Will it seem odd that the performance-themed flagship of this range doesn’t play its motorsport connection more strongly?

Price: $39,990.

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo-petrol inline-four, 110kW/250Nm, 7-speed dual-clutch automatic, FWD, combined optimal economy 5.4L/100km, CO2 125g/km.

Vital statistics: 4125mm long, 1954mm wide, 1461mm high, 2750mmm wheelbase, 380 litres luggage capacity, 17-inch wheels.

We like: Front seats, velvet red paintwork, improved platform and tech.

Not so much: More Monte Carlo by nature than name; where’s the WRC vibe?

SUCH are the times and climes that, whenever a new generation of car rolls in, the first question from the masses is generally about the depth of electrification.

So, with the Skoda Fabia small hatchback, today’s news is… no news at all. For the next few years it’ll maintain as tested here in sole format that comes to New Zealand; as a five-door with a 110kW 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder. 

Ask in around 2026 and perhaps the story will have a new chapter.

Skoda’s very much a central figure in the Volkswagen Group’s electrification strategy, so not only will it inevitably achieve a family on battery reliant cars of its own, but will also set to make EVs for other cars in the Group.

Skoda’s facility in Mladá Boleslav is the first Group facility outside of Germany already assembling battery systems for the ubiquitous MEB EV platform.

A line that can cope with more than 255,000 battery packs per year now will soon enhance to produce an additional 125,000 packs per year. It’s a step in the Skoda push for the Czech Republic to become home to one of six European battery ‘gigafactories’ VW Group has committed to.

Skoda is also making electric cars; and not just for itself.  Plus, it’s only fully battery-committed model of the moment, the Enyaq (set to come here next year) is going to in time be joined by five additional new formats.

One is determined to pick up the current Fabia’s role. Chief executive Klaus Zellmer says work has already begun, but also warns it’ll take time to bring to market. Say, in 2026. Packaging considerations are especially challenging for small electrics, so “we will have to stay a little patient.”

The Fabia replacement is expected to deliver with a sports utility-style bodywork, rather than the traditional supermini styling it fronts with now and previously, perhaps with cues from the enticing 7S concept it revealed in September, a project that specifically previews a large electric seven-seater that could well be a future Kodiaq, one supposes.

Whatever the drivetrain and body design direction Fabia takes, the Monte Carlo designation that applies to the edition we see is surely set to continue, simply because it’s such a prize.

Intersting story as to how Skoda got the tasty rights to maing this derivative. You’re right in assuming that it wasn’t because they sensed Monegasques were keen to buy into a small tidy hatch to flit through streets rich with supercars and limos. It’s more correct to say the name was won through a competition, though not the games of chance the prinicipality is famous four. It wasn’t secured on Skoda betting all on black.

No, it’s all on account of the success of the Skoda Popular winning one of the motorsports associated with the place. The one that isn’t Formula One. Monte Carlo is just as famous for being host of rallying; it’s the open round of the World Rally Championship.

Skoda has had decent fortune there in the modern era, but the victory that counted was much was much earlier. It occurred well the period of association with the VW family and with a car you might not even recognise.

Enough suspense? The happy event was in 1936. That they’ve still got the gig now is quite some achievement. You have to think there must have been some kind of  “in perpetuity” section tucked away into the contract that wasn’t spotted then. 

So it’s got a great name. And a great opportunity to leverage it with Skoda’s motorsport activity now firmly tied to the Fabia which -  despite having to eat the dust from Hayden Paddon’s Hyundai i20 in the NZ round – has been hugely successful in the WRC2 forum. It’s starting to look quite handy on the New Zealand national scene; with half a dozen Fabia’s kicking up. Ben Hunt, Shane van Gisbergen? Yup, it’s their choice of dirt and gravel road drive, now.

All in all, you’d think Skoda would be falling over themselves to maximise marketing opportunity from the car tested here. And do they? Well, let’s just say they could have done better.

