Road Test
First Drive: 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV
Fuel-Cell SUV Turns Sci-Fi Into Fact
It would be fun to say that driving the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV is a gas. But this would be a lie (and trite besides).
Driving the Equinox FCEV (a mouthful of initials that stands for fuel-cell electric vehicle) is just as routinely humdrum as driving a regular crossover SUV with a regular internal combustion engine. That, though, is remarkable in itself.
The 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV might have an exotic hydrogen fuel cell, a battery pack and an electric motor, yet it's up to the challenge of everyday transportation. GM is putting a fleet of more than 100 Equinox FCEVs in the hands of private customers in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. in the first large-scale test of fuel-cell vehicles.
Not a Science Experiment
Early fuel cells were nothing if not, well, experimental. They featured lots of wiring snaking around and connected to workmanlike gauges and electronic test boxes duct-taped into place. There were eardrum-piercing noises from the air compressors used to cram oxygen into the fuel-cell stacks. The fuel-cell apparatus and hydrogen storage tanks were so big and clunky that the passengers were just an afterthought.
The 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV isn't like that at all, as we learned during a short test-drive at a GM event to announce its test program.
On the open road, the fuel-cell Equinox proves to be about as quick off the line as the standard model with its gasoline-powered V6. That's because an electric vehicle is most powerful at the low end, where all the torque is delivered as soon as the juice starts flowing.
Bill Nye the Science Guy
The Equinox FCEV's motivation comes from an electric traction motor that drives the front wheels with 236 pound-feet of torque. A pair of fuel-cell stacks provides the electric motor with 94 kilowatts of electricity (the equivalent of 126 hp) when full throttle is applied.
Each fuel-cell stack consists of 200 individual cells with a platinum catalyst. Hydrogen gas from the Equinox's three carbon-fiber tanks flows through the catalyst, making magic that results in steady flows of electricity to the motor and nickel-metal-hydride batteries. Water vapor is a by-product, and it comes out through the exhaust outlets integrated into the rear bumper.
Real-World Acceleration
GM's official number for 0-60-mph acceleration is 12 seconds — quick enough to get to freeway speed in the length of a typical on-ramp. The top end is 100 mph. Most of the oomph occurs from zero to 40 mph. That's because electric motors are high on torque but a little low on horsepower, so top-end performance suffers a bit. It's like starting off with a V6 and finishing with a small four-banger.
During our short drive in Orange Country, California, we weren't able to get much room to really motor, but we were able to note that the Equinox FCEV with three adults onboard had no trouble maintaining an 80-mph cruising speed while climbing a long, steep grade. It also handled a burst of acceleration from 80 to 90 mph without breathing particularly hard. This is no Corvette, but remember that we're talking about a loaf-shaped SUV with a curb weight of 4,431 pounds.
Weighing the Consequences
The Equinox FCEV's payload is reduced to 800 pounds because the SUV is packing an additional 700 pounds thanks to the fuel-cell system, its battery pack and the chassis modifications needed to accommodate and protect the trio of tanks that store the hydrogen fuel at 10,000 psi.
About half the extra weight comes from the 35-kW battery pack, comprised of 204 nickel-metal-hydride cells. Future generations of GM fuel-cell vehicles are expected to be outfitted with lighter and more powerful lithium-ion batteries, once reliability and safety issues are resolved.
The batteries ride in the center of the undercarriage, are charged through regenerative braking and deliver their power to aid the fuel cell when an extra boost is needed for acceleration.
On the instrument panel, the standard gasoline model's tachometer is replaced by a kilowatt meter. The usual mpg readout in the trip computer is supplanted by one that ticks off fuel use in miles per kilogram — a kilogram of compressed hydrogen holds the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline. Fuel capacity is 4.2 kg, good enough for 150 miles of range per the official EPA-estimated fuel economy of 35 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the open road.
The fuel tanks are under the vehicle, with the rearmost directly beneath the cargo floor. They're just big enough to have required GM engineers to put a small bump in the floor behind the backseats.
Motoring Through Town
The Equinox rolled though stop-and-start city traffic with ease. Thanks in part to a regenerative braking system that reduces the effort needed to apply the binders, and in part to the simple single-speed transmission that links the motor to half-shafts to produce a seamless application of power.
The electrically assisted steering felt a tad slow, but the suspension was tuned nicely to provide a ride that was smooth without being squishy. Some 2.5 tons of road-hugging weight on a 112.5-inch wheelbase will do that for you, although the P255/60R17 tires cope with the burden nicely.
