Toyota Mirai Factory Assembly Plant – Video
Mirai is Japanese for “the future.” This is Toyota’s way of saying that its sedan most resembling SpongeBob SquarePants on a skateboard runs on hydrogen and produces no emissions. The Mirai is the first fuel-cell car offered for sale, not just lease. (The conceptually similar Honda FCX Clarity and Hyundai Tucson FCEV remain corporate property through and after the duration of their leases.) The standard rap on fuel-cell vehicles—that the technology is always five years away—expires when eight California dealers deliver 200 Mirais before the end of the year, followed by another 2800 cars over the next two years. The $58,325 base price isn’t much of a return on the 23 years of development and 5680 patents that Toyota invested in this future, but milestones never come cheap.
To test not only the Mirai but also the first phase of infrastructure that supports it, we visited hydrogen filling stations in the greater Los Angeles region and drove north to the Mojave Desert for performance measurements. Toyota engineer, future thinker, and fuel-cell authority Jackie Birdsall served as chaperone and tour guide without whining about our preemptive range anxiety, barrage of tech questions, or blind-curve photographic maneuvers.
PRICE AS TESTED:
$58,325 (base price: $58,325)
MOTOR TYPE:
synchronous AC, 152 hp, 247 lb-ft
FUEL-CELL STACK:
solid polymer electrolyte, 153 hp
TRANSMISSION:
1-speed direct drive
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 109.4 in
Length: 92.5 in
Width: 71.5 in Height: 60.4 in
Cargo volume: 3 cu ft
Curb weight (est): 4100 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 9.4 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 34.2 sec
Top gear, 30-50 mph: 3.9 sec
Top gear, 50-70 mph: 6.3 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 17.2 sec @ 80 mph
Top speed (drag limited): 108 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 194 ft
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 67/67 mPGe
C/D observed: 57 mPGe