but there's rather a lot of stop start motoring. 20mph speed limits may be torment when driving but when you are on foot in towns the slower speeds really help with crossing roads. I'm well past retirement age and appreciated the extra safety when on foot. It was interesting that motorists seem to have accepted the 20mph limit.

If that is really worrying you there's the speed limiter that is fitted as standard. There's little likelihood of trouble if you drive carefully so I think you can relax.

I think there's a button for that on the left side of the gear lever. It must be saving us fuel with the stop start driving conditions we are having around us so we won't be changing that. Sat nav which wasn't offered to us as an option on the mc and connectivity have been major challenges for me. Needing to keep the engine running to work through the wealth of settings is a real fuel wasting exercise. It's easy to just depress the clutch and push a button to start but I miss the ignition switch for the reason just given.

It’s a good point that removing and putting back the aero covers might damage the alloys. I will get them off and find out. As I’m not into cleaning cars as a hobby it wouldn’t be more than maybe three times a year. Can anybody post a picture showing how they grip to the alloys and comment on whether a smear of say silicone grease around the grip points would be a good idea? As Fabia wheels come in different sizes are the covers also different sizes? Again, don’t the aero covers give extra protection against curbing damage to the alloys behind them?

I think the aero wheel covers look rather good but haven't dared to remove them yet. Any tips for getting them off and then reattaching them? I thought maybe that I'd remove them, wash them and reattach after having the car cleaned at the local car wash.

For the little they will cost just buy them and see. Skoda do an electronic BLIND SPOT DETECTION WITH REAR TRAFFIC ALERT system which on the face of it seems brilliant but may well be an expensive disaster. Skoda are "Simply clever" when it comes to charging for extras which are not simple to use.

Very congested roads. Urban driving, 2-4 miles. We once had a 1.3 mk2 Escort that could barely manage 30mpg so things have improved.

2023 Mk4 Fabia Monte Carlo 1.0 TSI 110. (6 forward manual gears) showing around 38.5mpg with short hops for shopping and gym. So far, no long motorway journeys. The 2002 Peugeot 307 HDI 90 it replaced was giving us just over 34mpg.

Check out the rear camera - don't know if that's standard or not but it's well worth having. Watch out when Skoda describe extras as «simply clever». I'll be interested to read your verdict on the direct shift gear box. The best extra I got was a free £500 petrol card.

I don't know about the 1.5 mc but my 2023 mc 1.0 TSI 110 has drums on the back. I never knew there was a choice. The drum brakes work very well in tandem with the disks at the front but haven't got around to handbrake turns yet.

There is an absurdity in having all these acronyms and having to look them up on a forum before making a comment. I never realised that i'd spend so much time looking things up. There's one thread mentioning that you need to be aware of a hidden button at the back of the seat on a Fabia to remove the front head rests, It's not in the book. I bought rubber mats and had worries about how to remove the carpet mats in the front. In fact you just grab them at the front and rip them out. The plastic screws have no slot for a screwdriver like other cars I've owned. I found nothing about this in the book and got the info online from the place I bought the mats from. Skodas were traditionally aimed at older drivers looking for safe and simple. I'm not sure what the category of buyer they are now aiming for. A Skoda won't be the right choice for young speed merchants either.

I read expert views on the Monte Carlo before ordering and it is clearly not intended as a performance car whatever the engine chosen. What you get is decent performance plus really comfortable seats. A hot hatch is better bought from a maker like Ford and just about any electric vehicle will take off like a scalded cat compared with a Fabia with go faster stripes. Whether or not my mc has disk or drum at the back I can't say. The wheels have plastic aero covers on and I'm not keen to pull them off. None of my paperwork gives much detail on what it is equipped with. The brakes work very well though and may well be what have been described in the forum as "grabby."

Lane assist is easy to set to on or off on the 2023 Fabia mc. It seems to remember the last setting and I prefer to have it turned off. I don't like Lane assist because when it cuts in it tugs slightly on the steering wheel which I find very off-putting. We do very little motorway driving but maybe it's useful if you do lots.