There's no engine noise — heck, there's no engine. GM has also done an admirable job of tamping down the howl from the fuel-cell's air compressor. It's there, and it grows louder and higher-pitched as speed increases, but it's just different, not unpleasant.
The only jarring notes in the Equinox's performance came from the noisy cooling fans for the battery pack and the characteristic herky-jerky feel of the regenerative brakes.
Like a Bugatti Veyron, Only Electric
GM first showed us a prototype of the Chevrolet Equinox FCEV back in 2006, and in fact the vehicle in the text program is actually a 2007-specification Equinox. This is pretty much a hand-built, million-dollar vehicle, even though it looks standard.
Jackie and Ben Lee, a couple from Burbank, California, are scheduled to be the first to get a 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV once a small fleet of 10 is delivered to Walt Disney Company this week for use around its studio and amusement park properties in Southern California.
GM is providing the vehicles at no cost to the test drivers, who have been selected from among several thousand applicants who filled out questionnaires last year. Some are everyday people like the Lees; others are celebs and politicians who, GM figures, can raise the FCEV's public profile.
In a distinctly different approach to field testing, American Honda recently announced that it will lease about 100 of its 2008 Honda Clarity FCX fuel-cell electric cars to a select group of Southern California drivers for a full three-year term at about $600 a month.
Both programs are hobbled by the relative lack of hydrogen filling stations. There are a number in California and New York, where most fuel-cell vehicle testing has been going on, and there's one in Washington, where fuel-cell politicking gets done, but few elsewhere. And even where there are stations, most are private, operated by utility companies and municipal and county agencies that are testing vehicles in their fleets.
The Future Is Now
After spending a day with the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV, you walk away with the feeling that these things are finally ready for prime time.
There's also the question of fuel, of course. More than 40 billion kilograms of hydrogen are produced each year, enough to fuel 130 million fuel-cell vehicles annually, GM tells us. But turning it into a liquid is a tremendously energy-intensive process. In the near term, the cost of producing hydrogen will be as much as $3 per gallon. And it will take an investment of $10-15 billion to create a refueling infrastructure that would create refueling stations within two miles of everyone in the top 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S.
So now that the fuel-cell electric vehicle is ready, it's all a matter of filling the tank.
Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.
Driving the Equinox FCEV (a mouthful of initials that stands for fuel-cell electric vehicle) is just as routinely humdrum as driving a regular crossover SUV with a regular internal combustion engine. That, though, is remarkable in itself.
The 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV might have an exotic hydrogen fuel cell, a battery pack and an electric motor, yet it's up to the challenge of everyday transportation. GM is putting a fleet of more than 100 Equinox FCEVs in the hands of private customers in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. in the first large-scale test of fuel-cell vehicles.
Not a Science Experiment
Early fuel cells were nothing if not, well, experimental. They featured lots of wiring snaking around and connected to workmanlike gauges and electronic test boxes duct-taped into place. There were eardrum-piercing noises from the air compressors used to cram oxygen into the fuel-cell stacks. The fuel-cell apparatus and hydrogen storage tanks were so big and clunky that the passengers were just an afterthought.
The 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV isn't like that at all, as we learned during a short test-drive at a GM event to announce its test program.
On the open road, the fuel-cell Equinox proves to be about as quick off the line as the standard model with its gasoline-powered V6. That's because an electric vehicle is most powerful at the low end, where all the torque is delivered as soon as the juice starts flowing.
Bill Nye the Science Guy
The Equinox FCEV's motivation comes from an electric traction motor that drives the front wheels with 236 pound-feet of torque. A pair of fuel-cell stacks provides the electric motor with 94 kilowatts of electricity (the equivalent of 126 hp) when full throttle is applied.
Each fuel-cell stack consists of 200 individual cells with a platinum catalyst. Hydrogen gas from the Equinox's three carbon-fiber tanks flows through the catalyst, making magic that results in steady flows of electricity to the motor and nickel-metal-hydride batteries. Water vapor is a by-product, and it comes out through the exhaust outlets integrated into the rear bumper.
Real-World Acceleration
GM's official number for 0-60-mph acceleration is 12 seconds — quick enough to get to freeway speed in the length of a typical on-ramp. The top end is 100 mph. Most of the oomph occurs from zero to 40 mph. That's because electric motors are high on torque but a little low on horsepower, so top-end performance suffers a bit. It's like starting off with a V6 and finishing with a small four-banger.
