Only a few weeks after the Fabia VRs hatch went on sale, Skoda dealers can now offer prospective buyers the estate version. That’s right, a Fabia VRs estate.

For a £800 premium it has the same 178bhp twin-charged engine and DSG paddle-shift transmission as its sibling, but adds about 25cm in length and has more than 60% extra boot space over the hatch.

That means buyers could happily plonk a springer spaniel in the back before racing down to the woods at up to twice the legal speed limit.

It’s an unusual combination, and one which will entice only a few customers; those who desire a car that is fairly staid looking and practical yet can belt along the B-roads when they’re in the right mood.

Thankfully, Skoda UK is realistic and expects only 150 or so of these hot estates to be sold annually. Presumably a few might go to the nation’s police fleets, which have already become fans of the bigger Octavia VRs in estate and hatch forms. It could be their ideal unmarked urban patrol car.