SCARY and Skoda are not words you expect to see together in the same sentence.

But the Czech car-maker’s advertising bods clearly aimed to put the frighteners on car buyers with their tongue-in-cheek television advertisement for the Fabia vRS.

Big, bushy-bearded, horned-helmeted, he-men assembly workers, a metal-mouthed welder crunching panels with his bare teeth and an engine block fashioned from a seething mass of slithering serpents, show this sensible compact hatchback has had the Jekyll and Hyde treatment.

But this meaner-stuff makeover has been handled with kid-gloved care, to produce a five-door hatchback that combines potent performance with an easy-to-manage manner, giving it the same day-to-day practicality as every model in the popular range.

What lies at the heart of this mini-beast is a brilliant new engine from Skoda’s parent Volkswagen Audi Group.

It might be only 1.4 litres in capacity, but the push and pull of both a supercharger and turbocharger allows the four-cylinder TSI unit to pump out 180 horsepower, making it by far the most powerful engine ever offered in a production Fabia.

It gives the hatchback a 0-62mph time of 7.3 seconds and a potential top speed of double the legal UK maximum. Drive sensibly and you should be able to squeeze 44 miles out of every unleaded gallon.

The advanced technology extends beyond the engine to the slick, seven-speed, automatic gearbox, which on the test model could also be operated from a pair of paddles fitted to the three-spoke, leather-trimmed steering wheel.

Electronics also play a significant part in ensuring this Fabia’s potency is kept calmly under control. Thus a string of systems, including anti-lock brakes, electronic stability driver and traction control keep the Fabia agile and safe.

The car’s cornering ability is also improved by an electronic differential, that improves cornering traction by braking the inside front wheel when accelerating through corners, transferring torque to the outside wheel.

The Fabia vRS also has a hill-hold control, that holds the car for a couple of seconds while starting on a steep slope. Electronic tyre pressure monitoring is also standard.

The car certainly looks the part, with a rear spoiler, a new front spoiler with integrated LED lights, grille-mounted vRS logo and red brake callipers, twin exhausts and tinted windows. You can also push the sporty boat out with a coloured roof – white, black or silver – and alloy wheels in black or white.

From the instrumentation and switchgear at the front to the cleverly laid-out bootspace, the interior of the air-conditioned, cruise-controlled Fabia is smart, well-equipped and well thought-out.

The downside of riding on a set of admittedly-pretty 17in Gigaro alloys is that you feel just about every bump and dip in the road, and the low-profile Continental tyres suck up a serious amount of road noise at speed.

But sitting in a huggy, height-adjustable, vRS-badged sports seat, you might just decide that’s an acceptable price to pay for a sporting ride, taut handling and distinctive looks and sound. Oh, and if you want even more space to match the scary pace, there is even an estate version.