With all eyes on the car manufacturers to contribute to the energy transition, the main theme is electrification. I’m not here to question the pros and cons, but there’s another option available. That option is the implementation of a hydrogen fuel cell, as applied in this Toyota Mirai.

In all fairness, the use of a hydrogen fuel cell in a road vehicle is nothing different than relocating the problem. Any fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is driven by electricity, but the electric energy is now acquired in the vehicle itself, in contrast to any source of choice for harvesting electricity for a battery electric vehicle (BEV). Toyota really considers this technique to be a significant contributor in the energy transition since the Japanese word ‘Mirai’ translates to ‘future’ in English. The concept of using hydrogen in a road vehicle is nothing new. In fact, the hydrogen fuel cell dates back to the 1840s. Over time, Honda and Toyota showed interest in fuel cell-driven road vehicles. A short while later, BMW even developed a V12 that burned hydrogen in a more regular combustion engine. However, slow progression in development and the need for a new infrastructure caused the hydrogen fuel cell to be easily overruled by quickly improving battery technology. Some of the advantages of an FCEV, as opposed to a BEV, are wiped out by fast charging and a decent electric range. Only until recently, hydrogen technology made a come-back. Efficient fuel cells and increasingly more fill-up points re-energize the interest in the FCEV. The previous Toyota Mirai and the Hyundai Nexo (review here) contributed greatly.

On to the new Mirai then. Cars usually live in the spirit of their predecessors, but the new Mirai doesn’t. The previous Mirai was a dull front-wheel-driven car with an exterior that would only work for radio. However, the current Mirai is a full-size, rear-wheel-drive sedan that sits on a shortened version of the Lexus LS platform. I’m not going to lie, the new Mirai looks the part too. Not because of the shifting perception thanks to the old Mirai, but this sleek design genuinely impresses.

Air purification

A key feature of the new Toyota Mirai that Toyota seems extremely proud of is the air purification feature. This feature cleans the air, which essentially means that the Mirai goes beyond zero emissions. Toyota calls this “minus emissions.” The air that goes into the fuel cell is first filtered by a chemical filter and a PM2.5 particle filter. This not only cleans the air for the purpose of extending the lifetime of the fuel cell, but it also suppresses the particle count of harmful substances in the ‘exhaust gasses’ of the Mirai that would normally derive from pollution already in the air. You read that right: this car comes with a particle filter in its air intake, rather than in the exhaust. Apart from pollution in the air that does not get filtered out, the only emission of the Mirai is water vapor.

Setting off

The car we have on test is the Mirai Launch Edition. This means that it is equipped with all of the options available. Initial impressions are good. The interior is clean and very driver-focused. It takes a second or two to notice the excellent choice of materials for the dashboard. Even far beyond the surfaces that one would ever touch, the brand has chosen to upholster it all - credits to Toyota. The amount of hard plastics is reduced to a minimum and even the shiny plastic trim in the dashboard has a very subtle sparkling effect to hide dust and scratches, very clever. Turn on the car, put it into gear and you set off silently. As mentioned in the review of the Hyundai Nexo, there’s nothing new to the driving aspect when operating an FCEV. The next thing you’ll notice is the ride comfort. Even on 20-inch wheels, the Mirai feels uncompromised. In fact, it’s so softly dampened that it might be a bit too comfortable, if that’s even a thing. Quick turn-ins and change of direction on roundabouts make it feel a bit vague. The way the Mirai gains momentum is sufficient. I wouldn’t call it fast, but with its 182 bhp, it’s fast enough. Or is it? The layout of the car (i.e. its muscular profile and rear-wheel-driven character) implies the Mirai has a sporty note. But the weight, lack of straight-line performance, and super comfortable suspension is a very strange approach to sportiveness. So from now on, we consider this car to be a comfortable limousine, rather than the dynamic sedan that it looks like. This way, the rear-wheel drive doesn’t really add anything, except for the experience of getting pushed along, instead of being dragged along.

Onboard there are a lot of luxury items. This Mirai being the Launch Edition is equipped with all of the goods that Toyota offers. It doesn’t end with heated seats and a panoramic sunroof, oh no. This Mirai had adaptive cruise control, basic autonomous functionalities, a digital interior mirror, a heated steering wheel, ventilated seats (both in the front and in the back), and leather seat cushions. To top it off, the climate controls for the cabin also include the temperature regulation for the seats. This means that the seats can be set to ‘auto’, after which the Mirai will either heat or cool the seats automatically, depending on your temperature preferences that you tuned the 3-zone climate controls to. It doesn’t end there, because even the heated steering wheel has an ‘auto’ function. The back seats are also submerged in the same kind of luxury options that one would find in the front. Fold the center armrest down and via a touch screen the back seat passengers gain control over their own heated/cooled seats, ambient air temperature, and even the car’s audio controls. With all this focus on the rear seats, it is a bit of a shame that the headroom in the rear is traded off for the panoramic roof.

It’s only after a few kilometers in the Mirai that you’ll find out that the Mirai is an easy car to live with. In slow-moving traffic, the adaptive cruise control will creep up to the car in front to - what feels like - a mere COVID-proof 1.5 meters. Also, even though the Mirai reads traffic signs, the cruise control won’t automatically adjust to the speed limit when you find your cruising speed to be just a few kilometers over the speed limit. And although the parking sensors are a bit sensitive, you can mute them temporarily with a simple press on the multifunctional steering wheel. It’s the little things like these that bother me sometimes in other cars, but it all seems to be fixed in the Mirai. This makes all the tech onboard very comprehensible and usable.

