Hatchback News

Here, then, is a small selection across a broad selection of segments and categories, along with the likely reasons why they’re not heading here any time soon. These are the affordable beauties Australia’s missing out on.

While everybody seems to be shocked and confused by the news that the latest-gen Skoda Fabia now costs about $20,000 more than before, the brand's director has revealed to CarsGuide the real reasons why he made the brand's tiniest car so expensive, and hinted that more affordable Fabias could follow.At the start of this year, the entry price into a Skoda Fabia was $18,390 before on-road costs, now the all-new Fabia has arrived in only one grade - the Monte Carlo Edition 150 - and is asking $37,990 driveaway.Just to put that in perspective you could buy a larger Skoda such as the Kamiq SUV or even Octavia wagon for less money.Even the Volkswagen Polo, which shares the same underpinnings as its Fabia cousin (both being part of the Volkswagen Group), begins at a list price a bit over $25K.So what's going on?Speaking to CarsGuide at the Australian reveal of the new-generation Fabia, Skoda Australia brand director Michael Irmer said the reason was based on only being able to secure 600 new Fabias due to supply constraints, and it was his choice about which ones to bring in."We could have 600 only, and we could either have 600 cars with hubcaps or 600 which look totally slick," he said.As far as Fabias go, they don't come much slicker than the Monte Carlo Edition 150 with its 18-inch Black Libra alloys wheels, gloss-black grille, roof top spoiler and rear diffuser.But you might think that for a car so small a buyer might be looking for something more affordable such as the previous entry-grade Fabia with hubcaps.Mr Irmer justified the price of the Monte Carlo Edition 150 saying it was good value with an extensive features list, and explained that the decision to bring in a highly-specified version of the Fabia was part of Skoda's wider strategy, which he said has been proven to work on other models."Skoda has a different clientele than normal," Mr Irmer said."It takes a different person to buy something which is not common, which not everybody else has. We call them independent thinkers. They also have fairly high incomes and extremely high education levels. This demographic wants something else. They actually have the money for a big badge, they just think it's smarter to go for a Skoda and they want the full kit. They want to have all the goodies but they don't want to be seen as a show off."Mr Irmer points out that the response to the RS version of the Kodiaq large SUV in 2020 showed that buyers wanted highly specified cars."The RS is now our most sold Kodiaq version. So we decided to try this out with the other segments and we did this with Scala and Kamiq with the Signature editions - and these turned into the most sold variants," he said."So when Fabia came out, we wondered if it was a different beast and that it being an entry segment car might mean we shouldn't do it? But then we were confronted with the news that for the foreseeable 12 months we were only going to get roughly 600 units. We know that the potential for the car is around 3000-4000 cars a year. So we thought when we only have 600 cars why don't we try the thing that worked in the other segments as well?"And then later on when we have more volume we can then look at whether we want to introduce something more affordable. That's why we introduce the Monte Carlo Edition 150 Edition because it might not last forever."It's the right decision. It's the right thing for the brand."The Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo Edition 150 Edition will launch in August 2022.

For a vast conglomerate of brands that makes it one of the world's largest car companies, Volkswagen sure likes to cosy up to other manufacturers.

Cupra is yet to officially launch in Australia, with the first customer deliveries expected early next month, but is already planning for the future with the updated model year 2023 Leon, Formentor and Ateca locked in.The good news is that the 2023 models

Anyone in the market for a new car right now knows how challenging it can be to get into a new model immediately.A high number of variants of most top models are on backorder with customers facing lengthy wait times, in some cases more than a year.However

Peugeot is gearing up to finally launch its 308 small car range in Australia, but a big question mark hangs over the price.The French brand's local importer says it won't reveal full pricing and specification until just before the initial launch.That laun

Skoda’s smallest car is no longer its most affordable, as the Czech brand has revealed the new Fabia’s prices and specifications ahead of the five-door hatch’s arrival in August.

Are you going to get an Apple car? What about a Sony car? Seriously, both electronics giants Apple and Sony are developing vehicles right now. 

Nissan is on the verge of a fresh start, with the new Qashqai, X-Trail, Pathfinder and Z all coming to showrooms in the next few months. 

Episode 237 - The Holden Commodore that could have been!