13 Oct 05
Acceleration and top speed aside, one major limitation of the fuel cell A-Class is its range. The two hydrogen tanks mounted under the rear seats only hold enough gas for 93 miles of motoring. As there's only one hydrogen filling station in the whole of the UK - on a BP forecourt in Hornchurch, Essex - long weekends away are out of the question at the moment (unless you fancy going to Billericay).
Mercedes acknowledges this limitation, but sees this A-Class - one of 60 in daily use around the world - as a fully functional prototype from which to develop the cars of tomorrow. For the record, the total cost of the fleet of prototype A-Classes runs into many millions of euros.
DaimlerChrysler - Mercedes' parent company - has been developing hydrogen-powered vehicles for over 10 years. Considering its first hydrogen powered vehicle was a panel van, in which the whole load bay was filled with the fuel cell componentry, it has come along leaps and bounds in reducing the size of the components so everything can fit within the confines of a car's structure without affecting interior space.
The A-Class isn't your typical prototype vehicle either, where function is usually more important that form and parts are glued or cable-tied into place. It's been built as if it's a proper production model. Open the bonnet and all the cabling is tidy and additional components such as the air-conditioning unit have been purpose-built, not bodged to fit.
