While in LA for the Los Angeles Auto Show, General Motors invited Leftlane to drive its Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell vehicle. Our test car came from the fleet of 100 vehicles that GM will put in the hands of drivers from southern California, New York City and Washington D.C. for three months in the largest test of hydrogen vehicles to date.
The exterior of the hydrogen-powered Equinox has been slightly modified compared to its gas-powered counter part, but the alterations are subtle — aside from the unique Glacier Gold paint scheme and water molecule graphics — and could be missed at first glance. Up front, the fuel cell Equinox receives a custom front bumper that includes more air intakes to aid in the cooling of the hydrogen powertrain. The new intakes also give the Equinox a bit of flash as GM decided to dress them up with carbon fiber and chrome.
The rear of the SUV uses a new diffuser — once again clad in carbon fiber and chrome — that features four vents for the vehicles only emission — water droplets. Other than these two changes, the hydrogen Equinox is pretty much visually the same as the one currently in Chevrolet showrooms.
The interior of the Equinox has a few more changes, but really nothing radical. In the cargo area, the fuel cell Equinox has an added hump just behind the second row of seats — to accommodate the hydrogen drivetrain — but also has a small, in-floor storage area. The second row of seats does away with the center seat in favor of cup holders, reducing seating to four. A badge on the gear shifter reminds you that you’re driving a hydrogen vehicle and an LCD screen incorporated into the center stack reveals what’s going on in the inter-workings of the hydrogen system. The standard Equinox’s tachometer has been replace with a kilowatts gauge — the green section indicating energy harnessed by the car’s regenerative braking system — and the fuel gauge sports an H.
On the road, the hydrogen Equinox is surprisingly zippy and is remarkably quite. The instant torque of the electric motor can really be felt in the 0-40 mph range and doesn’t give up too much above that mark. The hydrogen system does away with a conventional transmission and actually connects the drive wheels to the propulsion system. The result is a feeling very similar to a CVT. Power delivery is smooth and very linear. GM’s official 0-60 time for the hydrogen Equinox is 12 seconds, but one GM official said that the actual time is closer to 8 seconds — something that our seat-of-the-pants meter supports. The official continued by saying that GM timed that 12 second run with a vehicle nearing the end of its battery stack’s life cycle — which is about 10,000 hours — resulting in the slower-than-typical time. That same GM official said that they had personally topped the 110 mph mark in the fuel cell Equinox.
Despite the hydrogen powertrain, the Equinox drove and handled like any other road-going vehicle. It didn’t feel any heavier than its gasoline counterpart and despite all of the SUV’s systems running electronically instead of off a serpentine belt — such as the power steering — nothing felt or acted differently. The only real difference between driving a hydrogen Equinox and an Equinox is that the hydrogen car’s brakes grab a bit more, due to the regenerative braking system.
GM claims the hydrogen Equinox is good for a 160 mile range and gets the equivalent of 39 miles to the gallon — well short of the Honda FCX Clarity’s 270 mile range and 68 mpg. But the Equinox offers some things the Clarity doesn’t such as plenty of room for four people and all of their gear. While the hydrogen Equinox is not officially a production vehicle, packaging a hydrogen drivetrain in its familiar and usable body could prove to be key in getting the public to accept the new technology.
Fueling the hydrogen Equinox’s 4.2 kg tank takes between 5 and 15 minutes — depending on the fueling station — and requires a hydrogen hookup as well as an electronic one. The electronic connection monitors fueling conditions to prevent any disasters and will soon be replaced with a wireless unit.
Overall, the hydrogen Equinox is a very impressive package and is well ahead of where most people think the hydrogen car is. It does everything you would expect from a vehicle and its only real drawback is a lack of a fueling infrastructure. Honda’s FCX Clarity seems to be slightly ahead of GM’s program, but both are well on their way. If engineers can find a way to make hydrogen more accessible, look for hydrogen cars to be readily available to the general public within the next 15-20 years.
11/19, 2:06 PM
posted by:
injunraiv
Nah, it will never work…
11/19, 2:17 PM
posted by:
snoboardguy21
Exterior changes… how about the fact that it has a completely different grill and the headlights from a Torrent?
11/19, 2:24 PM
posted by:
LP640
OH LOOK ITS GM’S BRAINCHILD. THIS THING AINT WORTH THE SCRAP METAL ITS MADE OUT OF
11/19, 2:26 PM
posted by:
SwerveEarly
This is getting interesting. diesels, hybrids, fuel-cell, who is going to win. This is more exciting then the Beta vs VHS debate, or blu ray vs whatever, or WII vs X-box. It will have a tremendous impact on the future of transportation and power.
11/19, 2:43 PM
posted by:
kosai03
Very nice
11/19, 2:44 PM
posted by:
Brendino
It seems like hydrogen might actually be the future:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071112/ts_alt_afp/ussciencefuel;_ylt=AtsR4CkLSeNTGh1IRTTG0jkDW7oF
check this out.
11/19, 2:49 PM
posted by:
driver54
OH LOOK, I CAN WRITE IN CAPS AND SAY THAT EVERYTHING IS WORTHLESS.
