The two types of fuel we talk the most about are electric and gasoline. We have a ton of vehicles on the market that either make use of one or both of these types of fuel to let us drive on the roads, offering us the way we want to drive. Each type of fuel has its own benefits and drawbacks, leaving us to make the right decision for buying the vehicle that will fit our needs and offers us the performance we are looking for. There are other types of fuel used in the automotive world as well, hydrogen being one of them.
Honda has been working on their hydrogen fueled vehicles for a while and seems to be ready to put their new FCX Clarity on the market for us to enjoy the benefits of using hydrogen as our fuel for driving. This new hydrogen fueled car is about to hit the roads of California ( the only place these cars can be sold and refueled so far) to join the models from Toyota and Hyundai that are also powered strictly by hydrogen. Let’s take a look at some of what this new FCX Clarity will offer us.
First of all, if you want to drive a car powered by hydrogen you have to really want to do so. The Clarity will hit the market with a sticker price of nearly $60,000. Not to mention the fact that you can’t take this car out of the state of California because you won’t have any way to refuel it. As the hydrogen fueled market expands this may change, but for now this car is as limited in its driving area as an all-electric car that only offers fifty miles of range and no backup system for powering the vehicle.
Although the sticker price may shock many away from this car, Honda has announced the lease for the FCX Clarity will be $500 a month which is reasonably affordable. The goal is to eventually be able to offer the car for sale, but for now it will be a lease-only offering at that price. The benefit to driving a hydrogen powered vehicle comes in the fact that California gives you a $5,000 cash rebate when you lease this vehicle. There is no federal tax credit because it’s not battery powered, but the cash rebate from the state can certainly be a great incentive to lease this vehicle.
This is one car that does take a little extra screening to purchase. There is an application and a few phone calls, but the most important part are that you register the car in California and live within 300 miles of the nearest hydrogen refueling station as that is the driving range for the Clarity. This car can be purchased in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and Sacramento. Currently this car comes in only white, black or red and features LED headlights and 18-inch wheels as standard features on the car.
For comparison purposes, the Toyota Mirai shows a price of $58,335 which is leased for $499 a month which is the same lease as the Tucson Fuel Cell from Hyundai. The Tucson has not been offered for outright purchase yet, but Toyota is working to have more fuel stations put in across the Northeast and plans to make the Mirai available in more areas than just California. Will you make the FCX Clarity your car of choice? You should consider it if you live in California, for $500 a month you would know you are driving a car that uses a plentiful fuel supply, making it a green car.
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