Volkswagen Tiguan HyMotion

The Volkswagen Tiguan HyMotion fuel cell vehicle has made its North American debut. The Tiguan is an upgrade to the Volkswagen Touran HyMotion that I was able to drive a couple of years back.

In 2007, the Volkswagen Tiguan HyMotion was shown at both the Michelin Challenge Bibendum and the Shanghai Motor Show.

Volkswagen Tiguan HyMotion

The Tiguan HyMotion has an upgraded 4th generation fuel cell and hybrid battery system with a total output of 100 kw (compared to 85 kw of the Touran).

Also, upgraded in the Tiguan is the 700 bar (10,000 psi) hydrogen tank as opposed to the Touran’s 350 bar (5,000 psi) tank. The high pressure Kevlar, carbon fiber and aluminum tank accounts for a greater range of 160 miles compared to 100 miles in the Touran, though quite anemic compared to other hydrogen vehicles getting ranges over 300 miles.

The Tiguan Hymotion has a top speed of about 93 mph compared to the Touran’s 87 mph and both vehicles can accelerate from 0 to 60 in about 14 seconds. The Tiguan Hymotion uses regenerating braking to recapture energy and charge the battery and uses engine idle cutoff to save fuel.

It was time to upgrade the Touran Hymotion, which rolled out in 2004 with a shinier and more technologically advanced vehicle. Perhaps in the next iteration, VW will figure out how to add more range to the vehicle to make it more competitive with other hydrogen fuel cell vehicles currently getting way better mileage.

Written by Hydro Kevin Kantola