I saw some info on the new 2008 VW BlueMotion TDI Golf/Jetta. VW is rating it at 52MPG. That's a 10MPG increase over the current TDI
And I'll bet you can squeeze 60MPG+ out of it on the highway if you try hard. The article was predicting that VW is going to lose the diesel game in North America to Honda if they don't start marketing (I don't think I've ever seen a VW diesel commercial on TV?). Apparently Honda has a diesel assault planned soon.
Denis - my TDI's are company vehicles. 1 is mine, the other 2 are my employees' vehicles. We each drive 60-70K per year. The 10,000 mile oil change interval helps some.
BTW: I was in traffic with a Smart car today in Detroit. Those things look even smaller when in traffic. Think golf cart.