Best way to go, IMO, is a Diesel/Electric hybrid. That is, though, that the batteries can be wall charged as well as regenerated during operation. Today's diesels are super efficient and will smell better with the mandates for ultra-low sulfur diesel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-low_sulfur_diesel . They are much more silent than they once were, and they no longer smell. I believe the latest Mercedes diesel was reportedly 30% more efficient than its petrol counterpart.
About my speil about allowing the car to be wall-charged, it is because home energy comes in at about 10cents/Kw, thus, it is much cheaper. For daily commutes, the driver can rely solely on the battery that was charged overnight (much like the electric-only mode found on european Prius's).
The US might get a diesel/electric hybrid car soon, but having an electric-only mode will not be readily available since hybrid car's batteries are required to last 8 years.