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Honda Clarity review: handsome new hydrogen car makes the case for a fuel cell future

The Honda Clarity won't be coming to Britain, but its presence in Europe is a taster of things to come
The Honda Clarity won't be coming to Britain, but its presence in Europe is a taster of things to come

I rode in my first Honda fuel cell, the FCX-V1 at its introduction 18 years ago. I drove the first commercially available fuel-cell car, the Honda FCX, more than 14 years ago and then I drove its gorgeous replacement, the FCX Clarity, four years later. Yet only now has Honda deigned to bring the Clarity to Europe. 

The fuel cell scene has changed a lot since those early days. Hyundai brought its ix35 to market, and Toyota has launched the eye-catching Mirai. There's even a blossoming hydrogen filling station network – we were first to use the M25's brand new one – and growing interest from a wary public. The Clarity is a vital factor in that last point, especially as the technology approaches its adolescence.

Honda Clarity fuel cell hydrogen 2017 review
This is not a driver's car

As a signatory to European HyFive hydrogen project, along with BMW, Daimler, Hyundai and Toyota, Honda is committed to put some proper fuel-cell cars on to European roads for evaluation and to convince the public that they aren't all going to go up like the Hindenburg if they are driven in a thunderstorm. (So far only Hyundai and Toyota have provided cars for this project and I have it on good authority that both have been driven in thunderstorms without mishap.)

After the covetable FCX Clarity, this new model is also a great-looking car. Both models were designed in Japan for American tastes, but the new one also has aerodynamic transcendence with cladding boards like medieval armour to smooth the progress of passing air and the merest hints of rear-wheel spats to smooth the airflow.

Hydrogen refuelling M25 Cobham cars

Plug-in hybrid and battery-electric versions of the Clarity have just been launched at the New York motor show and will be on sale in the US later this year, although neither will come to Europe.

Nor will the fuel-cell Clarity actually be sold in the UK, although its price would be about £42,000 if it was. It's the next generation car, with its fuel cell jointly developed by Honda and General Motors, that will come to Europe in 2020. Insiders are hinting at a smaller, more European-styled car.

The Honda Clarity hydrogen car interior 2017
The interior is visibly American in flavour

So why are we driving it? The major news about the Clarity is the scaling down of its fuel-cell stack while improving power and reliability. Honda has crammed the entire stack, control electronics, air blower and single-speed transmission under the bonnet, where Toyota’s rival Mirai has its fuel cell under and between the front seats, which restricts rear passenger leg room slightly.

It means the Clarity is a proper five-seat saloon and in theory the driveline (which occupies less space than a V6 petrol engine) could be packaged into a number of different models, though the next generation, which is aimed at being no bigger than a four-cylinder driveline, could also be in a much smaller car as well.

Honda Clarity 2017 hydrogen car review
It looks good, in a generic sort of way

While Honda’s old V-flow fuel-cell stack was one of the cleverest in the business, it also suffered from water pooling (which restricted electrical output), as well as being heavy, expensive and tricky to package. The latest fuel-cell stack has 358 cells which contribute 100kW (134bhp) to the electric motor's efforts. That's 30 per cent fewer cells than the V-flow, which makes the stack 20 per cent thinner so it fits under the bonnet, but because of its turbocharged cross-flow technology (hydrogen and air travel in opposite directions in the cell), electricity generation is half as good again. It's also apparently much cheaper, about one tenth of the cost of its predecessor.

The electric motor is also fed by the 1.4kWh battery for short periods, which means the Clarity’s total output can be as high as 130kW (174bhp) with a torque output of 221lb ft. That gives a top speed of 100mph, with 0-62mph in 9.5sec and NEDC driving range of 404 miles, though more realistically reckon on 300 miles before you start looking for an all-too-rare hydrogen filling station for a full tank of 5kg of hydogen at 700 bar pressure.

Honda Clarity hydrogen car review
Ever filled up a hydrogen fuel cell car before?

Under the aluminium bodywork, there's a high-strength, steel-rich platform, with die-cast aluminium subframes. Suspension is via MacPherson struts at the front, with a multi-link rear, all made out of aluminium to save weight. The twin fuel tanks are mainly responsible for the 100kg weight increase over the previous FCX Clarity; this car tips the scales at a porky 1.84 tonnes.

Inside, the US influence is still strong, with strange plastic forms striated to look like wood, a blow-moulded glovebox lid rocketed straight out of the Seventies and some really bizarre textures. Trim fabrics are a combination of leather and plant-derived material which rasps against your fingertips, while the plastic switches are sharp-feeling and clackety.

The instrumentation is quite classy if overlit, with a central half-circular power-and-charge meter flanked by bar graphs for fuel tank contents and battery charge. The seats are big and comfy, there's plenty of room in the back seats and while the second fuel tank dominates the boot space, there's still 334 litres in there, which is what you get in a family hatchback.

hydrogen car puff

The Clarity pulls away in electric mode. The fuel cell runs continuously as the turbo, which blows air into the stack, spins at up to 100,000rpm on air bearings and if it stops it takes several minutes to get back up to speed.

Water is also managed carefully and condensed out of the exhaust to be reused to humidify the fuel-cell stack. Apparently, the Clarity will reliably start at minus 30 degrees C, although there will be a bit less power until the stack warms.

Like most electric cars, the Clarity pulls away briskly and performance up to 70mph is respectable, though it tails off above that. There's a Sport mode which improves the throttle response and that works well, but it's no sports saloon.

Honda Clarity
The Honda Clarity is a big, bland, American car, but it's a step in the right direction

That's confirmed as soon as you turn the wheel, when you find that the electric power steering is over-assisted, with no build-up of force to inform you what the car is doing, or feedback.

The ride over long irregularities is soft, with good body control, but the low-rolling resistance Bridgestone tyres slam against pot holes and the rear body trembles. There's also a fair bit of body roll in corners, though the brakes are strong and the mix of regenerative and friction braking is deftly handled.  

No, it isn't a disaster, but it's not built for us, or our roads. This is a typical mid-sized American sedan of which millions are sold across the pond. Soft, safe, slightly bumbling, profoundly unexciting and commodious, it's perfect for that market.

We need our fuel cells packaged in another sort of vehicle, which is just what Honda intends to do in three years time.

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