Someday soon, a couple of trendy downtown lofties — probably wearing clothes made from milk jugs — will name their first-born hipster “Hybrid.”

It’s got to happen.

Hybrids achieved critical mass in the past few years, showering us with the cool sparks of new green hype.

Heck, pop icons Bill and Hillary might even create a hybrid hip-hop or something. Tweet me on some hash thing as soon as the video’s up on Spacebook.

As you probably know, both Porsche and Ferrari recently introduced six-figure ultra-exotics that employ 700-plus horsepower hybrid powertrains.

And now Volkswagen, the king of Euro diesels, has also decided to go mildly electric — just as Bob Dylan did nearly 50 years ago.

Like Dylan, VW’s 2013 Jetta Hybrid is different and pretty darn good.

Volkswagen, which puts some priority on performance and driving dynamics, relies on a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-banger for its gas engine in the new Jetta, supplemented by a 27-horsepower electric motor.

The result is 170 combined horsepower — nearly 40 more than the Prius — and fuel economy of 42 mpg in the city and 48 on the highway.

That’s not quite as green as the Prius’ 51/48, but Volkswagen gets extra points for not using a continuously variable transmission in its hybrid.

Rather than make drivers suffer with a dull, droning CVT — as most mainstream automakers do — VW bolted its electric motor between the engine and a real seven-speed automatic.

Push the Jetta Hybrid hard, and it actually runs to 60 in 7.9 seconds, shifting real gears as it goes, according to Motor Trend. That’s about 2 seconds quicker than a Prius.

Not that you’d guess it looking at the Jetta’s vanilla, resolutely conventional exterior.

My metallic tan Jetta looked like something an insurance agent might drive to a book club meeting.

But as UPS knows, some fairly exciting stuff arrives in plain envelopes.

Here’s the deal: If my choices in a Jetta were the mediocre 2.5-liter five-cylinder version or the new hybrid, I’d find the extra 10 grand for the hybrid somewhere.

Like all good hybrids, the Jetta will crawl through traffic silently, shuffling along at 5 mph or so solely on the power of the electric motor.

And it goes through that automatic start-stop exercise at every red light, turning itself off when your foot is on the brake and instantly springing back to life when you lift.

But when the street clears, step hard on the gas.

Although hardly fast, the Hybrid surged eagerly at about 2,500 rpm as its little turbo huffed up the gas engine.

The engine gets additional boost in the midrange from the electric motor.

As a result, this is a hybrid that feels as if it really could go 100 mph, accelerating smoothly and with a fair amount of lust.

It should be comfortable at speed. The front-wheel-drive Hybrid is the only Jetta other than the sporty GLI to get independent rear suspension.

Consequently, the car doesn’t handle like a conventional hybrid, turning pretty eagerly into corners with reasonably good balance.

With 3,300 pounds to lug — inflated by batteries and other hybrid paraphernalia — the Jetta is certainly not GTI-crisp.

But it seizes corners with minimal lean and holds a reasonably good line through them, limited mostly by its hard, hybrid tires.

I really didn’t care much for the grabby, overly sensitive regenerative brakes, which help recharge the car’s battery pack but required a mighty light foot, I thought.

The Jetta also coasts freely when you lift off the accelerator, with the transmission momentarily decoupled from the engine to save fuel. It’s a fairly odd sensation, kind of like being in a four-door soap-box racer.

Volkswagen bills the Jetta as a “hybrid for turbo fans.”

And it might be. At the very least, VW built a hybrid that reflects its values and personality — and not some tepid cover of a conventional Toyota hybrid. Think of it as indie-label hybrid.

2013 Volkswagon Jetta Hybrid

Base price: $24,995

As tested: $30,155

Type: Five-passenger, four-door, front-wheel-drive midsize sedan

Engine: 1.4-liter direct-injected, turbocharged four and electric motor with a total of 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque

Mileage: 42 mpg city, 48 mpg highway