James Tate heads to Germany to drive the world's ultimate hybrid that, unfortunately, we'll never be able to buy.
Before driving the Volkswagen XL1, I heard one journalist after another rant about how ridiculously loud it was as each got out of the cockpit. And the truth is, yeah, it’s a little noisy when the diesel engine kicks on.
It’s sort of like puttering around a lake in a small outboard motorboat. Believe me, you'll get over it. This diesel-electric plug-in hybrid gets 261 mpg on the European cycle, whichVolkswagen says makes the XL1 the most efficient production car in the world.
These journalists had me thinking it was like a Colombian drug submarine in there, and it’s just not. It’s a little noisy, but what were you expecting from a 2-cylinder diesel engine that’s a stressed member, mounted a couple feet behind your head? There’s the occasional vibration, too – for you racy types, think of it as what your car feels like with stiffer engine mounts.
But around town, you’re going to be in electric mode, which is good for about 31 miles of driving on the car's 5.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, which needs about an hour and a half to recharge on 220 volts. In other words, you ain’t gonna be paying much for your daily commute.
autos.msn.com
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