Ex-scientist takes delivery of new Hyundai NEXO fuel-cell SUV

By CARSIFU | 2 January 2019


LOS ANGELES: Hyundai has delivered its first NEXO fuel cell sport utility vehicle (SUV) to a former scientist eager to add a zero-emissions vehicle to his environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

It was Tod Hochrad, living in Ventura, California who took delivery of the new NEXO with 610km of range.

The new SUV at USD$58,300 (RM245,000) is the South Korean carmaker's new flagship for its growing eco-vehicle portfolio and the only mass-produced fuel cell SUV for the US market.

The NEXO only emits water and offers a host of advanced driver assist systems that include Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Following Assist, Driver Attention Warning, High Beam Assist and Remote Smart Parking Assist (RSPA).

The RSPA allows the SUV to either autonomously park or retrieve itself from either a parallel or perpendicular parking space with or without a driver in the vehicle.

The system displays the SUV's camera images of the side views onto the centre cluster when changing lanes with the turn signal.

Refuelling of the NEXO can completed in about five minutes, allowing a consumer lifestyle very similar to a comparable gasoline-powered SUV in terms of range and refueling speed.

Ecological materials was used in the NEXO's construction including soybean-oil based polyurethane paint and bamboo-thread-based bio fabric as well as bio-plastic and bio-carpet extracted from sugar cane.

Bio-based materials were applied to 47 different parts to held reduce carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) by 12kg during the SUV's manufacturing process.

Alternatively, the SUV can be leased for 36 months starting at USD$399 (RM1,700) for the Blue variant or USD449 (RM1,900) for the Limited variant.

The first year of maintenance is free of charge and customers are eligible for a tax credit (subject to individual tax circumstances) from the state of California for up to USD$5,000 (RM21,000).

Those who Purchase the NEXO will receive a hydrogen fueling card with a combined maximum value of $13,000 (RM55,000) to be used during the first three years.

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