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.
