Chinese internet is popular with the concept of "East Asian monster room", of which South Korea is not a "C bit", but it is also hot. This country has amazing cultural export capabilities, and the accumulation of automobiles, semiconductors, bio-health and other industries cannot be underestimated. However, like Japan, which is across the sea, South Korea is also an energy-poor country, relying heavily on imports such as oil and coal, and in order to optimize the energy structure, Japan and South Korea have embarked on the hydrogen energy track...
When it comes to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEV), who do you think of? I guess it's toyota mirai. During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the "Aichi Future" will undertake the personnel transfer work in Yanqing and other competition areas. Today, I'm going to test drive the other half of the FCEV space – hyundai NEXO.
NEXO appearance丨 No need for blue trim
The NEXO China Edition (NEXO) test drive event is the first mass production of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in China to open road test drive, the test drive type complies with Chinese regulations, and will start commercial trial operation in the near future.
Compared with the manufacturers who are still using various blue trims to represent new energy in 2022, the modern aesthetic taste is much more advanced, except for a few small wordmarks, NEXO does not use too many elements to highlight the identity.
NEXO interior丨Midge into the Airbus cockpit
From today's point of view, the interior of the NEXO seems to need to be renovated, and the dense buttons and knobs of the center console are too Old-fashioned, and there is no new energy flavor. But it was those buttons and knobs that made me feel more and more intimate the more I looked at them.
The NEXO positions medium-sized SUVs, but its parameters are closer to the common compact SUVs, thanks to the optimized hydrogen storage system, the interior space has not been encroached on too much, and it is obvious that it is more spacious than Mirai and Clarity. Ride, storage space experience part of this article will not be repeated, want to know friends can refer to the previous test drive article: test drive hyundai NEXO This may be the future of new energy!
NEXO driving 丨 is the feeling of an electric car
Compared with the overseas version, the power system of the NEXO China version remains basically unchanged, and the biggest difference between the two is that the Chinese version has reduced the hydrogen storage tank pressure from 700 bar to 350 bar in order to adapt to the regulations.
During the driving process, nexo's power system mainly has the following four working modes:
1. General (auxiliary) mode, when receiving a large power request, the fuel cell stack and the high-voltage battery are powered at the same time, and the power output is provided to the drive motor through the inverter;
2. General (charging) mode, when driving normally, the fuel cell stack outputs, provides power output to the drive motor through the inverter, and charges the high-voltage battery at the same time;
3. Fuel cell mode, when cruising at medium and high speed, only the fuel cell stack provides energy to drive the vehicle, and the high-voltage battery neither charges nor discharges;
4. Power recovery mode, when braking or coasting, the drive motor recovers energy from the high-voltage battery through the inverter.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, change is the form of energy, unchanged is the driving mode. The NEXO is equipped with a front-mounted motor with a maximum power of 120 kW (163 hp) and a maximum torque of 395 Nm, and the parameter level is equivalent to an electric vehicle of about 200,000 yuan.
The acceleration smoothness of the NEXO is also the same as that of the EV, starting briskly without being too hasty, and the smoothness is set appropriately. The mid-section acceleration is direct, and you can feel a slight push back feeling. After reaching 80km/h, the speed establishment has slowed down.
NEXO offers THREE DRIVING MODES: NORM, ECO, ECO+, the first two can be switched by pressing the "DRIVE MODE" button, and the ECO+ must be long pressed. A long press on this action seems to be a warning, "From now on, your power is no longer at your disposal", and no matter how much the right foot tramples the accelerator pedal, the vehicle remains motionless.
The power release in NORMAL and ECO modes is very linear, but if you press the accelerator pedal evenly in ECO mode and suddenly switch to NORM mode during the period, the completely different proportions of the two will be visible.
Energy recovery power provides switch, there are 3 adjustable steps after opening, does not support single pedal mode, calibration strategy considers the user who switches from fuel vehicles to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the motor positive and negative torque switching is linear, and the deceleration will not come too actively. The brake pedal itself has the problem of the initial section of the empty, the foot feel is soft, and the first time you get started, you need to adapt.
NEXO controls丨 are not for drivers
Chassis tuning has a European shadow, the damper damping is strong, and the filtering of fine vibrations is not thorough, and the driver and passenger will receive more road information. It lacks roundness in the face of speed bumps and manhole covers, but because of the strong damping at high speed, it gives people the impression of being "whole" enough. It should be noted that the tire pressure of the four tires of the test drive is higher than the recommended value, which leads to a further decline in comfort to a certain extent.
NEXO is not a toy for the driver's smile, the front of the car is difficult to call sharp response, often in the driver's steering action is halfway completed before the start of the movement, fortunately the tail of the car to follow the willingness is not weak.
The overall light and weight of the steering feel is moderate, and the adaptability is high. The central area is generally responsive, and there is no immediate tightening when the steering wheel is first turned, which makes the driver feel that there is a lack of hand support, which will be alleviated with the increase of the steering angle.
In terms of NVH, the quietness of the carriage under low and medium speed conditions can be praised, and after the speed rises to 80km/h, the tire noise and wind noise from the A-pillar will become more present.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have high requirements for the cleanliness of the intake air, and they need to be filtered and purified after inhaling the outside air, and the final discharge is clean gas. Therefore, from another point of view, the NEXO is a walking "air purifier".
The water generated by the powertrain is discharged from the center of the chassis and the drains on both sides of the rear of the vehicle when the driver presses the corresponding button or when the vehicle is devolved, and the water body meets the drinking standard after on-site testing. When draining water, the water pressure is large, and some friends may feel that the sound is more awkward.
During the hydrogen refueling experience, we completed the refueling of two test drives in 5 minutes at the Daxing hydrogen refueling station. The structure of the hydrogen refueling machine is similar to that of a tanker, and the hydrogenation gun will be accompanied by a certain noise when injecting high-pressure gaseous hydrogen into the car. If it is 1m away from the vehicle, the maximum noise value can reach 65dB.
Editor's comments: What are the products that make you exclaim "modern, a little something"? In the past five years, we have seen the i20 Coupe WRC in the WRC, the charging speed is fast exiquitous to the flying IONIQ 5, Chinese the Internet without bad reviews of Elantra N, KONA N, etc., and the technical reserves of this car company seem to be far more than that. The NEXO is a commercial car and a modern handmade business card. Compared with South Korea, which has a high penetration rate of hydrogen energy and receives government subsidies for the purchase of FCEVs, the mainland is still just getting started, and the coverage rate of 80+ hydrogen refueling stations is also pitiful. The landing of NEXO is only the first step, and only by establishing a complete industrial ecosystem will FCEV be as high-profile as the EV of five years ago.