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March 10, 2005
Real World Review of Honda FCX [Fuel Cell] Car
Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press has a straighforward review of Honda's fuel cell-powered FCX. While he explains some of the techie stuff, he also spends a considerable amount of time describing how the car drives.
In short, he says it drives just as reliably and with as much power as a regular car. Indeed, he explains the 107 horsepower engine has more torque than a V6 VW Golf GTi, "giving the FCX enough oomph that I inadvertently squealed its all-season Yokohama tires several times on Woodward Avenue."
Reviews like this are important for the everyday reader, because it looks behind the curtain of the gobbledygook and tells people what they really need to know -- does it drive like a car?
Here's another example: "Driving the FCX to the grocery store or to meet friends for coffee was no different from driving any subcompact hatchback, except it had less environmental impact than throwing away the wrapper from a candy bar."
Phelan also clearly explains the main drawback with fuel cell vehicles -- the 190 mile driving range is too short by half for a practical production vehicle. Good read, well written.
Posted by Frank at March 10, 2005 6:11 PM | Filed under Auto News
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