Old diesels were filthy. Modern diesels are not filthy and were momentarily the "king of high tech" until the hybrids came along and dethroned them.
Much as the anti-electric car (paid?) brigade goes nuts about how every red blooded american needs to drive more than 500 miles without taking a break or else the car is totally useless for everyone and will never sell, the anti-diesel people living in Florida will rant and rave about how hard it is to start a diesel engine in -30F weather with a nearly dead battery. There's an american tradition that you never replace your starting battery until it literally 0 volts and won't start the car at all, no matter how annoying it is or expensive tow trucks are or how expensive it is to burn out starter motors or how inconvenient; given that, the user experience of the last 1/3 or so of battery life for diesels is much worse than gas cars.
Another common stereotype is euro car replacement parts are just like detroit replacement parts coming from the same factory in China yet mysteriously the euro car parts cost 3 to 10 times as much. Note that its not true, BMW brake rotors cost the same as Lexus brake rotors, but it is a common perception.
If diesel hybrids were superior to gasoline hybrids, they would already be a thing.
As it stands, diesel engines are fairly incompatible with hybrid technology. The primary driver for fuel economy improvement with a hybrid is the ability to turn the engine off for periods of time. Diesel engines do not handle start-stop very well, as they are much more temperature sensitive. Other optimizations, such as Akinson cycle engines, also cannot be applied to diesel engines with any benefit.
Diesel fuel economy shines the most on the the highway. But highway fuel economy for a Prius is already quite good. It's unlikely that you would find a diesel hatchback of its size that returns better highway economy from the same amount of HP.
There's really nothing to be gained from a diesel hybrid.
"Old diesels were filthy. Modern diesels are not filthy and were momentarily the "king of high tech" until the hybrids came along and dethroned them."
Maybe, but even the nicest, newest diesels are still aesthetic abominations.
I just walked past a gleaming brand new porsche cayenne diesel and it sounds like a chitty-chitty-bang-bang set piece.
If you're a sound designer and you need to evoke low-tech, rattle-trap primitives, you could do a lot worse than just record a new diesel porsche/bmw/audi.
Also, vibration, as compared to similar gasoline engines (and this is also true for the diesel-like gasoline engines that utilize things like TFSI ... much more vibration than the corresponding non-TFSI engine).
Depends on context - over here (north Europe), diesels may be more a symbol of wealth than a gasoline engine. Gas guzzlers are prole, for people who have furry dice in the rear view mirror and silly "vocational school mustache".
Compare that to your statement about "smaller petrol engines" for which your example is Macan Turbo 3.6L engine. Over here, such an engine is ridiculously large and almost stupid.
A small, efficient petrol engine over here is something like a 1.0 litre turbocharged gas engine in a Ford Mondeo.
Much as the anti-electric car (paid?) brigade goes nuts about how every red blooded american needs to drive more than 500 miles without taking a break or else the car is totally useless for everyone and will never sell, the anti-diesel people living in Florida will rant and rave about how hard it is to start a diesel engine in -30F weather with a nearly dead battery. There's an american tradition that you never replace your starting battery until it literally 0 volts and won't start the car at all, no matter how annoying it is or expensive tow trucks are or how expensive it is to burn out starter motors or how inconvenient; given that, the user experience of the last 1/3 or so of battery life for diesels is much worse than gas cars.
Another common stereotype is euro car replacement parts are just like detroit replacement parts coming from the same factory in China yet mysteriously the euro car parts cost 3 to 10 times as much. Note that its not true, BMW brake rotors cost the same as Lexus brake rotors, but it is a common perception.