New Hyundai Nexo Still Bets On Hydrogen

We’d forgive you for not knowing that the Hyundai Nexo is a car you’ve been able to buy in the UK for a good few years. That’s partly because, to look at, it’s a very forgettable crossover that blends in with all the other shapeless jacked-up blobs on our roads. Mainly, though, it’s because, according to the best data we can track down, there are fewer than 30 of them in Britain.

That’s because the Nexo is one of the tiny handful of hydrogen fuel cell cars on the market. Despite most manufacturers steadily abandoning this tech in favour of battery electric cars or sustainable fuels, Hyundai’s still betting on it, and it’s just revealed a second-generation Nexo.

This one seeks to rectify the whole ‘painfully bland to look at’ thing that made the original so forgettable, as it’s wearing similar blocky, eight-bit-inspired styling to some of Hyundai’s other models like the Ioniq 5, Santa Fe and Inster. We very much support this.

What’s underneath has been thoroughly reworked, too. The battery is up from 40 to 80kW, and the total power output has been boosted from 181 to 255bhp. This has cut the Nexo’s 0-62mph time from 9.2 to 7.8 seconds, while top speed is 111mph.

That overall power increase comes from improvements to both the battery and the hydrogen fuel cell stack, while the latter can also store more fuel and works better when it gets cold out. Hyundai’s targeting a range of up to 435 miles, which it reckons can be achieved off the back of a five-minute top-up of hydrogen.

Although the powertrain is really the headline grabber here, Hyundai’s also touting the usual new model improvements: greater refinement, the latest suite of safety systems, and an interior with the obligatory dual screens – one for the instruments, one for infotainment – and AI voice assistant.

We’re even promised it’ll be better to drive thanks to a new ‘e-Handling’ system that’s said to affect steering response and stability by rapidly changing the motor’s torque output. Did somebody say Nexo N?

The chunky new Nexo will be rolled out across global markets throughout this year. Like the outgoing car, though, don’t expect it to be a volume seller in Britain – apparently, there are still only 16 hydrogen filling stations in the UK, which might be an issue if you need to drive, well… anywhere.

Still, we have to commend Hyundai for sticking with fuel cell tech – it may not be the silver bullet of alternative fuels it once seemed it might be, but there might still be a place for it yet.