Electric cars are the future; there’s no getting around it. But depending on where you live, you may have access to zero-emissions vehicles that take alternative approaches to the science of driving without fossil fuels. For years, Hyundai, Toyota, and others have developed and sold hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for use in California, and the 2022 Hyundai Nexo is a great example of how compelling a fuel cell car can be—as long as you can find a place to fill up. Unless you live in California, don’t get your hopes up about finding a new Nexo at your local Hyundai dealer. The car is only sold in the Golden State, where hydrogen fueling stations actually exist, and even then, it’s not like there’s a hydrogen station on every corner. That said, hydrogen fuel cell cars are currently as close as zero-emissions vehicles have come to emulating the ownership experience of gas vehicles. Stopping at a hydrogen station and topping off the fuel tank takes minutes instead of half an hour or more. The Nexo is rated to travel up to 380 miles per tank as well, so there’s plenty of range in between fuel stops. Since fuel cell cars use hydrogen to produce electricity, their drivetrains look and function just like a traditional EV’s, minus charging. The Nexo is powered by a 40-kWh battery that combines with the powertrain to produce 161 horsepower and 291 pound-feet of torque. Power hits the front wheels through a single-speed transmission. The Blue trim is the most efficient, but top models get larger wheels that can knock range by as much as 25 miles or more. The EPA estimates the Nexo Blue to return 61 MPGe (miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent) and the Nexo Limited to return 57 MPGe. The five-passenger Nexo offers decent interior space and a load of standard gear. The base Blue trim comes with vegan leatherette upholstery, heated front seats, a 12.3-inch touchscreen, SiriusXM radio, navigation, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Hyundai Blue Link services, USB chargers and inputs, wireless smartphone charging, and more. Hyundai packages a full suite of advanced driver aids with every Nexo. The list includes forward collision warnings, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alerts, parking distance warnings, lane-following assist, a driver attention warning system, high beam assist, and a rearview camera. The Limited trim adds a blind-spot camera system that projects an image from the car’s blind spots into the digital gauge cluster when a turn signal is activated. The 2022 Nexo hasn’t been rated by either major safety testing agency, but the 2021 model scored top marks. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded the 2021 Nexo a Top Safety Pick + designation, which includes “Good” ratings in all crash tests, a “Superior” score for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention, an “Advanced” rating for vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention, and a “Good” score for LATCH system ease of use. The 2022 Hyundai Nexo is on sale now with a starting price of $59,435.