Hyundai Nexo vs Merc-AMG GLS: fuel-cell EV or V8 SUV?

Recently we asked you whether you’d rather have a new Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro, or a used Ferrari 430 Scuderia, given both can be had for around the same money. Of course those two are philosophically pretty similar - hardcore, track-ready versions of existing sports/supercars. Time then, for something a bit different. Something you quite possibly won’t have to think so hard about…

Hyundai has announced its hydrogen-powered Nexo would cost £65,995. Sounds like a lot, but being an early adopter is never cheap, and the Nexo is a proper thing. A bespoke SUV designed from the ground up as a fuel-cell vehicle. Hyundai claims a range of 414 miles, and a refuel time of just five minutes. Assuming the nearest of Britain’s few hydrogen filling stations isn’t an hour’s drive from your house, obviously.

From a car that literally cleans the air as it drives along (and emits only water vapours from its exhaust) to one that most definitely doesn’t. For around the same price as a Nexo you could have a used Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 - a vast, seven seat SUV powered by a 5.5-litre V8 engine making 585bhp. Mercedes claims 20.2mpg - and we reckon even that’s pretty optimistic. Still - 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds is not to be sniffed at, from something that weighs more than a small principality.

So, readers of TopGear.com, the premise is simple: the future, or the past?