22 Jun 04
I'm about to head off on traffic-filled Californian streets in one of just twelve Nissan X-Trail Fuel Cell Vehicles on the planet. Each one cost $1m to develop. Worried about a prang? Not me. This X-Trail is finished in such a lurid shade of green that the Yanks should be able to spot me coming a mile off.
Besides its paint-job, this X-Trail has one rather distinctive feature setting it apart from conventional ones: the extended front bumper has huge apertures for an additional radiator needed for the fuel cell - but more on that later. Other than that, it's not the kind of futuristic oddball you'd expect. You could be fooled into thinking this was a run-of-the-mill Nissan off-roader. All five seats and four doors are in their proper places. Not too much space has needed to be pinched from the rear quarters, either. Inside, the analogue dials have been replaced with a Toyota Prius-style digital display, whose screen sits in the centre of the dash. A simple auto gearchange sits where you'd expect it to and everything else is stock X-Trail tackle.
When the X-Trail starts up there's no noise except for the whirring of the air-con fan. The screen, however, tells me that something's happening. The fuel cell stack, sitting under the front seats, is generating power and is apparently topping up the lithium-ion battery nestled behind the rear seats. I pull into traffic, and the power from the fuel cell stack shoots to the inverter under the bonnet which converts the fuel cell stack's D/C power into A/C current for the electric motor. The motor's what finally drives the wheels. Of course, sitting in the cockpit, I'm not aware of any of this jiggery-pokery - just eerie, silent motion.
