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Self driving tech, user friendly fuel cell tech and easily digested SUV looks. Hurrah

The SUV you see above is the Hyundai Nexo, its new hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. We’ve had a glimpse of it already, but the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has given us a proper look.

It’s near-production ready, and in case we’ve not already made it clear, Hyundai’s made it look like a regular car. The styling follows the company’s FE concept which we saw at Geneva last year.

As it stands, the Nexo will manage almost 500 miles on a single tank, or charge, or whatever nomenclature we’ll use if this becomes commonly used technology. It will have 160bhp on tap, which is a performance boost of 20 per cent compared to its predecessor, the iX35 Fuel Cell. It cuts the 0-60mph time from 12.5 to 9.5 seconds. Being a fuel cell, though, it’s the 0-30 sprint that will be really punchy and effective.

Hyundai’s made sure that it’ll work in -30ºC weather, too, and fitted things that’ll help bring down overall production costs. It’s as if they brainstormed all the usual objections to fuel cell tech and then went about solving them. If this sounds like praise, that’s because it is – we’re all for someone being clever enough to come up with new ideas and brave enough to see them through.

It promises, for example, that the “highly durable catalyst technology” gives it more longevity than that iX35 Fuel Cell. The unnamed SUV gets a three-tank setup, all equally sized, with things like a plastic liner and layering pattern to reduce thickness and improve the storage mass per tank weight.

There’s more, too – the Nexo will get loads of driver assistance tech. It’s the stuff we’re familiar with from higher end carmakers: lane-keep assist to tag onto cruise control, effectively making the Nexo self-driving on motorways, plus remote parking, while the blind spot monitor take the form of live video footage rather than just some beeps or flashing lights.

The Nexo forms part of Hyundai’s bigger plan to develop 21 eco-friendly models across both it and Kia by 2020, across a range of powertrains: electric, hybrid and fuel cell. There’s the EV Kona due in 2018, for example, an all-electric Genesis in 2021, and a full long-range EV car with a range of 310 miles (500km) after 2021. Kia has used the CES to show off its own battery SUV.

Reckon this SUV is interesting enough to get you excited about hydrogen cars?

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Hyundai is almost ready to launch the new Nexo at select dealers in Southern California, and it appears that they have already come up with official pricing details.

As revealed by CarsDirect, quoting order guides, the fuel cell SUV will be available in two trim levels, priced from $59,345 and $62,845, respectively, including the $1,045 destination charge and before incentives.

Choosing the base model will bring users features such as LED headlights and 17-inch alloy wheels. Driving assistance gizmos, like the automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning and adaptive cruise control are also standard, alongside the synthetic leather interior upholstery, and heated and electrically adjustable front seats.

The more expensive 2019 Hyundai Nexo Limited benefits from 19-inch alloy wheels, electrically operated tailgate, and remote parking assist. The 360-degree camera system, power sunroof, heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats and 8-speaker Krell sound system are also said to be offered at no extra cost.

Surprisingly, Hyundai won’t be offering the Nexo with any optional extras. Thus, what you see is what you get, regardless of how much you are willing to spend on the Korean car brand’s new hydrogen-powered vehicle.

The entry-level Hyundai Nexo has a total driving range of up to 380 miles (612 km). At the same time, the posher flavor is said to be able to travel for up to 354 miles (570 km), due to the larger wheels and added gear.

Aided by the 161 hp (163 PS / 120 kW) and 291 lb-ft (394 Nm) of torque produced by its powertrain, the Hyundai Nexo completes the 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) spring in 9.5 seconds, or 3 sec quicker than the Tucson FCV.

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