2025 Skoda Scala Monte Carlo review

01/01/2025 08:00 AM

2025 Skoda Scala Monte Carlo

While it may not always be tangible, there’s often a mystique, a vibe, that comes with European cars.

You might think of them as more premium, more advanced, or more sturdy depending on your experience. Often this is reflected in their pricing too, which often sits higher than Japanese and South Korean rivals.

That isn’t always the case, though. The Skoda Scala is European born and bred, built in the Czech Republic, and created from the engineering power of the Volkswagen Group.

It’s sized somewhere in between a Volkswagen Golf and Kia Cerato, with entry-level pricing that’s surprisingly affordable in a market where price rises are the norm.

But if basic and affordable aren’t what you’re after, does the more premium-skewed 2025 Skoda Scala Monte Carlo do enough to play at the more premium end of the small car market?

How much is a Skoda Scala?

The Scala line-up is comprised of two models. The price-leading Scala Select with an 85kW 1.0-litre motor from $32,490 drive-away, or the more powerful and better equipped Scala Monte Carlo priced from $43,990 drive-away.

While the pricing step between the two is steep, the Monte Carlo is upgraded under the bonnet with a 110kW 1.5-litre engine.

Standard Scala spec across the range includes a healthy list of features with dusk-sensing LED headlights (plus LED tail-lights with scrolling indicators), cruise control, fabric seat trim, dual-zone climate control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, keyless entry and start, auto-dimming interior and driver's mirrors, rain-sensing wipers and more.

By stepping up to the Monte Carlo you get a more powerful 110kW 1.5-litre four-cylinder motor, plus black-pack styling of the grille, mirrors, and badges, matrix LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels (up from 17s), an electrically adjustable driver's seat, a panoramic glass roof, heated front seats and steering wheel, ambient interior lighting, adaptive sports suspension, adaptive cruise control, and some other changes including infotainment (in more detail further down).

The small car class in Australia offers a broad range of choices, with cars like the Kia Cerato GT priced from $39,290 drive-away with a slightly more powerful 1.6-litre turbo engine producing 150kW and 265Nm.

Drivers looking for a more efficient option may also consider the Toyota Corolla ZR hatch. Its hybrid powertrain returns a claimed 4.0 litres per 100 kilometres fuel consumption (compared to 6.4L/100km on the Scala), but interior space is more compact and its performance is not always as willing.

Corolla ZR pricing starts from $39,100 plus on-road costs, resulting in a drive-away price between $43,000 and $44,000 depending on your location.

Skoda's parent company Volkswagen also plays in this sector, with the Golf Life priced from $39,190 before on-road costs, or the more sporty styled Golf R-Line priced from $42,290. Engine outputs are the same, but while you might expect the two cars to be the same under the skin, the Golf uses a different engine and transmission, and a more sophisticated multi-link rear suspension in place of the Scala's torsion beam set-up.

How big is a Skoda Scala?

The Scala is a close match for the Toyota Corolla hatch in terms of length. At 4362mm long it's just 13mm shorter than the Toyota. The Scala is also 1471mm high (36mm more than a Corolla), 1793mm wide (just 3mm more) and has a 2649mm wheelbase (+9mm).

The Corolla call-out is a crucial one, because where the Corolla's packaging offers limited back seat and boot space, the Scala is much more spacious.

As a midlife update, the changes to the inside of the Scala aren’t drastic. The dash layout is fairly simple and uncluttered, with clear controls and dedicated buttons for functions like climate control and key driver settings.

The sports seats in the Scala Monte Carlo look fantastic with racy styling and a pop of colour with a stripe detail running down the middle. Despite the grippy look, the bolstering on the backrest and base is loose enough to allow you to easily get in and out, or reach into the back.

Interior storage is a bit of a mixed bag. The door pockets and glovebox are generous, but the cupholders between the seats can only take smaller bottles or cans. Storage under the centre armrest is very compact, and the open tray at the base of the console is handy, but the lack of a wireless charger feels out of step.

The interior plastics are hard in a lot of places. They feel robust, but the solid sections of dash fascia, hard door trims, and uninviting door pulls when you swing the doors shut lack tactile appeal. There are some plusher surfaces, but Skoda has tucked these in places you rarely touch.

The cabin features four USB-C ports, two up front and two in the rear. The rear seats also have air vents through the centre console.

