The four-door subcompact is a hydrogen-powered electric vehicle that can travel more than 200 miles between fill-ups and doesn’t need an outlet to recharge.
The first Mercedes-Benz fuel-cell vehicle to be offered to the public, the B-Class F-Cell is available in one U.S. market: Los Angeles. Southern California is the only region in the country that currently has more than one hydrogen fueling station.
By 2015, most of the major automakers — General Motors Co., Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. among them — have said they will go into volume production of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
Early versions of many of those vehicles have been accessible to the public only in small pilot programs. Since 2008, the Honda FCX Clarity has been leased to a handful of Southern California customers. General Motors’ fuel-cell version of its Equinox is available for two- to three-month loans through its Project Driveway program.
The B-Class F-Cell is no different. Mercedes will build just 200 of the cars this year and is offering them lease-only in select global markets, including Norway, Germany and Japan. About 50 have rolled off the production line. At its core, the car is a test vehicle for Mercedes — one that will be used as a stepping stone for its next-generation B-Class F-Cell, which will go into production in 2014.
For a stepping stone, it’s extremely impressive — both aesthetically and technologically. Its interior is finished with “alpaca grey” leather seats, navigation and other baseline luxury appointments.
The exterior is an understated metallic green that wouldn’t be obvious as an alternative drivetrain vehicle if not for the text on its flanks and backside announcing its status as a “zero emission,” “F-Cell,” “hydrogen electric vehicle.”
F-Cell is shorthand for fuel cell. That is to say, it’s a car that runs on electrochemical cells that convert energy from a chemical, such as hydrogen, into electricity. In other words, it’s an electric vehicle that runs on hydrogen gas.
Unlike plug-in electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt, which get their electricity from an external source — a power outlet — the F-Cell is propelled by electricity that is generated inside the vehicle.
This is how it works: Hydrogen gas is run through a platinum-coated, proton-conducting membrane that generates electricity by turning the gas into water. That electricity powers a 100-kilowatt AC induction electric motor that propels this front-wheel-drive car. The leftover water exits the drivetrain through the tailpipe.
The car is also equipped with a 1.4-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. Rather than supplying power to the motor, the battery kicks in only to help accelerate the vehicle and to store power from the car’s regenerative brakes.
The fuel cells and battery are situated under the seats and cargo area. The electric motor is located under the hood — where the engine would normally breathe fire on a traditional, internal-combustion car. Although the drivetrain is heavy, it’s also centered and low. I found the car’s handling to be virtually indistinguishable from “regular” cars.
What wasn’t regular was the sound. The driving experience was whisper-quiet — not only because of the soundless electric motor, but also Mercedes’ solid construction and soundproofing.
The B-Class F-Cell employs the same chassis as the internal-combustion B-Class, with a roomy rear seat that folds flat.
Mercedes did not make any aerodynamic improvements because it wanted to show that a fuel-cell drivetrain doesn’t need to be optimized to get excellent fuel economy. Mercedes estimates the F-Cell’s fuel economy at 54 miles per gallon equivalent.
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