During our short drive in Orange Country, California, we weren't able to get much room to really motor, but we were able to note that the Equinox FCEV with three adults onboard had no trouble maintaining an 80-mph cruising speed while climbing a long, steep grade. It also handled a burst of acceleration from 80 to 90 mph without breathing particularly hard. This is no Corvette, but remember that we're talking about a loaf-shaped SUV with a curb weight of 4,431 pounds.
Weighing the Consequences
The Equinox FCEV's payload is reduced to 800 pounds because the SUV is packing an additional 700 pounds thanks to the fuel-cell system, its battery pack and the chassis modifications needed to accommodate and protect the trio of tanks that store the hydrogen fuel at 10,000 psi.
About half the extra weight comes from the 35-kW battery pack, comprised of 204 nickel-metal-hydride cells. Future generations of GM fuel-cell vehicles are expected to be outfitted with lighter and more powerful lithium-ion batteries, once reliability and safety issues are resolved.
The batteries ride in the center of the undercarriage, are charged through regenerative braking and deliver their power to aid the fuel cell when an extra boost is needed for acceleration.
On the instrument panel, the standard gasoline model's tachometer is replaced by a kilowatt meter. The usual mpg readout in the trip computer is supplanted by one that ticks off fuel use in miles per kilogram — a kilogram of compressed hydrogen holds the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline. Fuel capacity is 4.2 kg, good enough for 150 miles of range per the official EPA-estimated fuel economy of 35 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the open road.
The fuel tanks are under the vehicle, with the rearmost directly beneath the cargo floor. They're just big enough to have required GM engineers to put a small bump in the floor behind the backseats.
Motoring Through Town
The Equinox rolled though stop-and-start city traffic with ease. Thanks in part to a regenerative braking system that reduces the effort needed to apply the binders, and in part to the simple single-speed transmission that links the motor to half-shafts to produce a seamless application of power.
The electrically assisted steering felt a tad slow, but the suspension was tuned nicely to provide a ride that was smooth without being squishy. Some 2.5 tons of road-hugging weight on a 112.5-inch wheelbase will do that for you, although the P255/60R17 tires cope with the burden nicely.
There's no engine noise — heck, there's no engine. GM has also done an admirable job of tamping down the howl from the fuel-cell's air compressor. It's there, and it grows louder and higher-pitched as speed increases, but it's just different, not unpleasant.
The only jarring notes in the Equinox's performance came from the noisy cooling fans for the battery pack and the characteristic herky-jerky feel of the regenerative brakes.
Like a Bugatti Veyron, Only Electric
GM first showed us a prototype of the Chevrolet Equinox FCEV back in 2006, and in fact the vehicle in the text program is actually a 2007-specification Equinox. This is pretty much a hand-built, million-dollar vehicle, even though it looks standard.
Jackie and Ben Lee, a couple from Burbank, California, are scheduled to be the first to get a 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV once a small fleet of 10 is delivered to Walt Disney Company this week for use around its studio and amusement park properties in Southern California.
GM is providing the vehicles at no cost to the test drivers, who have been selected from among several thousand applicants who filled out questionnaires last year. Some are everyday people like the Lees; others are celebs and politicians who, GM figures, can raise the FCEV's public profile.
In a distinctly different approach to field testing, American Honda recently announced that it will lease about 100 of its 2008 Honda Clarity FCX fuel-cell electric cars to a select group of Southern California drivers for a full three-year term at about $600 a month.
Both programs are hobbled by the relative lack of hydrogen filling stations. There are a number in California and New York, where most fuel-cell vehicle testing has been going on, and there's one in Washington, where fuel-cell politicking gets done, but few elsewhere. And even where there are stations, most are private, operated by utility companies and municipal and county agencies that are testing vehicles in their fleets.
The Future Is Now
After spending a day with the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox FCEV, you walk away with the feeling that these things are finally ready for prime time.
There's also the question of fuel, of course. More than 40 billion kilograms of hydrogen are produced each year, enough to fuel 130 million fuel-cell vehicles annually, GM tells us. But turning it into a liquid is a tremendously energy-intensive process. In the near term, the cost of producing hydrogen will be as much as $3 per gallon. And it will take an investment of $10-15 billion to create a refueling infrastructure that would create refueling stations within two miles of everyone in the top 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S.
So now that the fuel-cell electric vehicle is ready, it's all a matter of filling the tank.
Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.
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