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New Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell Will Get a 30 Percent Range Boost, Is One year Away

Hyundai has remained one of the few carmakers that are still betting some of their money on the liquid hydrogen fuel cell technology. In fact, the South Korean manufacturer has started working on battery-powered electric vehicles as well (see the Ioniq), so you could say it's playing at both ends of the alternative propulsion spectrum.
Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell 1 photo
Photo: Hyundai
Despite Toyota and mostly Honda making a lot more waves at the time, Hyundai was actually the first brand to offer a fuel cell car in the North American market. The hydrogen-powered Tucson was first introduced midway through 2014 and is still on sale, even though you wouldn't be surprised to know it isn't going too well.

The problem with the Tucson is two-fold. First of all, the liquid hydrogen tank only provides enough fuel for 265 miles (426 km). That's less than what most Tesla models offer, and while refueling might take less than recharging, the number of stations providing liquid hydrogen isn't that great. There are definitely not enough to go cross-country, something the Tesla can do.

The second problem is that the fuel cell Tucson continues to be built on the old model of the Korean SUV. Whether it's ugly or not is up for anyone to decide, but it definitely is date, and especially so on the inside. So anyone interested in the Tucson Fuel Cell basically has to settle for an older-looking model that's confined to a certain area because of its short range and the penury of refilling stations.

In early 2018, though, Hyundai is expected to launch the new generation. Apart from new looks, the range aspect will also be addressed with an increase of 30 percent to the current 265 miles. That would bring the SUV's maximum range to a still not very impressive 344 miles (22 short of that of the current Honda Clarity Fuel Cell).

The report from Nikkei suggests the new vehicle will boast a $50,000 asking price, even though fuel cell vehicles are almost exclusively leased. Still, by comparison, the Toyota Mirai has a base price of $57,500 before incentives.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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