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2019 Hyundai Nexo Quick Spin Review | A better hydrogen fuel cell crossover

PYEONGCHANG, S. Korea — When we travelled to South Korea to test out the new Hyundai Santa Fe, we also got a chance behind the wheel of the new hydrogen-powered Nexo fuel-cell SUV. Hyundai unveiled the Nexo at CES in January as a replacement for the Tucson Fuel Cell, which logged miles and gathered data in 18 countries over the course of its generation. The Nexo is an improvement: It's more efficient, packed with smarter driver assistance technologies and, in our opinion, is more attractive. With a clean an uncluttered exterior, it has a familiar crossover profile, but the front end, is a little more unique with a large grille and uber-thin lighting tucked high under the front of the hood. The rear end offers a lot of blank sheet metal, which looks fetching in white. Aerodynamic vents behind the rear quarter windows open up at the back of the car beneath a sporty-looking spoiler. But it's the clean, sustainable future that its hydrogen fuel may provide that's most important. Which is not to diminish the benefits battery electric cars offer in the interim — and likely for the foreseeable future — but renewable electricity is intermittent. So how does one store massive amounts of clean electricity for long periods to use when it's not readily available? Hydrogen electrolysis – using an electric current to decompose regular water into oxygen and hydrogen. The beautiful thing about the abundant element is that it can be converted back to electricity, either on a grid-scale, or in the fuel cell of a passenger vehicle. (The less beautiful thing is how to store hydrogen safely, but that's another story.) Our first stint inside the vehicle took place in the back seat, where we had plenty of legroom and clean surroundings. The interior was white and grey with matte silver metallic trim. The plastics in the Nexo aren't particularly soft, but somehow Hyundai makes them look premium with fine grains and patterns — one of the tricks Hyundai uses to make its affordable cars feel like higher-end automobiles. We were comfortable back there, especially with rear seat heaters to ward of the winter chill in the Korean mountains as we drove past the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. When it came our turn to get behind the wheel, we felt right at home in the comfortable driver's seat. The steering wheel was attractive in its two-tone leather, and smooth to the touch.

Hyundai pickup truck sounding more likely

Hyundai looks poised to get into the pickup market, according to the latest report from Automotive News. The Korean automaker revealed the Santa Cruz concept at the Detroit Auto Show this past January, previewing a vehicle that combines the best attributes of a pickup truck with those of a small crossover – sort of like a Honda Ridgeline, but smaller. It's an idea whose time has come, says Hyundai's US chief Dave Zuchowski. "We're assuming that it's going to get done," he told AN. "It's just not officially done yet." He expects it to be approved sometime within the next decade, and when it does enter production, Zuchowski said it could emerge as the first diesel-powered Hyundai offered in America. The biggest challenge, however, may not lie in convincing the head office in Seoul to give it the green light. The company's plant in Montgomery, AL, is strained enough producing the Sonata, Elantra and Santa Fe. In order to produce the pickup as well, Hyundai would need to either expand the current plant or build a new one.

Autoblog Podcast #362

Episode #362 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Chris Paukert cover the year-end news, including the surprise resignation of Hyundai Motor North America CEO John Krafcik, strong early sales for the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, and 2015 Ford F-150 rumors ahead of its expected Detroit Auto Show debut. Dan also had a chance to look back at 2013 and ahead to 2014 with Autoline's John McElroy. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #362:
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