Flash Drive: 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV

The First Plug-in Battery Hydrogen Gasoline Cell Electrical Goes on Sale

This week Honda introduced pricing for the CR-V e:FCEV, which is scheduled to go on sale in California (solely) subsequent month. In a first-ever expertise pairing, Honda has mated plug-in battery electrical and hydrogen gasoline cell electrical within the all-new 2025 CR-V e:FCEV. This breaks the norm of a gasoline cell automobile run solely on hydrogen. The e:FCEV advances the corporate’s zero emissions objectives–100-percent of its automobiles shall be battery electrical or gasoline cell electrical fashions by 2040, and the corporate will attain carbon neutrality by 2050. Clear Fleet Report received an opportunity to offer the mannequin a brief take a look at drive not too long ago forward of the general public launch.

Getting To Know the CR-V e:FCEV

2025 CR-V e:FCEV, plug-in hydrogen gasoline cell electrical automobile, is actually a CR-V Hybrid with the addition of plug-in charging and with hydrogen changing gasoline. With a 270-mile all-electric driving vary (AER) from the 92.2 kW electrical motor fed with electrical energy created by the gasoline cell, and as much as 29 miles of vary coming from the 17.7 kWh battery, this mixture affords some fascinating potentialities for California drivers.

A chemical course of using oxygen and compressed hydrogen takes place within the gasoline cell, creating electrical energy to energy the motor and cost the lithium-ion battery. The by-product is water vapor that harmlessly drips from the tailpipe, making the e:FCEV a zero-emission automobile. The gasoline cell stack is a joint mission between Honda and Common Motors.

The e:FCEV’s plug-in battery costs in lower than two hours with a Stage 2 240V EV charger, or about 10 hours utilizing a standard 120V family plug. Stage 3, DC Quick Charging will not be accessible. Charging nightly and driving underneath 29 miles will imply much less want for hydrogen gasoline, which is at the moment accessible at one among about 50 stations in California.

Gasoline financial system is measured as MPGe (miles per gallon equal). The CR-V is rated at 61 MPGe metropolis/52 freeway/57 mixed utilizing a mixture of the electrical battery and compressed hydrogen gasoline. MPGe is a measurement of how far a automotive can journey electrically, on the identical quantity of vitality as is contained in a single gallon of gasoline.

The closest comparisons for hydrogen-only automobiles are the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo, however there are not any direct opponents utilizing this distinctive mixture expertise.

Pricing

Accessible in a single trim degree and for lease solely, the 2025 CR-V e:FCEV is priced at $50,000 (about $10,000 greater than the highest trim degree fuel CR-V Hybrid), which incorporates the necessary $1,350 supply and dealing with charge. It should qualify for federal and California tax credit, in addition to the coveted HOV sticker that enables for a single driver to make use of the carpool lane. See your tax advisor earlier than visiting your native Honda vendor. Three lease plans shall be supplied:

• $489/month for 2 years
• $459/month for 3 years
• $389/month for six years
• All plans have $2,959 due at signing, permit for 12,000 miles per yr (besides the two-year time period that enables 60,000 miles) and supply $15,000 per yr in credit score for hydrogen fueling (the two-year time period has a $25,000 credit score).

Drives Likes a Crossover (As a result of it’s a crossover!)

Our time behind the wheel was on metropolis streets and parkways, spiced-up a bit with some twisties to assault. Honda will not be advertising the e:FCEV as a sport compact crossover, however it held its personal properly as we carved a two-lane nation highway, following alongside a river that was lined with California oak timber. The front-wheel drive e:FCEV with 235/60 all-season tires on 18-inch wheels, has a MacPherson strut entrance and multilink rear suspension that has been re-tuned for the e:FCEV. Extra suspension tweaks embody particular springs, amplitude-sensitive dampers and stabilizer bars entrance and rear to optimize responsiveness.

The e:FCEV drives likes a really competent, gasoline or gasoline-electric hybrid crossover, with its  electrical drivetrain solely making it smoother and quieter.

The e:FCEV’s efficiency from the 174 horsepower electrical motor with 229 pound-feet of torque produces an 8.5 second 0-60 mph time. Whereas not quick by EV requirements, it can get the job performed for getting into freeways, which is what the e:FCEV shall be doing a number of as it can solely be leased in California when it hits sellers in July.

