Honda's hydrogen fuel-cell Clarity is road ready

VANCOUVER–With its Clarity, Honda may be the automaker furthest along the path to a marketable fuel-cell car.

Indeed, after a pleasant and occasionally spirited 20-minute drive around Stanley Park in Vancouver, the FCX Clarity showed that it is already a real-world car.

One could compare the driving experience to that of an Accord V6. Turn the key, push the start button, move the gearshift to drive, and away you go, with maximum torque off-idle delivering a satisfying push back in the seat.

The run to 100 km/h takes about nine seconds and top speed is 160 km/h. With its multi-link suspension and low centre of gravity, the car handles competently.

The Clarity, which is not based on an existing model like most other fuel-cell vehicles, is a showcase for technology other than its fuel-cell drivetrain.

For example, it features seats and armrests covered with Bio-Fabric, a polyester material made with fermented corn. All interior fabric coverings are made of natural, plant-based materials. The rear window in the trunk lid (as in the Insight) has a special polycarbonate film that makes transparency dependent on the angle of vision. At some angles, it looks like just another painted surface. The car's underside is flat and its wheels have plastic fairings to suppress air turbulence.

The Clarity is very aerodynamic for a four-door sedan. Its swoopy proportions create a capacious interior, with four comfortable seats and futuristic design.

In Los Angeles, lessees, who must qualify to get a Clarity, pay $600 (U.S.) a month for three years, including all maintenance and collision insurance. Quite a deal, one which actress Jamie Lee Curtis accepted, among six others so far. Honda would like to lease 200 Claritys.

–Gerry Frechette

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