11/19, 2:59 PM
posted by:
rompn4x
Yeah just disregard LP’s pointless pro Eurotrash comments. At least America is ahead of the game with Hydrogen.
11/19, 3:06 PM
posted by:
LP640
^driver54 WE ALREADY KNOW ALL YOUR COMMENTS ARE WORTHLESS BUT THANKS FOR THE REMINDER
11/19, 3:29 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
Haha, LP640 is coming completely unhinged. He can’t say anything constructive, so his remarks are whittled down to “OMG WORTHLESS POS PISS OFF GM”. Awesome.
As for the fuel cell Equinox, looks pretty kick-ass. I like the numbers. I’ll be the first to admit I was skeptical about the whole hydrogen thing, but GM and a few other manufacturers are making it work. GM and BMW in particular. Honda rolled out their token compact as usual, but GM and BMW have made it work on a larger scale. Emissions-neutral and high-efficiency SUVs (Equinox) and full-size sedans (7-series)? Pretty cool.
11/19, 3:36 PM
posted by:
frylock350
I wonder how well that can scale its way up into a Suburban.
11/19, 3:53 PM
posted by:
jamaicandude
“Honda’s FCX Clarity seems to be slightly ahead of GM’s program, but both are well on their way.”
Yeah, Honda does seem to be a step ahead of GM in the technology and efficiency… and the FCX is actually a production reality, being available for lease next summer. But in all honesty I’d rather be seen in this Equinox than the FCX. One look at the FCX and the styling screams Hybrid. This thing looks normal. I think these kind of vehicles will do well once they make Hydrogen more readily available. Thumbs up, GM.
11/19, 4:01 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
Honda is making a mistake trying to rush the Clarity out. It will almost certainly have many quality control issues from a rushed production, and where is it going to refuel? The only thing Honda could do would be to try to push hydrogen stations off on their dealership network. And would you really want the only place you could fill up to be the dealership?
The infrastructure is NOT there yet, so they might as well sit back and refine the technology, as GM is doing.
11/19, 4:19 PM
posted by:
Jordan
i would hardly say honda is “rushing” the clarity out. they’ve been testing fcx concepts in public and leasing them out to testers for years, whereas gm seems to just be getting started. granted, the infrastructure for hydrogen is not in place, so there won’t be many places to fill up, but i don’t foresee many people taking their clarities out for road trips.
the clarity may have styling that screams hybrid, but it least it has, well, styling. this equinox looks boring, and the interior materials are pretty horrible, from what i hear.
i know i sound critical, but i really am glad to see gm pushing fuel cell tech. the american auto industry used to be the best in the world, maybe it can get there again.
11/19, 4:20 PM
posted by:
cookie4me
Are there not serious government subsidies to develop hydrogen infrastructure in CA? With the right inentives, will it really take much more than a few months to put a hydrogen pump in at a current fuel station? The Clarity is Honda’s most recent technology. If you look at what they have done in just a few years time it really is astonishing. GM’s Equinox has been on the road for a year or two I believe and they probably are making progress as well on improving their fuel cell stack.
11/19, 4:28 PM
posted by:
jonmiles
I wonder how long this GM car will be on the market before they pull them and destroy them all as well…
WTF is the point of hydrogen? It powers an electric xxxxing motor!?!? JUST PUT SOME BATTERIES IN IT AND A PLUG
11/19, 4:55 PM
posted by:
LamborghiniZ
GM cares…it really does! At least when there are potential profits at stake.
11/19, 4:58 PM
posted by:
LamborghiniZ
I’m glad hydrogen vehicles are being developed so well though, but personally I’ll take an FCX Clarity.
11/19, 5:03 PM
posted by:
vm54
What hasn’t been addressed is the true cost of obtaining the hydrogen (from natural gas or splitting water) and how much total energy is used vs an internal combustion engine.
Also, hydrogen needs to be compressed (more energy) and storage is tough with very high leakage — a tank of fuel could evaporate in a matter of a few days unless all these problems have been miraculously solved as of today.
11/19, 5:11 PM
posted by:
CA36GTP
GM cares…it really does! At least when there are potential profits at stake.
Comment by LamborghiniZ
You could replace GM with any manufacturer and it’d fit.
11/19, 7:56 PM
posted by:
C6Racer
Wow, that tach is gonna take some getting used to.
Oh, and LP640 is gay. Lemme guess “AT LEAST I’M NOT MEXICAN”
Yea? Well, at least I’m not gay.
11/20, 8:50 AM
posted by:
global_lightning
I see this car all the time in DC. More power to GM; with this and the Volt they’re addressing the future instead of playing catchup. Let’s hope this goes into production soon.
11/20, 12:39 PM
posted by:
loudpedal
At first, 10,000 hours seemed a bit weak to me but if you drive an average of 40 miles per hour, it comes out to 400,000 miles. If true, that’s pretty impresseive durability out of an automotive powertrain in it’s infancy. Of course, fuel cells have been around since the 60s and 70s (Apollo missions), so I supposed it shouldn’t be that surprising.
11/21, 1:47 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
LP640: go skydiving sans chute.