How does the Golf TDI compare with Hybrid Electric vehicles?
I support all efforts to decrease petroleum fuel consumption and think that hybrid electric vehicles are an important step in this direction. However, Hybrid electric is an expensive and unproven technology compared to the simplicity of the diesel engine which has been time tested for over 100 years. Cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid are great cars, but who knows how their exotic and expensive hybrid components will hold up over time? What will it cost to replace the batteries for example? Diesel engines routinely last for hundreds of thousands of miles and the Golf offers the added benefit of running biodiesel and/or vegetable oil, the ultimate green fuel. Plus, the Golf offers the thrill of fahrfergnugen – a car designed and engineered for the joy of driving. The Japanese cars are relatively dull to drive by comparison. On the plus side for Hybrid Electric Vehicles is the fact that they do very well in stop-and-go urban traffic. Diesel engines perform better on long t
