By Bill Wilson
It’s enough to make libertarians like Adam Smith turn
over in their graves. The US federal government’s latest regulations
mandate that vehicles sold in the US will have to average 54.5 MPG by
2025. While some companies are chafing under the burden, VW has taken a
different approach, in essence saying, “Hah! Not good enough; how about
260 MPGe right now?” That is the level of fuel economy projected for the
XL1, the German automaker’s addition to the so-called “hybrid hypercar” class of vehicles.
The “1” in the car’s name stands for its 1-liter (62 CID) engine, which combines the time-tested reliability of diesel with hybrid efficiency to squeeze every possible ounce of propulsion out of each drop of fuel. The XL1 can go 32 miles purely on batteries, after which the internal combustion kicks in. Even in that mode the car is expected to achieve 120 MPG, more than doubling the goals set by Uncle Sam’s CAFÉ standards and doing so more than a decade ahead of the deadline. Production of commercial models is scheduled to begin in late 2013. If you’ve been looking for a way to get even with the oil companies, then this is the chance you’ve been waiting for.
Not that the savings won’t come with a price, of course. The XL1 will never be a family vehicle, unless by “family” you mean either two adults or one grown-up and a couple bags of groceries. Speed tops out at around 100 MPH, but forget drag racing unless you’re going up against Junior’s moped. The XL1 will go from 0-60 in a not-so-blinding 11.9 seconds.
Despite these limitations, the prospect of a car that can travel 500 miles on less than 4 gallons of gas is worth giving up a few amenities for. The XL1 may not be all things to all people, but for those who are deadly serious about fuel economy, it will certainly be a welcome addition to VW’s outstanding product line.
PHOTOS: See more of the 2013 Volkswagen XL1
oped: Sorry VW being the price range is at 100K you have a very limited market on this vehicle...anyone who can afford a 100K vehicle is not concerned with gas mileage...those who are can't afford this vehicle...what you now have is a catch 22!
Popular Mechanics Test Drive rating: sorry it needs a lot more work to make it cost effective and desirable to the general public:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/drives/2013-volkswagen-xl1-test-drive-15175417
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