69 MPG VW Golf TDI Hybrid threatens Prius?

It looks like someone is finally threatening Toyota's hybrid mileage supremacy. Well, that is, unless you count the Honda Insight, which no one seems to.

VW has gone ahead and approved its Jetta diesel hybrid concept, hoping to turn the car into a legitimate Prius competitor. The car will likely be roomier and zippier than the Prius, both advantages coming from its use of diesel instead of gasoline.

Diesel, which contains more energy per gallon and also produces less CO₂, can improve mileage significantly on its own. Adding a hybrid component to the car really moves up mileage numbers.

Unfortunately, diesels require advanced and expensive engines to keep pollutant emissions low. VW already charges $2,000 extra for its diesel models. Add onto that the cost of regenerative braking and a hybrid drive train and suddenly this car is looking out of range.

While the Prius manages to come in at a reasonable $25,000, it's likely that the Golf TDI is going to break $30k while being the sort of car people are used to paying a lot less for.

Of course, there are no real numbers on price yet, but AutoBlogGreen has speculated that this high price is going to keep the cars confined to Europe, at least for the first few years of the TDI hybrid's life. European emissions standards are higher and people there are used to paying for diesels.

Via AutoBlogGreen