Remember the 2022 Vision EQXX concept from Mercedes that showcased an exciting and efficient new future? Here comes Volkswagen with its own version of the car that uses tech from the new ID.Polo to use as little electricity as possible. 

This car is called ‘Mission Efficiency’, or what VW terms “the world’s most efficient near-production car”. 

Any other car like this would just be a plain old concept, but this tortuous description does have some merit – the Mission Efficiency uses bits and pieces from Volkswagen’s road cars to hammer home the point that its impressive efficiency is more or less achievable. 

The Mission Efficiency just drove a sniff under 800 miles (1,278km to be precise) from VW’s Wolfsburg HQ in northeast Germany to Austrian capital Vienna via Poland and the Czech Republic. 

Though if efficiency really was the game, the trip could have been done in 485 miles by going down the E55 to Prague. Just for next time. 

Still, the car managed an efficiency of 8.3m/kWh during the trip and the 54.9kWh (usable) battery only had to be charged up once. 

The Mission Efficiency has a 138hp motor and uses the same front-wheel-drive platform from the new ID.Polo and ID.Cross models. 

The body has been designed to be as lightweight and aero efficient as possible – VW says the car has a drag coefficient of 0.158, which is better than the EQXX concept car and not too far off a smooth pebble. 

And a smooth pebble famously doesn’t come with four seats and a 481-litre boot. 

Not everything on the car has come from a production model, though – like the 370W of solar panels on the roof and back window (that can generate up to 19 miles of range [30km] a day), or the ‘concept’ tyre developed especially for the Mission Efficiency by tyre firm Continental. 

The bodywork panels have been formed from aluminium and high-tech plastic. 

So when Volkswagen says that the Mission Efficiency is ‘near-production’ does that mean that the car is indeed near production? Er, no. Sadly not. (Check out our list of actual production cars that are quite efficient...)

Much as we’d love one of these, it doesn’t appear to be going into production – at least not while Volkswagen has its own Mission Efficiency going on internally, at any rate.