At nearly 5 meters in length, the Mirai is a big car. Sadly, this does not translate into interior space. In the front, it is all fine, but space in the boot is limited and so is the space in the back seats. I’ve mentioned the headroom earlier, but in all fairness, the legroom isn’t particularly good either. It comes all down to the list of equipment being onboard for the drivetrain. Not only is there an electric motor underneath the back seats, but the Mirai also carries three carbon fiber reinforced hydrogen tanks (one of which is located longitudinally under the center of the back seats). In addition to that, there’s a small battery, a motor controller, and of course the fuel cell. This list of necessities for the drivetrain isn’t just taking up a lot of space, but also adds a fair amount of weight: the Mirai tips the scale at - an (B)EV-equivalent - 1895 kilograms.

A totally new dimension in range anxiety

So far we’ve established what this car is and how it drives, but there is still one elephant left in the room. That is of course the availability of hydrogen and the new dimension in ‘range anxiety’ one can experience. Right now (August 2021), there are 3 hydrogen stations in Belgium, 6 in The Netherlands, and 92 in Germany. Respectively there are 4, 9, and 14 stations scheduled to open in the very near future. We test drove this Mirai in The Netherlands, where there are more than 4000 regular petrol stations, to put the current number of 6 hydrogen stations into perspective.

A full tank means you carry 5 kilograms of hydrogen with you. Toyota claims this will give you a range of 650 kilometers. In the real world, that translates into a little more than 500 kilometers. In the five days that I drove the Mirai, I averaged a ‘fuel’ consumption of 0.87 kg/100km. This translates to a consumption of 290 Wh/km (or 29 kWh/100km), which is not far off from a regular BEV. The only difference here is that the number stated also includes the efficiency of the fuel cell. A full tank will set you back 60 euros since the price of hydrogen is fixed at €12,10 per kilogram (exactly €10 plus 21% in tax). The fill-up itself is easy, as described in the review of the Hyundai Nexo. You drive up to the station, select the correct type of hydrogen and use the nozzle to fill up your Mirai. Again, the Mirai uses H70, which is liquid hydrogen that fills up the tank to 700 bars.

Is there a future for hydrogen?

First of all, what is the point of hydrogen? I’ll try to explain: hydrogen can be produced in numerous manners, the desired one of which is via electrolysis. The product of this process is referred to as green hydrogen. Alternatively, there is grey hydrogen. This type of hydrogen derives from fossil fuels and emits CO2 in the process. When the CO2 is captured and stored elsewhere, (which effectively keeps it out of the atmosphere) the hydrogen is called blue hydrogen. The main advantage of the energy carrier that hydrogen is (in an FCEV it technically isn’t a fuel), is that it can be stored temporarily or it can be transported, without the intervention of a heavy battery. This makes it very attractive for the industry and road transport. What’s more, the application of hydrogen in road vehicles reduces the charging time to a matter of minutes, conquering every (electric) fast charger that is publically available today. Perhaps there comes a time when we should question material accessibility to produce the number of batteries that we need, materials that FCEVs don’t need that much of. Furthermore, the energy density of hydrogen is in a (higher) completely different order of magnitude, compared to an efficient Li-ion battery. These aspects make hydrogen alluring for the use in road vehicles, especially when more and more countries power their industry on hydrogen, like Japan.

Fuel service

To soothe the pain of low hydrogen station density, Toyota invokes a refueling service for customers that live in a 50-kilometer radius from a fill-up point. After the customer makes an appointment, a Toyota employee picks up your Mirai, refuels it, and returns the car to your house. In The Netherlands, the Mirai Launch Edition comes with 15 free refuel services. After the 15 free refuel services, this service will cost you €75 per fuel-up.

Should you get one?

First things first, let alone the fact that this car is propelled by a unique drivetrain. I found myself really liking the comfort that the Mirai offers. Everything inside feels solid and thought out. I can’t get around the fact that the car is really good for its price point. At around 76 thousand euros the price is justifiable. It’s hard to think of a competitive car manufacturer that offers this much comfort, luxury, and quality for a car that starts at 65 thousand euros. The base price is significantly less than the previous Mirai (above the 80-thousand-mark for the base car), which indicates a price drop caused by the scale-up in this segment. The hydrogen part of this car is of course decisive whether to get it or not. If you live close to a hydrogen fill-up point I genuinely think the new Mirai is worth the try. Depreciation is a thing, though. The previous Mirai can be picked up for as little as 20 grand on the second-hand market.

Nevertheless, it’s a very pleasant car to daily drive and after buying one, you single-handedly contribute to the integration of this technique in our society. Hence the title of this review, which suggests we aren’t ready to adopt hydrogen in our daily lives, instead of putting it the other way around. The technique seems to be there, but let it be clear that we need a lot more customers (or taxi fleets like in The Netherlands) that are willing to accept the temporary disadvantages in order to free up liquidity for more hydrogen stations.

Toyota Mirai | Are we finally ready to adopt hydrogen?