This thing’s a gas — literally. Meet one of the rarest machines to hit B.C.’s roads, the fuel cell powered Hyundai Tucson.
It’s the first fuel cell vehicle available to Canadian consumers, an ordinary-looking crossover with an enormous amount of technology hidden under the skin. You fuel the Tucson FCEV with hydrogen gas, which it then converts to water and electricity. There are no emissions of any kind apart from water vapour.
Pretty interesting stuff, but there are a few drawbacks. There’s a reason you probably haven’t seen a Tucson FCEV out and about; there are just two currently in the hands of private customers according to Hyundai, and just one single fuelling station located in Surrey.
This is an early adopter vehicle, a unique driving experience that’s maybe a hint at what the future might hold. Hit the push-button starter and let’s check out Hyundai’s crystal ball on wheels.
Design:
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the Tucson FCEV is how ordinary it looks. Both Honda and Toyota also offer fuel cell vehicles, but those machines look like nothing else on the road. They’re all wheel spats and Blade Runner styling; the Hyundai is basically just a Tucson with a few “Fuel Cell” badges.
For the most part, that’s a good thing. The current Tucson is a nicely-sized vehicle with a few upscale touches like HID headlights and LED accents. Hyundai hasn’t had to alter their car much to get the unusual powertrain to fit, so the FCEV looks as sensible as any other smallish crossover.
But maybe that’s not such a great thing. If you’re going to go for a future tech ride, maybe you want something that lets people know you’re driving the kind of machine that makes a Tesla look commonplace. Converting a standard Tucson to fuel cell power cuts down on Hyundai’s development costs, but it doesn’t exactly thrill from the curb.
Environment:
However, the FCEV’s ordinary exterior houses an interior that’s quite sensible. The kidney-bean shaped hydrogen pressure tank has scalloped a bit of room out of the rear trunk, as well as eliminating the spare tire (you get an inflation kit instead), but other than that, this car is exactly as practical as any other Tucson.
The seats fold down. There’s enough space out back for a large rear-facing car-seat. Both driver and passenger have decent head and leg room and the seats are comfortable.
The only real criticism here is that the redesigned 2016 Tucson is on the way and it’s got a number of improvements to brighten up the interior. The FCEV’s insides tend a bit towards the spartan, although there’s proper connectivity and a simply excellent navigation system.
Performance:
A fuel cell is a sort of tiramisu of power extraction. Hydrogen gas enters the cell, here about the size of a normal four-cylinder engine and passes through a number of membranous layers. It reacts with oxygen in the air to form water as a by-product and the electrons shed in the process are captured and used to power an electric motor to propel the car.
It’s a nearly noiseless process, making the Tucson FCEV ghost off the line without a squeak.
Like many electric cars, horsepower figures are quite modest – the FCEV has just 134hp to shove around 1900 kilograms of crossover – but the off the line torque is excellent at 211lb-ft.
As a result, the Tucson FCEV makes for an ideal urban runabout. The run to 40km is quite zippy, it’s got enough space to carry kids and cargo without being too big to squeeze into a narrow parking space and the tall ride height lets the driver judge traffic flow more easily.
Perhaps this is the reason the FCEV doesn’t have any cruise control. It’s capable of easy highway travel, but with a claimed range of 426kms and a single refuelling point, it’s not a roadtrip machine. You could easily pop up the valley to pick some tulips, but forget about that Big White ski trip.
Refuelling the FCEV is very easy. Simply attach the connector at the pump, key in your PIN, and with a huff and a psst of escaping gas, the tank is recharged. It takes no more than 10 minutes for the whole process and you’re on your way.
This is the great advantage and drawback of fuel cell vehicles – they’re easy to recharge, but the infrastructure isn’t there yet to make it a practical choice for everyone.
However, Hyundai reportedly has folks lined up around the block to check one out. You have to apply and then can lease the car for $599 per month over three years with $3600 down. B.C.’s green vehicle rebates will shortly reduce that to $529/mo and zero down.
It’s not a perfect technology, not without the supporting infrastructure, but with B.C.’s available clean hydroelectric power, the Tucson FCEV might just be the toehold fuel cell vehicles need to get established.
Features:
The FCEV comes with most of the features of a well-equipped Tucson, including heated seats, Bluetooth handsfree and USB connectivity. The lack of cruise control is a little odd, but the satellite navigation is as-mentioned excellent and easy to use.
Hyundai includes free hydrogen fuelling (the station is located at Powertech labs in Surrey) as well as valet service and covers scheduled maintenance. If the range works, it’s a rather painless vehicle to own.
Green Light:
Clean-running, easy to fuel, very practical, good navigation.
Stop Sign:
Ordinary looking, lack of infrastructure, very limited availability.
The Checkered Flag:
Still just in beta testing mode, but a glimpse of the future that’s easy to live with.
