Introduction
Futuristic 2019 Hyundai Nexo Showcases the Company's Technological Prowess
Overview
Hyundai's Nexo stands out from the emerging wave of electric cars by being a limited-production fuel-cell vehicle—essentially an electric vehicle that produces its power onboard and has water as its only emission.
The Nexo doesn't come cheap, starting at $58,300, but that cost is in line with other fuel-cell vehicles. Buyers (in California) can choose to lease a Nexo Limited for $499 per month. Hyundai says it will give buyers $13,000 worth of hydrogen to help with the high price of the fuel. Without that incentive, the price of a kilogram of hydrogen (the equivalent of about a gallon of gas) ranges from $13 to $16.
CR won't be buying one for a formal test, given the Nexo’s limited availability (it’s sold in only California metro areas) and the sparse refueling infrastructure for hydrogen. Instead, we rented one from Hyundai.
We spent a couple of weeks driving the Nexo, and we’re impressed with its driving range, ride quality, and self-parking ability.
The Nexo drives much like an EV—smooth, quiet, and responsive. The electricity is generated via a chemical reaction of hydrogen interacting with oxygen in the fuel cells. A traditional EV requires hours of recharging to get fully charged, but a fuel-cell vehicle can replenish its hydrogen in a few minutes from a pump. However, these special pumps are rare in the U.S.
Don’t be misled by the motor’s 161-hp rating. Instead, drivers feel the impressive 291 pound-feet of torque that enable the Nexo to glide forward with immediate, near-silent thrust. A high-voltage battery augments the fuel-cell-generated power when swift acceleration is called for, and that battery stores energy recouped from braking and coasting, just as a hybrid vehicle does.
The Nexo holds 14 pounds of hydrogen in three cylindrical tanks tucked under the rear seat and cargo area. Hyundai says with that amount of storage, the lavishly equipped Limited version will have 354 miles of range. That works out to the equivalent of about 56 mpg.