IN THIS FEATURE Pea green machine Be quiet! Range roving problems

I jam down the accelerator, and the X-Trail calmly progresses. The fuel cell stack produces the equivalent of just 85bhp, but when you need a bit of extra oomph, the battery can throw in around 30bhp, giving a total of 115bhp. Given the X-Trail tops the scales at over one and a half tonnes performance isn't tyre-peeling. But that's not really an issue at the moment for Nissan. Range is the worst bugbear.

In a fuel cell car, hydrogen is stored under high compression in liquid form. The tubular tank bolted underneath the rear seats in the X-Trail holds its contents at 5,000psi of pressure. Insulating layers of foil keep the hydrogen at a stable temperature of around -200°C. The tank holds enough for a 220-mile range - not much, but Nissan's last super-green effort could only travel 125 miles before it needed a drink, so progress is clearly happening. But before hydrogen-powered vehicles become mainstream, there needs to be a distribution infrastructure so that people can fill up easily. Currently there is only a tiny number of hydrogen filling stations around the world, mainly in California and Japan where the bulk of fuel cell development is undertaken. There is also one in London, which currently fills up the handful of hydrogen-powered buses which Ken Livingstone recently leased for evaluation.

Ride and handling similar to conventional car, only quieter

Much work still needs to be done to make the most of fuel cells - the X-Trail FCV although very good, won't stack up (sorry - Ed) against modern 4x4s. Drivers have always appreciated the power of their cars when they are driving. We love the sound, the smell, the vibrations - all things the X-Trail FCV can't offer. But that's not the point: eight years of research and development has meant that Nissan's FCV is a serious prospect in the emerging green car market, and a vital bridge between tiny 'mini-sized fuel cell cars such as Honda's FCV and Ken's hydrogen-powered buses. And besides, couldn't everyone do with a bit more peace and quiet?