Skoda Connect is a subscription service and after my month's free trial it doesn't work and wants me to pay. So, no way of using it as a tracker. It's personal preference of course but I was underwhelmed.

https://www.evo.co.uk/news/22326/mandatory-speed-limiters-to-be-fitted-to-all-new-uk-cars-in-2024 I'm not clear on the status of this legislation but if you search there's plenty of recent posts about it - July 2024 is the implementation date. The move was approved by the UK back in 2022. As for stuff like traffic sign recognition I don't have that and the bog standard Speed limiter that is on my Monte Carlo is easily turned off. It's a shame I can't also turn off the gear change recommendations. Be aware that Skoda lack generosity in what they include as standard even with the top of the range models. There was supposed to be a usb port up by the interior light for accessories like a traffic cam. When trying attach and power my Garmin sat nav I found the "socket" but It turned out to be just a plastic blank. How much extra would that have cost? Practically nothing. The thread is now way off course as the Speed limiter has nothing to do with the problem I posted on originally but thanks for all the friendly comments. I may post a review on how we are finding the mc since receiving it last December.

I'd be worried that some yob might drop a chunk of brick from an overhead bridge. Do they supply complementary crash helmets with every fitted panoramic glass roof?

From my limited and recently acquired knowledge of assistance tech you were having issues with Cruise control which is a different animal from a Speed limiter. I'm not impressed with the Mk 4 Fabia Speed limiter but new legislation is about to be implemented where all new cars sold in Europe and the UK will by law have to be equipped with a Speed limiter. I see you have an automatic Fabia on order so that will concern you. I'm annoyed that the recommended gear changes are all over the place but suppose I'd gone for a DSG automatic shift and it was selecting the gears in the same way as with the 6 speed manual unit. I'd be getting poor mpg whilst being completely unaware of this issue. After receiving the Fabia last December the constant changing through the gears made me think maybe it would have been better to go automatic. The Mk 4 Fabia is one of the few cars where a spare wheel and fitting kit are available as an option. It was one of the selling points for us.

This issue came back and wouldn’t go away. I tried Factory resets for Vehicle and then System. The Vehicle reset didn’t seem to do anything but the latter wiped out the saved radio stations and removed my paired smart phone. It didn’t put the gear change notifications right. The car is used almost exclusively for short local runs - shopping or the gym. With an improvement in the weather, we went for a long run of around 50 miles reaching on stretches hectic speeds of 50-55mph. For the first half an hour or so in traffic and within a 30mph speed limit the inaccurate suggestions to change gear continued. Then we noticed that it had changed completely. Whereas before 3rd gear was indicated as appropriate at up to 33mph even when the car was bowling along happily it was now recommending that we change up to 5th. We were soon using 6th without any nonsense from the gear change readout. The car has made a couple more short journeys without reverting to inaccurate recommendations but if my suspicions are correct the readings will soon go haywire again. My earlier belief that the Speed limiter was responsible was wrong. To maximise safety while tackling the unfamiliar technology of a Speed limiter I went on a longish run well clear of the typical stop-start congestion on most local roads. That's likely what reset the system. Can anybody explain what is going on?

It's concerning because I've experienced a number of minor glitches with the electronics on our 2023 Fabia though not this particular issue yet. When you buy a new car with years of pedigree behind it this shouldn't happen. Maybe Skoda will roll out a Mk V Fabia.

Be very careful about buying a Fabia. We have the Monte Carlo 110 Mk 4 and although it is a lovely car to drive with very comfortable seats there are all sorts of annoying issues. I've posted about the recommended gear changes that are seemingly default on the virtual cockpit. That is once more showing erroneous readings and this time I haven't been able to put it right. As for the accessories that are available, again be circumspect. The rear camera is brilliant but we went for Park assistance. The short snappy Skoda video is very attractive but in reality using the system is complicated and stressful rather than helpful. There was no sat nav option when we ordered and the Garmin stand alone unit that I'm very happy with was extremely difficult to physically fit. Maybe if you use a phone app that would be OK though. I bought and returned several expensive methods for fitting the sat nav but had to return them. The windscreen is hard to reach and the material used for the dash is textured and it slopes steeply so nothing will stay resting on its surface unless you are willing to experimenting with adhesives. Then there's the synching of a phone with the infotainment system. That was a nightmare. You have no ignition key so when fiddling around getting things working the engine has to be running. Fabia were in the past a good choice for older drivers but currently they seem to have forgotten about keeping things simple and reliable. I don't think Skoda have sufficient expertise to iron out bugs in their electronic systems.

Last year there were shortages in electronic chips which made production times difficult to forecast. Times were dependent on the Fabia model, the accessories ordered and the order book. I don't know if that is still an issue. It's a bit of a how long is a piece of string question.

We waited over seven months and took delivery of our Monte Carlo in November 2023. Initially we were going to have one of the cars on display but decided to go for the assisted parking option. That looks great on the Skoda Fabia video but hell to work out how to use. If the car is on order it's likely to take a fair while to reach you.