Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell long-term test: an attention-grabbing eco car

The name should give you some clues: the ix35 preceded the Hyundai Tucson, which was deemed to be such an overhaulthatitdeservedawhole new personality. That means the ix35 – off sale in regular form in 2015 – looks and feels a bit dated on the inside. There are more hard plastics than you might imagine and the switchgear is short on some finesse.

Frankly, though, as a parent of two under-10s, I quite like that it is pretty hard-wearing inside, and I have few quibbles with the seat comfort or ease of use of the sat-nav and infotainment system, the two interior qualities I value most highly. That said, the interior is a league behind that found in the hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai and there is an argument that a cutting-edge car ought to feel it.

Perhaps more strikingly, the steering wheel is on the ‘wrong’ side. There’s no economic sense in producing right-hand-drive cars for so few sales so it’s a compromise with which buyers must live, Hyundai says.

After a settling-in period, I’ve not found it to be much of an issue.

Beyond that, the boot space is mildly reduced by the presence of the fuel cell in the back. Although the official stats put it at 436 litres (155 litres down on the standard ix35), it hasn’t stopped me using the boot once.

All in, then, like all electric vehicles, the futuristic bits you can’t see do little to detract from the fact that this remains a car-like car, albeit with environmental benefits and the joys of instant torque and near-silent travel. The ix35 makes for decent family transport and I could well see it as a practical delivery car or taxi, should the powertrain-I-can’t- mention – tax benefits and all – make more business sense when weighed against the asking price.

Price £53,105 (after £4500 gov’t grant) Price as tested £53,105 Economy na Faults None Expenses None

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There’s a slight step up in the ix35’s boot floor. It’s necessary to accommodate the 104-litre hydrogen tank. If you could still buy an ix35, you’d compare the standard car with this one and note the reduction in boot space from 591 litres to 436 litres. As it is, I’ve yet to discover a situation in which the ix35 FCV can’t cope, even when carrying four people and their luggage.

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Chances are you know that a hydrogen fuel cell car produces only one tailpipe emission – water. And 
if you didn’t know, you soon would 
if you followed me in the ix35 FCV, with its side graphics and pertinent rear window statement, as well as an occasional but pronounced expulsion of water from the tailpipe. 

But the ix35 also purifies the air as it travels along, collecting harmful particulates and trapping them as a byproduct of the process of generating electricity via the hydrogen fuel stack’s inner workings. Keep the filters, humidifier and fuel cell stack properly serviced, and you can have a positive impact on local air quality. 

To demonstrate this, Hyundai â€¨has produced a video that involves filling a giant polythene ball with 
air, topping it up with a mixture of particulate pollutants of various sizes to match the equivalent of what a typical human would breathe in over 100 years and then sucking them through the ix35 FCV’s system. 

The expelled air is pumped out of the tailpipe into another polythene ball, which the firm’s senior R&D representative then sticks his head in and inhales enthusiastically. Bar water vapour, it’s entirely clean – and further proof that environmentally friendly transport needn’t be a myth. 

Price £53,105 (after £4500 gov’t grant) Price as tested £53,105 Economy na Faults None Expenses None Last seen 8.2.17 

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The limitation of hydrogen fuel cells

The Hyundai is a remarkable car thanks to its hydrogen fuel cell, yet it is positively unremarkable to live with. For all the technical wizardry going on out of sight, I am going from A to B with scarcely a care in the world.

With the refuelling infrastructure in its infancy, there is the issue of range anxiety, but even that’s hardly an issue. I can comfortably get 200 miles from a tank, so I haven’t ventured beyond the Heathrow and Teddington fuel stations in southwest London. But should I need to, existing fuelling stations make trips to the south coast, west Wales or as far north as Sheffield possible.

But there are barriers, because, as with battery-electric cars’ charging points, not all fuelling stations are run by the same people or on the same terms. You need to pre-plan journeys and make sure you’re registered to access the fuelling stations, and therein lies an infrastructure challenge that needs addressing. I’ve no doubt the issue is holding back EV adoption, and it has the same potential to restrict the uptake of hydrogen cars.

Likewise, I’ve had to adapt to how the ix35 uses fuel. As you’d expect, as speeds rise, so does consumption. In Eco mode at 60mph on the motorway, it uses fuel pretty much as indicated – a mile for a mile – but go faster and it drains exponentially. The same is true of other EVs and, in truth, fossil fuel cars. Mentally adjusting to this has taken time, but there’s an argument that all drivers would do well to learn the lesson of haste versus speed and the economical and environmental benefits of it.

Refuelling is now second nature. It takes about seven minutes from activating the security gates to leaving again and, clanking and chugging of the pump aside, it’s very similar to refuelling the old-school way, and the per-mile cost is working out at the equivalent of about 60mpg.