There drive modes are Regular, Econ, Sport and Snow, with Regular and Sport our favorites for accelerator really feel and efficiency. Prolonged 65+ mph cruising is when Econ can be thought of, however know the accelerator pedal is dumbed-down a bit and the A/C doesn’t run at full pop, each of that are compromises for getting extra vary.

The e:FCEV will not be accessible with all-wheel drive and few hydrogen fueling stations within the Sierra Nevadas, the Snow mode in all probability won’t be known as on too usually.

Having beforehand pushed a 2024 CR-V Hybrid, the 500-pound weight distinction between the 2 was noticeable, however not in a foul approach as the additional heft gave a strong really feel to the trip, including to steady dealing with. Braking on the e:FCEV was a bit longer than the hybrid, however as soon as understood, adjusting for it was not a problem.

The CR-V e:FCEV has regenerative braking that’s set by pulling the left steering wheel paddle 4 occasions to extend, 4 occasions on the appropriate paddle to lower. Even within the fullest setting the regenerative braking pressure will not be very robust in comparison with most EVs we’ve pushed.

It’s not a full one-pedal driving system that mechanically shuts off when slowing to seven miles per hour. At this level, apply the brake pedal to cease, set the Brake Maintain button, and the e:FCEV will keep in place till you press the accelerator. Each the regenerative degree not being robust and never having true one-pedal driving had been curious. Nevertheless, as we had been reminded by the Honda group, the CR-V e:FCEV we drove in March 2024 was a prototype, and with the on-sale just a few months away, issues could change on the manufacturing mannequin.

Modern Design/Snug Inside

Design-wise, the CR-V e:FCEV and the CR-V Hybrid are related. Delicate-but-obvious variations are the e:FCEV is three inches longer, the entrance finish is sleeker with a smaller higher grille and it has totally different decrease entrance and rear fascia, slender headlights that result in an extended hood, new vertical tail lights and 18-inch, 10-spoke black wheels.

The CR-V Hybrid e:FCEV is available in one trim degree of Touring. The driving force and passenger seats are heated, with energy changes. The cockpit design is just like the CR-V Hybrid, with a ten.2-inch digital automobile info display, and a 9.0-inch HD touchscreen for the 12-speaker Bose audio system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Total, the construct high quality was at a excessive degree. The honeycomb sample sprint panel, smooth surfaces on the sprint and door panels, wi-fi telephone charging, heated steering wheel and twin zone local weather management made for a welcoming cabin. The shift-by-wire gear selector, situated within the heart console, opens house in comparison with a standard shift lever.

The reclining (good contact, Honda!) rear seats are made for grown people: two comfortably however three for brief jaunts. The rear seat, divided by the fold down armrest with cup holders, had ample leg and shoulder room. With no sunroof possibility, the top room was glorious.Whereas the rear seat folds 60:40 for storage, the house is compromised a bit because the 4.3 kilogram gasoline tanks had been positioned underneath the rear seat. Nevertheless, the recessed storage space within the far rear of the cargo space has a canopy to supply wandering eyes from recognizing tucked away valuables.

Security

All CR-V (gasoline, hybrid and e:FCEV)  fashions come normal with energetic and passive security options reminiscent of entrance and facet air luggage. Honda Sensing, Honda’s superior driver help methods (ADAS), contains ahead collision and highway departure mitigation, lane hold help, and adaptive cruise management.

Guarantee

• Primary – Three years/36,000 miles
• Plug-in and Hydrogen Techniques – Eight years/100,000 miles
• Upkeep – One yr/Limitless miles
• Roadside Help – Three years/Limitless miles

Availability

The 2025 CR-V Hybrid e:FCEV shall be accessible at these 12 California Honda sellers.

Northern California

• Dublin
• Oakland
• Palo Alto
• Roseville
• Serramonte (Colma)
• Stevens Creek (San Jose)

Southern California

• Cerritos
• Culver Metropolis
• Irvine
• Pasadena
• Torrance
• Woodland Hills

Hydrogen Concerns

• Hydrogen prices (as of June 2024) $33 per kilogram (kg), so the e:FCEV’s 4.3 kg tank will value about $142 to fill (in fact, Honda covers that value as a part of the lease). It takes about 5 minutes to fill the tank.

• Hydrogen gasoline stations, identical to electrical charging stations, have a spotty report of not being  operational always. This is the reason it’s essential to make use of an availability web site, such because the one from the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership.