Rear seat space is decent. The available leg room is generous for a small hatchback, and while the rear backrests are quite upright, they're comfy enough to spend longer trips in.

The rear bench lacks a centre armrest, but there are map pockets in the back of each front seat and a large bottle holder in each door.

The 60:40 split-fold rear seats offer some extra cargo flexibility, but even with the rear seats up the Scala offers 467 litres of cargo space, compared to 374L in a Golf, and just 333L in a Corolla ZR. The Cerato hatch is the closest challenger, but even it stops short at 428L.

The boot offers one large and one small bag hook on each side of the boot, and a cargo area light, but unlike some other Skoda models it lacks the little extra touches, like included boot nets or underfloor storage to really elevate it.

Does the Skoda Scala have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?

By stepping up from the Scala Select to the Monte Carlo, the infotainment system grows from an 8.25-inch display with an 8.0-inch digital instrument screen to a 9.2-inch touchscreen with a 10.25-inch instrument screen.

The Monte Carlo also adds satellite navigation and a 10-speaker premium audio system (the Select has eight speakers). The infotainment system also features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth, and AM/FM radio.

The Scala range is also missing some pretty common elements found in most new cars in 2024. There's no digital radio, wireless charger, or connected services that allow owners to remotely log in and check or lock the doors, view the fuel level, or find the vehicle's location.

Skoda's system is clear and easy to use, and while you can access additional climate-control settings via the touchscreen, the bulk of ventilation controls are on physical buttons and dials, as are drive modes and stop-start settings – all much easier to use than being buried in a touchscreen.

The 10-speaker Canton sound system is a good one. It's not a super-high-end system but offers clear sound reproduction and a healthy amount of bass without distortion.

The instrument display offers a range of display options from sporty central tacho designs to an almost full-screen map. The navigation can only display the factory system and doesn’t work with smartphone mapping, which is a shame. Still, there’s a lot of customisation available to prioritise the info that matters most to you.

Is the Skoda Scala a safe car?

The Skoda Scala comes with a five-star ANCAP safety score, but it’s worth noting this is an older rating from 2019 and is set to expire in December 2025 in line with ANCAP’s procedures. As ANCAP evolves testing every few years, an older five-star score may not be the equivalent of a more recent result.

At the time of testing the Scala was rated an impressive 97 per cent for adult occupant protection, 87 per cent for child occupant protection, 81 per cent for vulnerable road user (pedestrian) protection, and 76 per cent for safety assist systems.

Both variants in the Scala range are equipped with six airbags (dual front, front-seat side, and curtain airbags). The knee airbag previously fitted to earlier Scalas is no longer available in the updated range.

What safety technology does the Skoda Scala have?

Safety equipment is the same on both the Scala Select and the Scala Monte Carlo. Autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and driver fatigue detection are all standard.

The Scala range also comes with driver fatigue detection, but rather than a driver monitoring camera, it detects driving behaviours that indicate attention may be waning. Tyre pressure monitoring is also standard, but the system is a more basic type that can't read 'live' tyre pressures and only flags if it picks a difference between wheels.

The Scala Monte Carlo offers some additional drive assist functions like adaptive cruise control in place of the Select's passive system. The adaptive cruise can slow to a stop, but after a few seconds the cruise control cancels, so it can't be used in stop-start highway traffic the way some rivals can.

Within the cruise control is 'travel assist', which features lane-centring assist with the cruise control set.

The driver assist systems feel natural on the road, and in my time with the car there were no particular irritations or false flags.

How much does the Skoda Scala cost to run?

While there’s no uniform warranty term across brands, most seem to have settled on a five-year term. Skoda offers a slightly better seven-year warranty with no kilometre limit for private buyers. Vehicles used commercially as delivery, rideshare, taxi, or rental cars have a 150,000km distance limit.

Skoda also offers a seven-year warranty on the ‘engine starting battery’ (where many brands offer two or three years), a three-year paint warranty, and a 12-year corrosion warranty. From new, there is 12 months of roadside assist, and at each service at a Skoda dealer, an additional 12 months is applied.

Service intervals are set at 12 months or 15,000km and Skoda offers pay-as-you-go capped-price servicing or a seven-year prepaid package. If you purchase the prepaid option you’ll pay $3650 for scheduled maintenance. Paying per visit is a little more expensive at $4098 over seven years.

