2009 Honda FCX Clarity

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Oddly, while the doors and windows are power-operated, the seats are manual. Then again, maybe not, as weight clearly matters when you're going for maximum mileage.

In terms of safety, the FCX Clarity is equally well-equipped, with six airbags, anti-lock brakes, stability and traction control, active headrests, and a radar-guided collision mitigation system.

Under pressure

Though it's extremely aerodynamic, the FCX uses a conventional steel body, with a steel chassis and aluminum subframe, rather than the costly, ultralight materials that could have been used. Even so, the numbers are impressive. The FCX delivers an estimated range of 270 miles on a tank full of hydrogen. Since it holds four kilograms of the stuff, that works out to an equated 68 miles per gallon. (The EPA considers a kilogram of hydrogen to equal a gallon of gas.)

A bit of a primer is called for here. A fuel cell "stack" consists of a series of permeable membranes coated with noble metals, including platinum, rhodium and palladium. The hydrogen passes through the membrane, in the process shedding an electron, the basic stuff of the electricity that runs a fuel-cell vehicle's electric motor. When the hydrogen combines with air, it forms water, which you can spot coming out of the FCX tailpipe as either steam or a spray of liquid.

The latest-generation Honda stack, along with the rest of the fuel-cell system, is about 400 pounds lighter than in the earlier FCX, the stack itself now about a fifth the size of early stacks. The overall drive system, company officials note, is roughly the same size as a comparable gasoline-electric drivetrain. It's also able to handle the worst heat a driver might experience in Southern California, as well as a low of -30 degrees Celsius (about -22 F).

Honda notably chose to go with a "low-pressure" fuel tank, storing those 4 kg of hydrogen at 350 bar, or 5000 psi. General Motors, with its new Equinox FCV, is opting for higher 700 bar/10,000 psi pressures, but that raises storage costs significantly, requires tremendous energy to compress the gas, and doesn't quite double the amount of hydrogen you can store in a given space. The industry is likely to keep the storage debate going for a number of years.

Firing up the Clarity is simple: just press the start button. It takes a few seconds for the system to come alive, but once it does, you simply shift into gear, with an IP-mounted contraption that vaguely resembles a BMW 7-Series shifter.

Step on the throttle and you're likely to be surprised by the Clarity's aggressive launch. The system produces 100 kilowatts of power, with a modest additional assist from the onboard batteries, which operate much like those in today's gas-electric hybrids. That works out to a seemingly modest 134 horsepower, but the numbers underrate the actual kick of an electric drive system, where you get maximum torque the moment the motor starts to turn.

From 0 to 30 mph, the FCX delivers some serious acceleration. It slacks off as you approach highway speed, but that doesn't mean it's a slouch. We were able to easily merge onto the congested I-10, in Santa Monica , and quickly soared to near 90 mph. Certainly, around town, the FCX Clarity will keep up with traffic.

Canyon agility

Later, as we headed up the busy Pacific Coast Highway toward Malibu , we were impressed with the agility of the sedan, which smoothly zipped from lane-to-lane. As we turned off onto Malibu Canyon Road , the fuel-cell vehicle shot up the steep incline without any hesitation, weaving and bobbing through the fire-ravaged canyon about as nimbly as the new Accord. Credit the Clarity's double-wishbone suspension - and Honda engineers who were able to package the hefty fuel cell components as low as possible. The stack, for example, is actually mounted below the sedan's center console.

One of the most striking features of any fuel-cell vehicle is the distinct lack of traditional powertrain noises. Instead, you suddenly discover all sorts of sounds normally muffled beneath, like controls and pumps - especially the compressor driving air into the fuel-cell stack.