21 Nov 06
At least, that is, until you come to a corner. Astonishingly, given that the FCX is still a concept car designed to prove a technology that relates only to its source of power, Honda has clearly spent considerable time making sure the FCX is also capable in areas entirely unrelated to the reason for its existence. You might expect the steering to be finger-light and artificial in feel, but it's not; it has a pleasant weight and precision. The suspension doesn't roll over either when you turn the wheel, it turns the FCX crisply into corners and controls the car well right through the bend.
Why? This is Honda taking the next step. Until the FCX arrived, the world's focus on fuel cell cars had been, not unnaturally, on the cell itself. Honda, which has been working on fuel cell technologies for 17 years, is now saying it's happy with its cell and it's fit for production, so let's put it in a car fit for production too.
Yet we should not run away with ourselves. Impressive and groundbreaking though the FCX is, don't expect to see one wafting up your high street any time soon. There are no firm plans to make the FCX available even in Europe, let alone in the UK. The best Honda can intimate is that there might be something available in around eight years' time. Remember too that until someone figures out how to source the hydrogen both cleanly and economically, the full potential of any fuel cell car - even one as good as this - will not be realised.
Even so, I'm glad Honda is being so bold with the FCX. Its clear strategy is to establish itself as the frontrunner in the fuel cell race so that, if and when the economic and environmental conditions contrive to make widespread fuel cell ownership not just viable but unavoidable, Honda will be there to reap the reward. And on this evidence, it will deserve to.
