The first thing John Dodge asked me when I got behind the wheel of the Equinox was what I noticed as different – and the first thing that came to mind was “nothing.” Sure, the technology and resources powering the vehicle are revolutionary and the environmental benefits astounding – but driving with the mindset of an everyday citizen, traveling to work or a kid’s soccer game, wasn’t a hard thing to do.
For fuel cell technology to take off in the automotive market, the vehicle will need to be adopted as mainstream. GM’s choice of using the established Equinox SUV as its fuel cell candidate was a good one. When deciding whether to purchase an FCV, people will look not only at the environmental or monetary values, but also at the practicality of the vehicle. For some, there still needs to be space for sports equipment and camping gear. For others who want less space, if the technology exists in an SUV it can surely be tweaked for a smaller vehicle. And the transition from gasoline to hydrogen needs to be as seamless as possible.
And that it is. Remarkable pickup was something I noticed right away – and the regenerative braking system does offer a slightly different sensation. But otherwise, there was no outstanding tangible feature that constantly reminded me I was driving an FCV. And where mainstream adoption is concerned, I think that’s a great thing.
The refueling process is also essentially the same – take off the cap, lift the nozzle and fill ‘er up. One thing John and I both noticed while test-driving the FC Equinox was how we felt whizzing by a gas station, with prices above $4, in our hydrogen-powered chariot.
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 Inside GM's Chevy Equinox fuel cell vehicle |
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View more photos in our hydrogen gallery!
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