Friends bought diesel Rabbits in the early '80s. I took a trip with one once; they had to look for diesel at gas stations. I think it was cheaper, as well as delivered more miles to the gallon. I worried about small engines withstanding the high compression. My survey of the current market shows no small diesels in the US but some overseas. And almost every gas station has diesel now and it’s more expensive. Is this a result of pollution restriction? Or something else?
The advantage of a small vehicle powered by a diesel engine was always to bit of a stretch. When the price of diesel fuel started rising (in the 1990’s?), that small advantage disappeared!
If I am not mistaken it looks like 2019 was the last year for passenger cars, hatchbacks, compact & midsized crossovers and SUV’s in the USA for diesel engines…
And looks like midsized Jeeps and trucks diesel engines ended in 2022/2023…
Ford and Dodge ended their small diesels in 2021 & 2023, GM/Chevy still offers a baby diesel in it’s 1/2 ton trucks…
My theory is Hybrids pushed out most all small Diesel vehicles for various reasons, and one of the reasons is there just not enough of a market for them anymore…
That is one big reason. The equipment required to meet emissions is expensive and a bit of a headache to maintain. It also hurts fuel economy. Combine that with the price of diesel fuel and it not longer makes economic sense to sell them here. I doubt the big SUVs and pickups that are available with diesel engines are selling that well right now.