The Fabia Monte Carlo being on test during the very week leading into the three-day international made photographing the test car on a gravel road seem logical, if twee. All the same, I really hoped to avoid having to meet any rally-bound bobbleheads. Explanation of the ‘rally stage to showroom car’ tie is not easy; basically, it’s one involving threads. As much as the road car looks smart, drives okay, is nimble on a winding road and, though it’s not exactly a tyre-smoker, gets along briskly enough, it’s just not picking up on the vibe as much as many others with rally association have and still do.

Back in the day, when you compared a Evo or Subaru WRX road car to a rally equivalent, there was no doubt about how they linked. That kind of thing still expresses with the Hyundai i20N and the Toyota Yaris GR.

Even though they also don’t go whole hog in bringing rally to the road - just the Toyota has all-wheel-drive, for one and neither have sequential transmissions - there’s far more raw spirit to those models’ respective personas than occurs with the Skoda. Accordingly, they are more fiesty, fiery and emphatically more feral fun-abouts.

That’s not to call the Skoda a cop-out; or, at least, no more so than the Ford Puma is. Both as they avail here are touched by a theory that says that, as much as many people will always want sporty styling, they don’t necessarily want a car that’s so invigorating you feel you need to have had motorsport experience to get the best from it. It’s not the first within the VW Group to be so influenced.  Audi’s S Line cars are of exactly the same ilk.

Even so, the previous Fabia Monte Carlo by virtue of it having a very effervescent 1.2-litre engine, was a fizzy little popper that honestly did touch the soul. Also – while positioned well below the price zone occupied by the Toyota and Hyundai rascals – there’s the matter of this new generation being $10,000 dearer than that immediate predecessor.

The main reason why is migration to the Volkswagen Group's latest 'MQB A0' architecture, an underpinning shared with the Volkswagen Polo (which won’t sell here). The platform switch cannot be considered a poor move, overall.

The car’s feel is far more solid, more ‘engineered’ than previously; the use of stronger steels, more accurate construction methods, a body being 48mm wider than before. All impact positively on the driving demeanour. It’s quieter, too.

That it also achieves a far more advanced electronic architecture that allows a suite of new driver-assistance and safety technology lacking from the old car, whose electronic strength was too poor to allow it to carry electric folding wing mirrors, also has to count as being beneficial.

In respect to active safety features, it’s on par with all other new Skodas, getting autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control with an active function that works well beyond 100kmh and also with stop and go, lane-centring assist, rear cross-traffic alert, semi-autonomous parking and nine airbags.

At time of writing, the NZ specification continued to steer past blind spot warning, but that was set to be reconciled once the semiconductor shortage has been resolved. Removing it doesn’t degrade the five-star NCAP safety rating.

It at least dresses with an eye to that interest; everything justifies having the badge, if without going completely over the top.  

The Monte Carlo treatment delivers 17in wheels with detachable aero elements to cut down drag – removing them is together beneficial and degrading, in that the alloy design is sharper denuded but you also expose the ugly wheel studs - a front grille and a new front apron with wider air intakes, beefed-up bumpers and some black body trim, a mock rear diffuser to warrant having that special front-wing badging. The car achieves LED headlamps with auto-dip from high beam with LED tail lights as an option. You can add a black roof.

Buyers benefit from sports seats, which are nice and form-fitting for shape but were a bit too high-set for a tall driver. The integrated head restraint design seems a bit over the top, but actually benefits for seat comfort.

There’s also a leather-trimmed handbrake and gearstick gaiter, stainless steel pedal covers, red stitching for the upholstery and a new sports steering wheel, also with a ‘Monte Carlo’ badge. Skoda has also added some moderately exciting red dashboard decorations, a red-themed display mode for the digital dials and some carbon fibre effect here and there.

