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If your entire life happens near hydrogen filling stations, you’re a winner
For hydrogen fuel cell cars, this feels like the Prius Mk2 moment. That was when Toyota’s hybrid came of age with its aerodynamic teardrop shape, stepchange in fuel economy and a tiny bit of pure electric range.
We’re rolling in Toyota’s second-generation Mirai, but it’s quieter than the celebs in Madame Tussauds. The tranquillity is remarkable: there’s an ethereal whine from the electric motor that turns the rear wheels, but it’s distant, even when intensified by the accelerator.
No tyre groan either: up to 40mph you’ll hear nothing but the muted ker-thunk of a 20-inch wheel over a manhole cover – it’s like driving a sensory deprivation chamber. Aside from a lick of wind noise, it barely gets much louder at motorway speeds. The soundproofing is ace, assisted by fuel cells having zero moving parts.
Fuel cells generate electricity by drawing hydrogen atoms through the fuel cell’s anode, which splits the molecules into electrons and protons. While the protons pass through the polymer electrolyte, the electrons are forced through an external circuit which forms an electrical current. The electrons finish their journey at the cathode, where they’re combined with protons and oxygen, generating the waste products of heat and water.
To drive, the Mirai feels like a full electric car – on a gap year in Goa. It’s not quick like an i-Pace or Tesla – there’s an immediate shove of torque but it rapidly plateaus – and lifting off triggers a mellow slow-down: there’s none of the abrupt, confected deceleration of many EVs.
The Mirai e-motor’s peak power is 180bhp, limited by the output of the fuel cell stack and the supporting, LS500h-donated battery. This supplies the car under low loads, otherwise power comes direct from the stack.
It’s six years since Toyota started making the Mk1 in modest quantities. The aim this time is to boost annual production tenfold to 30,000 cars a year. Such improvement is true to Toyota’s kaizen philosophy: the fuel cell stack has shrunk in volume, but energy output has jumped by half.
The stack is now small enough to fit in the nose (in the Mk1, the driver mountaineered atop it), which frees up space for a third hydrogen tank. The greater storage capacity and fuel cell finessing boosts range by 30 per cent, to 400 miles, from a circa five-minute fill-up. This assumes you’re close to a hydrogen filling station: UK sites are only just into double figures.
The first Mirai drove the front wheels, betraying its link to the Prius; the new saloon rides on the architecture that underpins the Lexus LS and LC. All of which explains its 4.9-metre length, handsome saloon body, 50:50 weight distribution, epic civility and how it handles.
The light steering is effortless, steady and accurate, and the suspension softly-sprung. That makes for a cushy ride at higher speeds in particular, a bobbing nose under braking, MotoGP lean in corners, and some lapses into understeer on greasy, autumnal roundabouts. So be it: the Mirai is a car for cruising, not careering.
Toyota’s new-generation fuel cell is a compelling vision for hydrogen being part of the car’s future. Someone now needs to persuade fuel providers likewise.