Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell Priced at $80,300 For UK Market

Hyundai Motor UK just announced pricing for technically the world’s first mass-produced Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. With an incentive from HyFive, a European project that aims to get more Hydrogen vehicles on the road, the price comes out to £53,105 or about $80,300. Without the subsidy from HyFive and the Hyundai ix35 (which we will refer to from now on as the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell) costs £67,985 or about $100,000.

And that subsidized price is only good for the first 110 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell’s bought in the United Kingdom. That doesn’t count the four other Hydrogen Fuel cell car manufacturers who are also under that same subsidy plan.

Those are some steep prices to pay for what amounts to be a hotted up Hyundai Tucson. Here in the United States, a regular gas powered Hyundai Tucson costs around $23,000.

But money isn’t what this Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell is all about. It’s about not having to use gasoline at all and ditching fossil fuels altogether. Nevermind the fact that in order to create hydrogen, a large amount of fossil fuels is still used (95 percent of all hydrogen to be exact.) Because all that’s coming out of the tailpipes of the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell is plain old water.

Powering the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell is an AC Motor capable of creating 136 HP and 221 lbs-ft of torque. Fill up the dual tanks underneath the rear axle in ten minutes (because that’s how long it takes) and you’re good for another 265 miles. Not that bad considering it takes half an hour to charge a Tesla to 80 percent.

When Car and Driver took one out for a test drive, they weren’t all that impressed. After all, when all is said and done, it acts like a Hyundai Tucson (except with less power.)

If you’re in California, the only place in the United States where you can actually potentially lease one, then you’re in luck. Although you can’t own one like those across the pond, for a three year lease with $3,000 down, you’re looking at about $450 a month with free fuel from Hyundai and after all incentives have been tacked on.

I say invest in an electric vehicle first before even considering hydrogen as an alternative fuel. With Tesla paving the way with his worldwide supercharger network, Hydrogen will have a lot of catching up to do getting a similar infrastructure in play.