Hi All

Have taken delivery of a new 1.5 Monte Carlo Edition. It's a nice thing but.....

I'm trying to configure the virtual dash. I have already realised that I can't do what I want (plain circular rev counter left / plain circular speedo right [both with proper length needles] / large speed in digital numbers in the middle) so have had to compromise using, instead, the large rev counter in the middle with large speed digits within that and a compass one side / remaining miles the other. One configuration of the two clock variety had the digital speed within the speedo clock and again in the middle in a different, smaller, font (which is plain wierd and set off OCD that I didn't even realise I had !).

But the clocks (whichever configuration) have a red ring around them and a tiny red digital needle. I'd prefer plain white with a white needle. A digital version of normal clocks kind of thing. I did think all this red might be because the car is in 'sport' mode, and that it might be white in normal mode and green in economy but, no, it's the same in all modes.

Am I doing something wrong or is the virtual cockpit really this poor?

Thanks

For clarity, what I was hoping for was something classy like this:

But what I have is something like this:

My 2024 Fabia Mk 4 SE L has an analogue instrument-cluster. The information on the alternative Virtual Cockpit provided in the Owner's Manual (hard-copy and soft-copy versions) for my car shows five display variants

but there's no advice on how an owner might change the overall 'colour look' of each display.

This link mentions setting a Skoda's Virtual Cockpit default display 'theme' to the vRS version (ie. with red rings around the clocks).

https://obdeleven.com/customizations/skoda/dashboard-vrs-theme?srsltid=AfmBOooyVS8F0Y0K3ASqQeZ-bppHTLp9RUHkcNPvILGzzlS_lr4LrOJP

Your 2025 Fabia Monte Carlo already seems to have the vRS theme as the default, but whether this is deliberate (ie. all 2025 Fabia Monte-Carlo models now have this theme as default) or it's just your car, is anybody's guess.

Suggest you ask the Skoda dealer you got the car from about this - if OBDeleven can be used to change the default theme, a Skoda dealer's equipment should be able to do this too.

Thanks Derek,

Before I approach the dealer I'm sort of hoping there will be a Fabia Virtual Cockpit owner on here who can confirm.

I was genuinely expecting something impressive regarding screen style options and graphics. Something like the VW Golf below and not something that looks like it was designed by a 12 year old !

When adverts for recent Fabia Monte Carlo cars show the Virtual Cockpit (VC) display illuminated, the display's 'look' always seems to be like your 2nd photo.

All current-model Fabias now have the VC, but the Skoda Configurator suggests the Fabia Monte Carlo VC will have red-ring clocks, but other Fabia models will not. It would appear, then, that Skoda may have chosen to set the VC default theme to match the Monte Carlo model's 'boy racer' red accented interior trim.

However much a buyer of a Fabia Monte Carlo might dislike the red accented interior trim and yearn for the more 'mature' restrained interior of other Fabia models, red interior trim appears to be the no-choice standard fit - and that may also be the case with the red-ring-clock VC default theme.

As I suggested above, it might be possible to twiddle a Monte Carlo's VC fairly easily with the right equipment to change the default theme.

On 29/10/2025 at 02:11, PongoBongo said:

Thanks Derek,

Before I approach the dealer I'm sort of hoping there will be a Fabia Virtual Cockpit owner on here who can confirm.

I was genuinely expecting something impressive regarding screen style options and graphics. Something like the VW Golf below and not something that looks like it was designed by a 12 year old !

You are stuck with it. I thought the same thing when I had a kamiq montecarlo (built on the Fabia platform) as a loaner while my Octavia RS was being serviced. I think it’s an artefact of the Fabia being quite an old platform now and also being the cheapest model. Virtual cockpit in say the Octavia is a lot more sophisticated and stylish. I’m sure the Fabia will improve when it’s upgraded next which I guess can’t be too far away.

14 hours ago, whippersnapper said:

...I’m sure the Fabia will improve when it’s upgraded next which I guess can’t be too far away.

