{"id":43742,"date":"2023-02-27T06:02:15","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T11:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=43742"},"modified":"2023-02-27T06:02:15","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T11:02:15","slug":"2023-bmw-ix5-hydrogen-prototype-first-drive-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=43742","title":{"rendered":"2023 BMW iX5 Prototype First Drive Review: The future isn\u2019t (battery) electric – Autoblog"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ANTWERP, Belgium – \u201cRange is going to be a problem forever in electric mobility \u2013 especially if you want to have affordable products,\u201d BMW boss Oliver Zipse said. That\u2019s a shockingly blunt statement from a firm with a growing lineup of EVs, but it explains why executives are leaving room in the range for hydrogen-powered cars.<\/p>\n

On paper, it\u2019s an argument that holds water: a hydrogen-electric car requires a much smaller battery pack than a comparable electric car, it offers the same amount of driving range regardless of the outside temperature, and it can be refueled as quickly as a gasoline-burning model. Zipse clarified that BMW isn\u2019t developing hydrogen technology as a replacement for EVs; they\u2019re two similar powertrain technologies that complement each other. Electricity is best suited to smaller cars, he noted, while hydrogen is better for bigger vehicles, especially those that regularly embark on long trips while towing something heavy.<\/p>\n

Fair enough, but what does this mean in real life? BMW developed a hydrogen-electric, X5-based prototype called iX5<\/a> to find out, and I was one of the first people outside of the company to drive it.<\/p>\n

BMW began experimenting with hydrogen technology well before most of its peers and rivals. In 2005, it released a 7 Series-based prototype called Hydrogen 7<\/a> that was fitted with a 256-horsepower, 6.0-liter V12 modified to burn hydrogen (it could also run on gasoline). It worked well, about 100 units were built and tested, but the project was shelved. One issue was efficiency; another was that the engine wasn\u2019t 100% emissions-free.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still possible, there will be some manufacturers who do that<\/a>, but we think it\u2019s not the right strategy because we have EVs. If we didn\u2019t have the electric cars we might think differently. The similarity of a fuel-cell vehicle to an electric vehicle is so close \u2013 much closer than to a gasoline-powered combustion engine \u2013 and that changed our opinion. That question is answered,\u201d Zipse said.<\/p>\n

In hindsight, the Hydrogen 7\u2019s main contribution was showing BMW what not to do.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Over four years in the making, the iX5\u2019s drivetrain is simultaneously complex and simple. It\u2019s complex in the sense that the electricity that zaps the rear wheels into motion is generated onboard. It\u2019s kind of like the wood gas-powered generators<\/a> that were common across Europe in the aftermath of World War II, or like if BMW built a gasoline-powered X5 with a miniature oil refinery stuffed into the engine bay.<\/p>\n

With that said, you don\u2019t need a master\u2019s degree in chemistry to understand how it works. Gaseous hydrogen enters the two, 700-bar tanks via a filler integrated into the passenger-side quarter panel, in the same place where you find the fuel filler in a gasoline-burning X5. From there, it goes to the fuel cell under the hood where it reacts with oxygen from the air to create electricity. The water vapor emitted by this process gets released into the atmosphere, while the electricity generated travels through thick, orange wires to a roughly 2-kWh lithium-ion battery pack mounted under the trunk floor, right over the electric motor.<\/p>\n

The fuel cells come from Toyota, with whom BMW has a partnership (it’s not just the Supra and Z4, you know), and the motor is sourced from the iX. That\u2019s the gist of it. Of course, this process relies on hundreds of smaller components including an air filter, a compressor, a high-voltage coolant pump, a humidifier with an air cooler and a control unit. It\u2019s too early to predict the drivetrain\u2019s reliability and longevity, but BMW already warned that parts like the storage tanks will need to be replaced after 15 years \u2013 it\u2019s a legal requirement in numerous countries.<\/p>\n

BMW pegs the system\u2019s total output at 401 horsepower, and the roughly 5,500-pound iX5\u2019s driving range checks in at up to 313 miles when tested on the WLTP cycle used in Europe. Hitting 60 mph from a stop takes around 6 seconds. It doesn\u2019t take a great deal of powertrain wizardry to achieve these figures with a battery-electric drivetrain, and a 10-year-old V8 can easily post the same numbers, but the main selling point here is that filling the tanks with around 13 pounds of hydrogen (that\u2019s the maximum they can carry) takes three to four minutes. It\u2019s not faster or slower than filling up a tank with gasoline.<\/p>\n

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Promising? Certainly, but the iX5 isn\u2019t ready for prime time and neither is its powertrain. BMW stresses it\u2019s a prototype built exclusively to test the technology in real-world conditions. This partly explains why the iX5 is rear-wheel-drive. As it stands, there\u2019s not enough space under the hood to add the second electric motor required for all-wheel-drive, though I\u2019m told this is on the engineering team\u2019s to-do list.<\/p>\n

J\u00fcrgen\u00a0Guldner, the hydrogen program\u2019s general manager, told me that iX5 production will be limited to under 100 units. Some will be used as demonstrators \u2013 BMW notably needs to convince lawmakers that hydrogen is a viable alternative to electric technology \u2013 while others will be loaned to a handful of real-world motorists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re planning to have short-term loans, maybe for a week or so, so that people can give us feedback,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