The update also means dual-zone climate control, wireless phone charging, and a seven-speaker sound system. Rather than the 6.5-inch infotainment system found on cheaper models, there’s an eight-inch screen as standard, with the option (for $1000) of a larger 9.2-inch screen with gesture control. Also cost extra is a 10.25-inch digital dash to replace standard, and old-school looking, analogue display.

The car now accepts Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, tethered for now via a USB-C socket but set to become wireless (as per larger Skodas), again once the semiconductor shortage eases.

The widened platform also frees up appreciably more interior space; not enough to make it pitch for the role of a fulltime four-seater, but it’s certainly okay for ‘tall up front, shorties in the back.’ The boot volume lifts 50 litres to a class competitive 380 rear seats up, 1190 seats down. 

The engine produces more power now, to point of being the most powerful available in any Fabia road car. But don’t misconstrue what that means. It’ll be the ‘everyday’ side to the attitude and ambience that’ll resonate more than how much it gives on a quiet Sunday morning blast.

Thought on launch about it being a good choice for those mainly urbanite in their usage who will nonetheless want to use the car for decently long journeys cemented during the period of test.

The economy of 5.4 litres per 100km and CO2 count of 125 grams per kilometre, as judged by the 3P-WLTP scale, all speak to certain expectations and outcomes. Off-setting the impact in performance circles of a 0-100kmh time of eight seconds is that it will likely earn $2181 in Clean Car rebate.

The torque kicks in from 1500rpm and there’s good low-down punch, but don’t bother stretching it beyond 4500rpm; it gets more raucous – though

there’s ever not much burble from the exhaust - but no more riotous. It’s better to let the turbo do the work from lower revs and relax into the comfort-focused chassis.

There are occasions when you wish the seven-speed direct shift dual clutch transmission could be smoother and more responsive; uphill starts are jolty. There’s a sport shift setting, and you can manually motivate with the gear stick, but the lack of paddles is a disappointment.

It’s easy to drive and secure in its handling … but it doesn’t particularly engage. Just as there’s been no special powertrain tuning, neither does it seem to achieve any suspension rework. Quite the contrary. It’s as though Skoda determined that giving the Fabia something of the big-car isolation and waft that evidences particularly in the much larger Superb.

Some will like that, some will see that the cost has been to the detriment of any natural agility having opportunity to come to the fore. Thrills that comes naturally to some hot hatches doesn’t show here. It’s not one for late brake dancing or three-wheeling out of apexes.

Given that Skoda here has determined to have one version of Fabias here, you can see the logic for taking it in this form: It’s got the best spec, the most attractive styling and the driver feel is … well, quite sensible.

Even with all that, it’s a risk because hatchbacks have taken a hit from the big swing to crossovers and sports utilities. While Skoda locally has said it senses potential for the market to come back a bit, they’re also hedging their bets by positioning the Kamiq SUV in pretty much the same space. It’s on the same platform, has a slightly higher technical loading and is similar for interior space and ahead for practicality.

The same money asked for the Fabia will buy a Kamiq with the fizzy 1.2-litre tri-pot petrol that worked so well in the old Monte Carlo. For $5000 more there’s one with a bigger engine and all-wheel-drive.

As it stands, to me the Monte Carlo seem a bit of a waste of a good branding opportunity. Might Skoda yet spring a surprise and deliver a vRS that more fully exploits the brand’s motorsport heritage? That’d be brilliant; volume wouldn’t be great but when you look at how much pizzazz the Yaris GR and i20 N add to their own makers’ brand pedigree, it’s surely still be a win. The Hyundai being among 12 contenders for New Zealand Car of the Year 2022 says so much.

If that’s the plan, they’d better get a move on. Given how much effort it is already putting into developing electric cars, and acknowledging also that it has to keep a close eye on economy and emissions from fossil-fuelled products, the times are fast changing.

As is, there seems to be quiet relief in their quarter that Volkswagen won’t being in the Polo GTI, which has much the same remit but with a 152kW/320Nm 2.0-litre engine.