• Bright and airy interior with lots of light materials
• Great feeling of space with modern fixtures
• Raised centre console a nice touch, but button heavy

The Nexo feels suitably futuristic behind the wheel, but not so much that it’s intimidating or daunting to operate, with plenty of familiar Hyundai fixtures and fittings throughout. It’s very bright and airy thanks to plenty of light colours used and the quality of materials is very impressive indeed.

The dashboard is dominated by large screens for the infotainment system and dials – with an uncanny resemblance to those found in Mercedes-Benz models – using a more advanced system than you’ll find in cheaper Hyundai models. It’s also controlled via a choice of touchscreen or rotary dial with buttons alongside on the raised centre console.

While this boosts usability, that centre console is scattered with buttons. It’s useful to have all the functions and controls in one place, but most of them are all the same size and, because they’re silver with light font, it’s hard to make out in a hurry what you’re supposed to be pressing, requiring a lot of time to look down and make sure you’re pressing the right thing.

We’re sure you’ll learn where everything is fairly quickly if you own a Nexo, but it feels slightly old-hat for such a futuristic car. Especially when there are buttons to select drive, reverse, neutral and park, too.

Everything just works with a pleasing simplicity though, and it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position thanks to some of the comfiest seats we’ve tried, and excellent visibility.

Speaking of, the Nexo’s blindspot monitoring system projects an image from a camera mounted on the door mirrors onto the car’s display screen, so you can actually see what’s in your blindspot instead of just getting a warning light. This is fabulous in use and we’d like to see it employed across the industry.

Comfort

• Nexo is a very comfortable SUV
• Exceptionally-low noise levels
• With a relaxed and refined ride too

Hyundai has engineered the Nexo with a greater focus on comfort than sportiness (it’s actually all about the technology and powertrain) and it’s all the better for it. Inside, the seats in both rows are very comfortable and made with eco-friendly materials, and it’s very easy to find a comfy driving position thanks to plenty of adjustment and a dashboard and centre console that feels cocooning around you.

In terms of driving, the soft suspension makes it a fine and relaxed ride around town and on bumpier roads, however the Nexo’s heavy weight can make it thud into harsher bumps. It’s no worse than many other mid-sized SUVs though, so it’s difficult to knock too many marks off.

The silent running of the hydrogen fuel cell also boosts comfort as it makes the Nexo’s cabin a very quiet and relaxing place to spend time.