Something like this perhaps?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj2a1MaVat8

I'm very doubtful that Skoda would opt for a mild-hybrid 48V MHEV system for the Fabia. The Hyundai 3rd-generation i20/Bayon ranges introduced in 2020 were 48V MHEVs but the 48V system was dropped in 2024. The 48V system provided little genuine benefits on UK roads (I owned a 2021 i20 for a year) and its complexity and questionable reliability resulted in many owner complaints. The lack of 'hybridisation' was one of the Fabia's attractions for me.

I did read recent speculation in the UK motoring press that Skoda might offer a 'genuine' Fabia VRS equivalent in power/performance to the VW Polo GTi, but that also seems unlikely to me. In 2020 Hyundai introduced the i20N with a 1.6litre motor, over 200PS and a host of exciting 'track driving' features. It was well-priced and popular, but delivery times were very long and Hyundai ceased i20N production in 2024 to concentrate on EVs.

(Whatever 'improvements' Skoda might make to the Fabia in future, it's certain some buyers will moan about some of them...)

For what it's worth...

Comments in OBDeleven and VCDS discussions suggest that the 10.25" Virtual Cockpit now standardised on new UK-marketed Skoda Fabias can have two 'colour-looks' - a Monte-Carlo look that has the flashy red highlighting shown in your 2nd photo, or a standard look that does not have the red highlighting. So - if you really really loathe the red highlighting - it might be possible to suppress it using one of those diagnostic tools. (Changing the colour-look of a Fabias's 10.25" display would not alter its functionality - it would just be the 'highlighting' that changed.)

No chance of a Fabia RS (or vRS for UK readers) now that the 130 is out. Personally I’d just get a Montecarlo. With the gearbox limiting the torque to 250NM the 130 isn’t really going to feel quicker unless you really rag it and her Montecarlo has enough of a sporting feel for what is really a city car.

The Fabia Owner's Manuals suggest that there's no difference between the original Mk4's Virtual Cockpit (VC) and the VC fitted to the very latest Mk4s.

There's a Skoda video relating to the VC fitted to current Octavia models and it's evident that the Octavia's VC is more sophisticated and versatile than the Fabia's. (Not sure it's any prettier, though!)

https://www.skoda-auto.com/services/octavia-videos#virtual-cockpit

Edited 23 January23 Jan by DerekU

The video shows the original mark 4 (NX) Octavia virtual cockpit. The current 4.5 is similar but not identical.

The above images are of the VC of UK-marketed 2025 Octavia cars, with the lower image relating to an Octavia vRS.

The instrument-cluster of the 2021 Hyundai i20 I owned for a while could show a pair of simple clock-face dials with three colour themes that could - if the driver so chose - be linked to the car's drive-mode (Eco, Normal or Sport). An alternative version of the display presented the information 'digitally' and that was what I always chose.

You are fortunate because our Fabia 4 mc randomly decides to change the layout of the digital display. On a couple of recent outings a large red stop icon showing the outline of a car has appeared momentarily for no obvious reason. It's there long enough to draw the eye from the road, which is a bad idea, then it's gone.

Do you mean this symbol?

If so, see this 2017 forum thread relating to Octavia Mk3 cars.

The printed version of the Fabia Mk4 Owner's Manual has a "Warning lights overview" section near its beginning and a more detailed explanation of the "Warning of collision risk" symbol in the "Front Assist:" section further on.

Edited 24 January24 Jan by DerekU

The issue is that right now that the car is on the drive awaiting the AA.

The wife returned from a shopping trip having experienced the same situation as myself a few months ago. Warnings are coming up for an epc fault and Start-Stop error. It is hunting on ticking over and has no power. The engine was extremely hot under the bonnet after only travelling a couple of miles.

Our Fabia 4 mc is becoming an embarrassment. Constant references to the manual, which most drivers don't want to be studying, are unhelpful and rather annoying, DerekU.

What you said was "On a couple of recent outings a large red stop icon showing the outline of a car has appeared momentarily for no obvious reason. It's there long enough to draw the eye from the road, which is a bad idea, then it's gone." and I simply asked if you were referring to the Front Assist warning symbol and cross-referenced to the Owner's Manual.

I'm sorry to hear that your Fabia has more problems as I remember the time the AA was involved last February.

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/530210-first-breakdown-experience-fabia-4-mc/