Welcome home, tasdrouille. (I see you got out of town for the start of the 400th anniversary fete
)
I have a friend with a new Jetta (2 years old) - don't know if it qualifies as "cleaner" diesel or not, but I don't notice either the smell or the typical diesel sound from his car.
However I occasionally walk/bike past a city bus stop where the small diesel buses are sometimes left idling, and the fumes are awful.