New Skoda Fabia moves upmarket

The Skoda Fabia is set for a significant price hike as it enters its fourth generation, with the Czech brand confirming a solitary high-spec Monte Carlo will be the only variant offered in Australia for at least 12 months.

The 2022 Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo is now due to land Down Under in the third quarter of this year, offering more interior space, a 110kW 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine and fresh technology and safety.

Skoda has put the previous Fabia RS flagship on ice, instead anointing the Monte Carlo as its range-topper with a tried-and-tested formula that includes extra gloss-black design elements designed to ramp up its sportiness.

Skoda Australia product planning manager Kieran Merrigan said production restrictions and limited supply of the fourth-generation Fabia had forced the local distributor’s hand.

“We will launch with the Monte Carlo only. As to what happens beyond that, we’re looking at other variants but what I would say is that they’ll be one to two years away,” Merrigan told journalists at this week’s facelifted Skoda Kodiaq launch.

“That just comes down to the volume of Fabias we’re going to get. So instead of adding different variants to the mix for the sake of complexity, we’re going to give what our customers want.”

Skoda officials admit the Monte Carlo traditionally comprises about 30 per cent of the Fabia sales mix in Australia, but insist the new-generation model will dabble in premium small car territory with a new platform architecture that sees the city runabout grow 110mm longer from bumper to bumper, at 4107mm in length.

That makes the new Fabia longer than the top-selling compact car in Australia, the MG3 (4055mm).

Additionally, the roof is now 7mm lower (1460mm) but it has 94mm-longer wheelbase (2564mm) and is 48mm wider (1780mm), which liberates more passenger and boot space.

The latter increases by 50 litres to 380L.

Whereas the current Fabia opens at $23,990 drive-away, it is understood the starting figure for the new model will likely sit at or above $30,000.

Skoda is intent on distancing the new Fabia Monte Carlo from volume-selling hatches like the MG3, and insists its business model is different from other mainstream players.

“It’s because we don’t have the supply to be able to compete in the volumes that would sustain that business model,” said Merrigan.

“It’s a different buying audience, a different consumer to the MG3, for example.”

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