Not an obvious choice, but it turns out the Monte Carlo qualifies as that rare thing - a likeable warm hatch.
Before you stop reading, stop. By which I mean please carry on. Reading. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: “It’s a Skoda Fabia. Pah!” and “Not even a vRS.” But hold your horses. This is a surprising little car and I have the actual proof: it surprised me. I wasn’t expecting a lot from it either, I’ll admit, but I used the Fabia Monte Carlo to head up north last weekend, to Nottingham, and 300 miles later I am, well, a fan. It’s a cracking little car.
Admittedly, there are two areas where it doesn’t shine. Firstly, it’s not a tonally invigorating engine. Most of the time it just makes some noise. And because that noise is neither fruity nor foul, it comes across as dull until you get up at the last knockings of the rev range. That's when it becomes coarse and scratchy. Not wincingly bad, but not as pleasant as an Ecoboost triple at full chat. Secondly, there’s the gearbox.
Next up, steering. Oddly, this has too much sensation, by which I mean quite a lot of buzz from the engine rising through the steering column. And because the resonant frequency is between 2,000 and 3,000rpm, which is where the engine sits at 70mph, it’s prevalent. In terms of good vibrations, there are a few, but not enough to say it’s full of feel. What it does get right are weighting and accuracy.
It's better than ‘not bad’ on the practicality side, too. There’s loads of space in the front two seats and it’s surprisingly accommodating in the rear as well. I’m long-legged, but have legroom behind even a relatively tall driver, along with masses of headroom and space for my feet under the front seats. It’s a fine small car if you’re four-up. It even has a comparatively big and well-designed boot, with a height-adjustable floor and, beneath that, a spare wheel.
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