Honda is Releasing a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plug-In Hybrid CR-V for 2025
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles offer a unique EV experience, and their ability to completely refuel in just a few minutes makes them more convenient than their battery-powered counterparts. That said, they’re only sold in California, and there are only two models available. Honda was a player in the hydrogen game but stopped selling the Clarity in 2022. That’s about to change, however, as the automaker recently announced the CR-V e:FCEV, the first plug-in hydrogen vehicle in the United States.
The concept behind the CR-V is similar to that of a traditional PHEV, replacing gas with hydrogen. Honda worked with General Motors to design the fuel cell module. The owner can plug in at home or a public charger and get 29 miles of range or fill with hydrogen to get up to 270 miles of range. A single motor delivers 174 horsepower and 229 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels. Honda said it designed the suspension to “deliver the same sporty driving experience and class-leading refinement as other CR-V models,” though the sporty part is debatable.
HondaLink navigation comes standard, offering guidance to one of the 55 hydrogen fueling stations in California. The CR-V also gets a full suite of driver aids, wireless smartphone mirroring, a nine-inch touchscreen, and a 10.2-inch digital gauge cluster. It has a 110-volt outlet on board that can power appliances, power tools, air conditioners, and other equipment.
[Images: Honda]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
More by Chris Teague
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- Probert A few mega packs would probably have served as decent backup.
- Lou_BC Lead sleds. Now-a-days GM would just use Bondo.
- Jrhurren This is a great series. Thanks Corey
- Tane94 Not as stylish as the Soul which it is replacing but a practical shape and bonus points for EV only.
- Ronin What is the magical white swan event in the foreseeable future that will suddenly reverse the trend?Success tends to follow success, and likewise failure. The perception, other than among true believers, is that e-cars are a lost cause. Neither government fiat, nor government bribery, nor even the promise of superior virtue among one's peers have been enough to push past the early adapter curve. Either the bust-out is right now for e-cars, or it doesn't happen. Marketing 101.Even subtle language-manipulation, such as deeming those possessing common sense as suffering from some sort of vague anxiety (eg, "range anxiety") has not been enough to induce people to care.Twenty years from now funny AI-generated comedians will make fun of the '20s, and their obsession with theose silly half-forgotten EVs. They will point out that, yes, EVs actually ran on electricity generated by such organic fuels as coal and natural gas after all, and then they will perform synthesized laughter at us.
Comments
Join the conversation
this is how difficult it can get....
Honda is dreaming. And resting on its 'laurels' (French for 'posterior').