Skoda Kamiq 2021 Review

The flagship 2021 Skoda Kamiq 110TSI Monte Carlo we’re testing here is priced from $34,190 plus on-road costs, or $36,990 drive-away at the time of writing.

Our tester is also fitted with a $550 metallic paint job in Moon White and a $4300 Travel Pack (detailed in the next section). All that brings its as-tested price up to $39,040 plus ORCs.

For a short time, Skoda is also offering a Kamiq 110TSI Limited Edition with the same $36,990 drive-away pricing, but with even more gear such as electric leather/Suedia seats and more.

That said, even in base-spec 85TSI guise – priced from $26,990 (plus ORCs) in manual form – every Skoda Kamiq comes with a generous list of equipment. Tinted windows, wireless phone charging, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, an electric tailgate and a neat Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster are all on board.

Features reserved for the Kamiq Monte Carlo include figure-hugging sports seats, a huge panoramic (fixed) glass roof with electric sun blind, sports pedals and larger black 18-inch VEGA alloy wheels.

The black theme continues across the body on areas such as the rear badging, mirror caps, grille surround and rear diffuser. A special ‘Monte Carlo’ badge also appears on each front guard.

As per metallic paint, a pearl effect adds $550, while a ‘premium’ velvet red coating costs $1100.

You can also get a factory-fitted tow bar for $2000. Skoda mightn’t fit many of those, considering the Kamiq’s towing capacity is rated at 1250kg with a braked trailer. But it’s good to know you can tow a something small should you ever need to.

Skoda covers the Kamiq with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, and offers competitive servicing packages. Over three years, trips to the workshop cost just $800, while the five-year package is $1300. It also stays with the car and is transferrable if the vehicle is sold in that time.

To cover family needs, the Kamiq comes with two ISOFIX points in the rear outboard seats and three child seat anchorage points.

Boot space is good too, with a 400-litre capacity and lots of storage nets and hooks as well as a removable boot light that doubles as a torch and a double-sided boot mat that hides the Kamiq’s space-saver spare wheel and tyre.

Just as standard equipment levels are high in the 2021 Skoda Kamiq, so too is the array of safety features on board.

Every example of the Czech brand’s small SUV is fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), driver fatigue detection, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, multi-collision braking, tyre pressure monitoring, rain-sensing wipers, a reversing camera and rear parking sensors.

There are also seven airbags (including one protecting the driver’s knee), and the Kamiq carries a five-star safety rating from ANCAP.

Moving into the top-spec Skoda Kamiq Monte Carlo brings LED headlights, LED fog lights and animated front indicators (to match the animated rear indicators on the entry Kamiq).

There’s also a cornering light function and a sports chassis control system, which drops the body of the Monte Carlo by 15mm, giving it a low-slung appearance and allowing it to handle more responsively, without reducing ride quality.

Adding to the sportier flavour of the Monte Carlo, variable drive modes are included (Normal, Eco, Sport and Individual) and steering-mounted gear shift paddles are among the various extra features in the $4300 Travel Pack.

On the latter, the package also adds park assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, an upgraded sound system, heated front and rear seats and Skoda’s larger 9.2-inch infotainment system (up from the standard 8.0-inch unit) with wireless Apple CarPlay, sat-nav and voice control.

The 2021 Skoda Kamiq 110TSI Monte Carlo is motivated by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, driving the front wheels through a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Having driven the entry-level Kamiq 85TSI when it arrived in October 2020, the smaller 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo (85kW/200Nm) feels well-matched to the small SUV and provides sufficient gusto. In DSG form, it’s also $4700 more affordable than the 110TSI Monte Carlo!

But the 110TSI powertrain, which musters 110kW/250Nm, is without a doubt the more enjoyable of the pair.

That said, it almost feels like a mistake that the 110TSI uses a front-wheel drive system, especially as take-offs (even without planting your foot) can be riddled with wheelspin and torque steer. It’s manageable, but one can’t help but think it’d be better suited to an all-wheel drive set-up.

That’s not to take away from the overall driving experience of the Kamiq Monte Carlo, because it’s really quite a good one. The turbocharged four-cylinder never runs out of puff, while the DSG seamlessly shifts gears without a hitch at speed.

For the record, Skoda claims the Kamiq 110TSI Monte Carlo will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 8.4 seconds, which makes it three-tenths quicker than the Volkswagen T-Roc 110TSI Style.

The Kamiq 110TSI is a little thirstier than its base-spec sibling, with Skoda claiming it’ll sip 5.6L/100km – but it needs to be filled with petrol that’s at least 95 RON.

We love the glass roof, but it’s the sportier feel of the 2021 Skoda Kamiq 110TSI Monte Carlo that really stands out as a highlight.

Sitting 15mm lower courtesy of Skoda’s sport chassis control system, the Monte Carlo feels composed on the road and delivers sharper handling. It’s happy being thrown around corners, without any argument or even much body roll.

The ride is on the firm side, and over harsh bumps and potholes it’s a little more jarring than the softer set-up of the Kamiq 85TSI. But the sporty Monte Carlo strikes a good balance between ride and handling that makes it easy to live with day-to-day.

The manually-adjustable sports seats do a good job of holding average-sized people in place with large side bolsters, and despite not being made of overly soft or cushiony materials, they’re still comfortable on longer stints.

Important controls are all placed within easy reach of the driver, however diving deeper into the fiddly dual climate control settings takes some getting used to.

Vision is good in every direction too, and even though you can’t open the glass roof of the Monte Carlo like a conventional sunroof, it’s a very welcome inclusion – just not on a super-hot day.

Rear seat space is good for two adults and comes with air-vents, two USB-C ports and large door pocket storage. The Monte Carlo’s sporty rear bench seat does without a centre armrest, but that’s hardly a deal-breaker.

The driver assistance systems feel a touch more sensitive in the Monte Carlo than they were in the entry-grade Kamiq we tested last year.

Namely, lane assist seems to be more abrupt and the autonomous emergency braking (AEB) feels more alert, even when it shouldn’t be.

Driving slowly through an underground car park, the AEB suddenly brought the car to a halt, despite there being no car, kerb, concrete pole, pedestrian (or other obstruction you might think of) in sight.

The 2021 Skoda Kamiq 110TSI Monte Carlo certainly moves the Czech brand’s small SUV in a sportier direction, and covers plenty of other bases along the way.

It’s spacious for this class, there’s oodles of practicality and technology, and it looks tough.

It doesn’t come cheap, but there is a high level of equipment here that goes a fair way to justifying the premium sticker price.

And, overall, the punchy powertrain and sporty dynamics combine to make it a much more exciting and athletic proposition than your run-of-the-mill contender in this category.

How much does the 2021 Skoda Kamiq 110TSI Monte Carlo cost?
Price: $34,190 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 110kW/250Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 5.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 128g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2020)