A gas-guzzling future?

BMW is forging ahead with trials of its hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric iX5. We try it on the road - and also assess Toyota's new hydrogen-fuelled racing concept

- JOHN BARKER

THE HYDROGEN-POWERED BMW X5 accelerates like an EV to blend with the traffic on the M3, as expected. There's no internal combustion engine under the bonnet, the space instead occupied by a fuel cell that is being fed hydrogen and air to generate electricity which is then delivered to the rear-mounted motor and, when required, to a small but powerful battery. In fact, the only slightly unusual aspect of the experience is the sound, which starts as a woozy, Tron-like drone, like it's running over a corrugated surface, but is escalating with ever-greater urgency. 'It was composed by Hans Zimmer, the Hollywood composer, says Dr Jürgen Guldner from the passenger seat. I'm tempted to keep my foot hard in simply to discover what it sounds like at maximum speed.

Guldner is responsible for hydrogen vehicle development at BMW and this car, the iX5 Hydrogen, has been four years in the making. Coincidentally, before taking up the hydrogen role, Guldner was in chassis R&D, overseeing developing the iX5's dynamics, so it really is his baby. The ride is supple, the handling usefully agile for a big SUV, and the performance is convincing and indistinguishable from that of a BEV (battery electric vehicle). Why bother with the complexity of a fuel cell, then? The key advantage, says Guldner, is that a hydrogen-powered FCEV (fuel cell electric vehicle) is 'an EV with fast fuelling'. Fully refilling the iX5 with 6kg of compressed hydrogen takes only five minutes, about the same as filling a petrol or diesel car, and gives a 311-mile (500km) range, as measured by the WLTP standard.