65mpg Volkswagen hybrid car seats five and no tax

With much of the talk at this week’s Detroit Motor Show focused on electric-only vehicles, the new Volkswagen Compact Coupe Concept gave a tantalising glimpse of the performance and fuel efficiency possible from a hybrid car driven by a petrol engine working in tandem with a battery-powered electric motor.

Sub 100g/km motoring

The VW Compact Coupe combines a 148bhp 1.4-litre petrol engine and a 26.6bhp electric motor to give a top speed of 141mph and a combined fuel consumption of 67.2mpg.

CO₂ emissions are an impressive 98g/km and would make the car exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED) – better known as road tax.

VW has given no indication over whether the Compact Coupe concept will go into production.