From Denver To D.C.: The VW Twin Can Do It On A Single Tank

Imagine a road trip from the Mile High City to the capital of the U.S. You and three other people, in for the long haul, trekking across the beautiful Midwest, through the Rust Belt, and winding up in the richly cultured and historic East Coast for a stop to see the landmarks of D.C. Now imagine that you could do it all on a single tank of fuel.

Thanks to the brilliant minds plugging away at Volkswagen, the car to make cross-country trips affordable is here: the Twin-Up prototype. It’s the ultimate city car.

Complete with four doors, a 7.2-gallon fuel tank, an 800cc two-cylinder paired with an electric motor, and the capability of traveling close to 1900 miles at a go, road trips seem a lot more alluring and possible thanks to this new subcompact. Sure, it’s only got 74hp to speak of, but for the amazing tradeoff of mind-boggling fuel economy (257mpg), while also preaching the diesel evangel, the Twin-Up looks to be one hell of a cool little car.

A “First Drive” report from the guys at Top Gear demonstrates that the car is indeed not just a smoke-and-mirrors scam: “It’ll give you 50 miles before draining the TwinUp’s 8.6kWh lithium-ion battery.”

“And if you need more shove, you simply call on the cheery diesel twin, which wakes up unobtrusively and emits the happiest of putters under heavy load. The two power sources combine seamlessly together to deliver more than enough go for suburban schlepping, and eliminate that pesky range anxiety suffered by owners of electric-only cars.”

The review goes on to state that the car will comfortably seat actual human beings, with the battery placed near the rear axle to offer better legroom to the occupants. VW is still debating whether or not to approve the Twin-Up’s production, but rumors tell us that 2016 will likely be the soonest we can hear more about this issue.

Is this car the wave of the future? Or just a flash in the pan? Give your two cents below in the comments section.