A Toyota Corolla features low-price servicing for the first five years (at just $245 per visit), but years six and seven are more expensive adding up to $2159 over seven years. The Cerato GT would run up a $3281 service bill over seven years, while a Golf is only available with a five-year service plan, priced at $2950, or pay-per-visit servicing that adds up to $4921 over seven years (or the five-year plan plus two off-plan services would cost $4400).

Based on a comparative quote using the details for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW, the Scala Monte Carlo came back with a $1613 annual premium.

The same details for a Corolla ZR returned a $1894 quote, while a Golf Life quoted at $1545 per year. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

Is the Skoda Scala fuel-efficient?

Skoda publishes official fuel consumption of 5.6L/100km, a thrifty figure for a non-hybrid small car.

The time spent in the Drive office returned a 6.9L/100km figure, which is more typical of what you'd expect from a car this size. It's not a bad figure, helped out by a stop-start system that switches the engine off when stopped in traffic or at the lights.

In less congested driving situations, it wouldn’t be too difficult to pull closer to the official fuel use figure.

The Scala does require 95-octane premium unleaded as a recommended minimum, adding to the cost of each fill. Based on the fuel use in our time with the car, it should be able to cover almost 725km from a single tank.

What is the Skoda Scala like to drive?

While Skoda has made revisions to the Scala's styling and equipment, the engine and transmission are largely as they were previously.

In the case of the Scala Monte Carlo, that means a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine backed by a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with power sent to the front wheels.

With 110kW it's not the most powerful small car option, but the 250Nm of torque is crucial. This pulling power is incredibly helpful at keeping things bubbling along in traffic, and ensures the Scala doesn’t break a sweat with a full load of passengers.

The engine is quite smooth and subtle. Because you don’t need to rev it hard to get the best from it, it resists the noisier top-end that you find in cars like the Mazda 3 or Corolla.

On the go, the dual-clutch automatic delivers swift gear changes. It is very much programmed for efficiency, though, so will quickly run to the highest gear it can, and is often docile when asked to kick down.

Starting off from a stop you need to really creep it off the line, otherwise there's a delay and neck-snapping lunge forward that's not always pleasant if you’re too bold with your accelerator application.

The warm hatch positioning of the Scala does show on entertaining stretches of road. It won't challenge something like a Golf GTI at full tilt, but the steering is direct and the suspension in its firmer sport setting feels nicely settled and communicative.

In the areas where you might expect a bit more compliance, the Scala can feel stiff-jointed. It clashes with speed bumps and crashes through road imperfections in a way that's not always as urban-friendly as you might expect.

It can also get a touch noisy on rural roads, lacking the calm and insulated feel you get from the Golf.

Can a Skoda Scala tow?

You could tow with the Scala if you needed to, but it's a lightweight in the towing stakes. With a 1250kg braked towing capacity, or 620kg for an unbraked trailer, you can hatch up a light-duty garden trailer, bikes for the family, or something similarly small.

The Scala has a 404kg payload (based on its tare weight), so it pays to keep in mind that adult passengers plus luggage could bring you close to this maximum carrying capacity.

Should I buy a Skoda Scala?

The entry-level Skoda Scala Select is a value-for-money superstar, but the Monte Carlo version is a different prospect altogether.

It gets a significant mechanical overhaul compared to the entry-level model, and some nice additional equipment, but it plays into a broad market of sophisticated competitors. Although it has some highlights, discerning buyers might look at some of the cheaper detailing of the interior and decide it's not for them.

The packaging is efficient and spacious and the performance is robust, but the Scala Monte Carlo just can't shake that it's a dressed-up version of an economy car. It’s the lower end, not this upscale version, that best showcases the Scala’s abilities.

How do I buy a Skoda Scala? The next steps.

Skoda has a decent range of cars priced closely to the Scala Monte Carlo, so you may also be swayed by the Kamiq Monte Carlo small SUV, or you may like the look of the Octavia Select mid-size hatch and wagon or the Karoq Select medium SUV. If you’re heading to your Skoda dealer for a look, be sure to weigh up your options.

The Scala feels like it makes more sense in entry-level Select specification, though the Monte Carlo upgrades can be justified. You can check out Drive Marketplace for the full range of new and used Skoda cars for sale at dealers around the country. Or you can find your nearest Skoda dealer here.

With updates happening all the time, you can stay up to date with the latest Skoda news here.

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