While Hyundai's first hydrogen-powered made an appearance at the Field Days this year, and the brand has been advertising the car around New Zealand, it doesn't look like we're getting it any time soon.
Right now, the compact SUV is only available in California, and is the first hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle to undergo Insurance Institute for Highway Safety testing.
At Hyundai's request, the vehicle was tested and came out with top marks, scoring a Top Safety Pick+ award. In order to receive the top score, a vehicle must achieve 'good' ratings in six tests, including small overlap front left and right, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints and seats.
“Its standard front crash prevention system earns a superior rating”, said the IIHS. “The vehicle avoided collisions in 12 mph and 25 mph (19-40 km/h) track tests and has a forward collision warning system that meets National Highway Traffic Safety Administration criteria.”
It takes five minutes to fill the hydrogen tank of the Nexo, which allows for a 612km range in the Blue spec Nexo, and 570km in the Limited. Both models have 120kW and 394Nm of torque at hand, and can do 0-100km/h in just 9.5 seconds.
When we contacted Hyundai NZ to ask about the Nexo advertising, their response seemed promising.
"The NEXO ad campaign is around educating people about this future technology and positioning us as the leader in this new technology," responded a Hyundai NZ spokesperson.
"Once a refuelling infrastructure is in place then we will be in a position to make NEXO available for purchase."