This approach isn\u2019t unprecedented. In 2008, BMW built a handful of electric Mini prototypes<\/a> for a similar pilot program launched to gain knowledge about EVs. The loans will be much shorter this time around, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the experience [we got from the Mini project], we decided it\u2019s better to give [the car] to more people rather than just one,\u201d Guldner explained.<\/p>\n

BMW plastered its prototypes with powertrain-specific decals so you can\u2019t mistake one for a run-of-the-mill X5<\/a>. Without them, the iX5 would still stand out thanks to styling cues such as blue accents, a subtle \u201ci\u201d emblem in the grille, and new-look wheels. Inside, the iX5 gains \u201chydrogen fuel cell\u201d-branded sill plates, the same emblem on the passenger\u2019s side of the dashboard, a smattering of blue trim, plus redesigned graphics in the instrument cluster and infotainment system. There\u2019s a useful menu that tracks real-time hydrogen consumption and another one that helps the driver find the nearest fueling station \u2026 which can be hundreds of miles away, depending on where you are (though I\u2019m assured that will change in the not-too-distant future). Don\u2019t look for a frunk; the fuel cell hogs all of the space.<\/p>\n

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Admittedly, there\u2019s not a ton to say about how the iX5 drives \u2013 and that\u2019s the point. It\u2019s a lot like the plug-in hybrid X5 when it\u2019s running on battery power, meaning smooth and silent, or like what I imagine a battery-electric X5 would feel like. Nothing about the driving experience suggests that the electricity comes from an on-board fuel cell rather than from a charging station; the system makes no noise (unless the driver switches on the artificial powertrain noise, then it sounds like the iX), and the water vapor emitted is only visible on a cold day. From the driver\u2019s perspective, the iX5 accelerates and brakes just like an electric car, which is pretty much what it is (unlike the old, hydrogen-burning 7 Series prototype). It’s quick off the line thanks to the instant torque, and the brake pedal inevitably feels a little artificial.<\/p>\n

Handling is relatively difficult to evaluate, and not merely because twisty roads in northern Belgium are about as common as mile-long stretches of straight pavement in the Alps. BMW doesn\u2019t make a battery-powered X5 to compare the iX5 to, and the experimental SUV has no direct rivals \u2013 there\u2019s no hydrogen-fueled version of, say, the Mercedes-Benz GLE<\/a>. The best way to sum it up is that, again, it takes a turn a lot like the plug-in hybrid X5. It\u2019s not as bottom-heavy as most of the big, electric SUVs that I\u2019ve driven (the iX comes to mind, and I\u2019ve taken more than my fair share of turns in it<\/a>) and not as playful as a non-electrified, rear-wheel-drive X5. The air suspension system\u2019s Sport mode makes the ride markedly firmer (conversely, Comfort softens it up considerably), and a distinct BMW-ness characterizes the steering. It\u2019s not a sports car, and it wasn\u2019t designed to be one, but it also doesn\u2019t float into a bend like a cruise ship.<\/p>\n

In normal driving conditions (the ones most of us encounter daily), the iX5 is relaxing and comfortable to drive. The one-pedal driving mode can be engaged by flicking the gear selector to the left into \u201cB\u201d mode, and a pair of steering wheel-mounted paddles let the driver choose one of three regeneration modes. The most aggressive profile makes the brake pedal nearly useless: you can come to a complete stop by lifting off the accelerator pedal. Leave the gear selector in \u201cD\u201d and the iX5 coasts like any other car.<\/p>\n

Since this is essentially a regular-production X5 (a model homologated around the world) powered by a zero-emissions drivetrain, why can\u2019t BMW simply add it to its catalog of SUVs and let the market judge its viability? Guldner told me that marketing a hydrogen-powered car isn\u2019t as simple as it might sound. It doesn\u2019t make sense from a business perspective to invest in mass-producing the iX5 if no one buys it, and no one will buy it if there\u2019s nowhere to fill it up. The lack of refueling infrastructure is the biggest hurdle that all hydrogen-powered cars need to clear. Various governments and third-party companies say they\u2019re working on expanding the network of refueling stations, but this is a medium-term project, not one that can be completed in months. Cost is another issue: Guldner believes the cost of buying and running a hydrogen-powered car needs to be comparable to the cost of buying and running an EV, and reaching this point requires scale as well as some heavy lifting on the engineering side of the equation.<\/p>\n

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BMW believes that hydrogen will merge into the automotive mainstream during the second half of the 2020s, assuming everything goes according to plan. Until then, prototypes like the iX5 play a crucial role in helping this relatively new technology reach maturity. It\u2019s not ready for mass production, but it\u2019s already keeping its promise of loosening some of the constraints associated with driving an electric car.<\/p>\n

If BMW\u2019s crystal ball is accurate, hydrogen-electric cars may ultimately top EVs on many shopping lists.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou already see that in 2027 or 2028 there will be a scarcity of raw materials [needed to build EVs] if we continue to ramp up production. So, that\u2019s where hydrogen comes in,\u201d Zipse concluded. \u201cIt uses less raw materials, it\u2019s a much, much smaller battery, the car is lighter, and it does not need the same charging infrastructure. You can more or less use the same [gas station] infrastructure that we have today.\u201d<\/p>\n

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