Sell the Runner....Get This!
- Thread starter Khjphoto
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MaddoxPics
New member
Threw up in my mouth a little.
97FR_brad
New member
Finally... a vehicle to give the Chevy avalanche and pt cruiser a run for the money as ugliest vehicle ever!
However I do like the idea of another option for powering engines besides petroleum and electric. Should be fun to see how that power plant performs and transforms for the civilian market over the next decade.
However I do like the idea of another option for powering engines besides petroleum and electric. Should be fun to see how that power plant performs and transforms for the civilian market over the next decade.
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Top speed only 62 mph? Very lame. My 4Runner can cruise all day at 90 mph, as well as being seriously off-road capable. Also I noticed they didn't say anything about how far this can go between refueling stops.
Hydrogen is literally the least dense form of fuel. Getting enough of it into a small enough container for practical vehicular use is tricky, at best.
Hydrogen is literally the least dense form of fuel. Getting enough of it into a small enough container for practical vehicular use is tricky, at best.
Okay, but going 90 mph all day in a 4runner doesn't get you very far, and to be honest the 4runner's old-school chassis and 4.0l v6 really aren't ideal for those kinds of speeds.
As it stands, I'm excited if I can break 21 mpg with my 4runner on pure highway driving (@ 70 mph)....that's sad given the current trend in automotive technologies.
If the free market advances in hydrogen, electric, hybrid, CNG, and diesel can advance the efficiency benchmarks and still provide decent performance (most truck owners don't want to go 90 mph), then I'm all for these types of concept vehicles being developed.
4x4 owners should enthusiastic about these kinds of powertrain developments, or at the very least aware of them. Electric has significant range limitations for high workload vehicle applications (towing, hauling, 4x4'ing, moving big tires). Diesel, hydrogen, CNG, and hybrid variations of those power sources offer promising opportunities for the truck community.
Ray Dunakin
Senior Member
Maybe not, and it's not something I do often. But on the freeway, my standard cruising speed is 80 and the 4Runner does it well. And it's always a good thing to have the power to go faster when you need to, such as for passing.
The point remains, that a 62mph TOP speed ain't gonna cut it.
I have the same 4runner as you; it does do 80 mph, it does not do it well. The engine, and the aerodynamics, are highly inefficient at that speed. The chassis really doesn't handle well (compared to other vehicles) at those speeds. This is a BOF SUV we're talking about here. If your criteria for a vehicle being labeled "good" is that it can comfortably cruise at 80-90mph speeds, I'd say look for a different category of vehicle all together.
Back to the ZH2, it's way too early to start criticizing it for a lack of performance. It's still a work in progress. Just like other alternative powertrain concepts, it will have its own set of teething issues to work through. You should keep an open-mind on this technology, because when zero emissions eventually becomes the law of the land, it will likely either be electric or hydrogen fuel cell that's powering your SUV in the future.
