While Malaysia has just welcomed the all-new generation Honda CR-V in December last year, the popular SUV by the brand has now been unveiled in a new guise – the Honda CR-V e:FCEV. As its name suggests, this version of the Honda CR-V is a hydrogen fuel cell version. It is scheduled to go on sale beginning this summer in Japan.
To distinguish itself from the regular CR-V, the CR-V e:FCEV sports a unique bumper design, smoked taillights, blacked-out alloy wheels, and black wing mirrors. There’s also the expected FCEV badge to indicate the hydrogen powertrain.
What’s a bit unique for this hydrogen CR-V e:FCEV is the presence of a charging port on its front left fender. There is already a hydrogen-filling flap on the rear left fender, but the charging flap means that this hydrogen fuel cell car can also be charged like a typical battery electric vehicle (BEV) or plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV).
And this brings us to the topic of the powertrain of the CR-V e:FCEV. It is at its core, a hydrogen fuel-cell (FCEV) SUV with a range of over 600 km. The CR-V e:FCEV also has a battery that can be charged like a typical BEV. And on this battery power alone, the CR-V e:FCEV can be driven up to 60 km.
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Honda has yet to unveil performance details of the CR-V e:FCEV, but it has shared the fact that the car is capable of V2L function at a rate of 1.5 kW via the port on the front-left fender. The Japanese-spec CR-V e:FCEV will be equipped with a DC output in the cargo space. This means that the Japan-spec CR-V e:FCEV can be connected to a portable external power output device, such as the Power Exporter e:6000 or Power Exporter 9000, the CR-V e:FCEV can realize high-output external power and serve as a power source in case of an emergency and/or for an outdoor event.
Despite housing an entirely new powertrain, the CR-V e:FCEV features a cabin space as large as that of the CR-V base model. According to Honda, the packaging team adopted an idea to take advantage of the protruding shape of the hydrogen tank to realize a two-level cargo space using a flexible board, featuring a flat and large luggage space and an upper storage level for easy organization of smaller items.
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Besides the new powertrain and some visual distinctions, the Honda CR-V e:FCEV is pretty much just the latest-generation CR-V that we have welcomed to our shores. As such, it is equipped with the full suite of Honda Sensing advanced driver assistance systems.
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