• Hydrogen costs fluctuate in a broader vary than gasoline or electrical energy. In 2022, it was $16 per kilogram in comparison with now the place it sits round.

• Versus an electrical automotive, the price to fueling distinction is substantial. The price to cost an electrical automotive with a 66 kWh battery and 300 miles of vary (similar to the 270 AER of the CR-V e:FCEV), with a California common of 19.39¢ per kilowatt hour for electrical energy, would value about $12,. With a house charger and photo voltaic panels, the price to cost an EV can be even much less.

• The e:FCEV will not be a automotive to be pushed exterior California since there isn’t any nationwide hydrogen fueling community.

The State and Way forward for Hydrogen

There are about 50 working hydrogen fuel stations in California, and the supply of hydrogen is usually spotty. For perspective, China, which is way bigger than California, has 250 and Japan, which is roughly the identical measurement as California however populated by thrice as many individuals, has 160 stations.

The state has acknowledged hydrogen-powered automobiles as a part of its drive to zero-out tailpipe emissions (and the ensuing harmful smog) for 3 a long time and helped help the event of automobiles and infrastructure. The hydrogen fueling station community is slowly being constructed out, funded partly with state help that averaged $20 million/yr for the previous couple a long time.

In October 2023 Gov. Newsom signed a funding invoice to take a position $106 million within the building of extra hydrogen stations via the top of the last decade, for the primary time backing stations for business automobiles in addition to passenger automobiles. The necessity for extra stations is important if this gasoline is to ever achieve client acceptance for his or her on a regular basis automobiles.

Honda is betting (and investing huge) in hydrogen gasoline. Along with the 2025 CR-V e:FCEV for customers, Honda Motor Firm and Isuzu Motors Restricted are branching into business automobiles. The Giga Fuel Cell, a zero-emissions FCEV heavy-duty truck with an estimated 500-mile vary, was proven for the primary time on the Japan Mobility Present 2023. Projections are to introduce a manufacturing mannequin within the Japan market in 2027.

Honda showcased a proof-of-concept Class 8 hydrogen gasoline cell truck on the ACT Expo in Could 2024, and is in talks with potential clients. Honda additionally hopes to use its gasoline cell system to building gear, reminiscent of excavators and wheel loaders, to assist main the development business to carbon neutrality.

Honda is following its rival, Toyota, which with Kenworth debuted a co-developed a Class 8 FCEV truck, code named Ocean, with a zero-emission 300-mile vary, in 2022. Peterbilt additionally labored with Toyota and affords its Model 579HFC on the market. Volvo Group and Daimler Vehicles even have a three way partnership to develop gasoline cell expertise.

 Observations: 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV

The Honda CR-V compact crossover utility automobile (CUV) has been some of the common CUVs in America and accounts for greater than 56 p.c of Honda’s CUV/SUV gross sales and a 3rd of all of the model’s gross sales. Updates since its debut in 1997 included the primary CR-V Hybrid in 2020.

Subsequent, the all-new 2025 CR-V e:FCEV shall be launched in July 2024. Jay Joseph, VP sustainability, confirmed that is persevering with Honda’s “long-term funding and 40 years of expertise” in electrification, and its quest to “make hydrogen extra accessible” to the general public.

Take into account the 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV will solely be leased in California, and solely 300 are dedicated to being constructed yearly. In comparison with its FCEV opponents (additionally solely bought or leased in California), the Toyota Mirai (357 to 402 AER) and Hyundai Nexo (354 AER) it has a decrease total driving vary. However these fashions don’t have a plug.

The important thing to creating the 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV work (and its ace within the gap) on your price range and comfort, shall be residence charging and utilizing the 29 all-electric mile driving vary to its fullest each time attainable. If most of your driving is near residence, and you’re tempted to take the hydrogen plunge, then the Honda CR-V e:FCEV could also be a greater hydrogen gasoline cell electrical automobile possibility.

Honda’s take a look at of the e:FCEV for the way a plug-in hydrogen gasoline cell automobile operates in the actual world will reveal its acceptance by the general public. They usually couldn’t have performed it in a greater place since Californian’s are EV-savvy and EV-crazy (and have cumulatively bought greater than 15,000 gasoline cell automobiles).

It will likely be constructed by-hand in Marysville, Ohio at Honda’s Efficiency Manufacturing Heart, the identical facility that hand-built the very sporty Acura NSX.

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Story and pictures by John Faulkner