Photo: Toyota
Three tanks, a fully-redesigned fuel cell, and a driving range of up to 30 percent greater than the outgoing model. The 2021 Mirai promises to be Toyota’s best hydrogen-powered car yet, and it’ll launch later this year in three continents.
The first market where the second-generation Mirai will go on sale in Japan, a country that’s dreaming and working actively towards creating a hydrogen-based society. The United States and Europe are next, and yes, even James May of The Grand Tour fame has a Mirai because he believes in hydrogen wholeheartedly.
James’ car is good for around 500 kilometers with a full tank of hydrogen. Starting from there, 30 additional percentage points translate to a driving range of 650 kilometers for the Gen 2 Mirai. That’s 404 miles in one go, and according to Toyota, the all-new model is “conceived as a car people will want to own.”
The automaker makes a business case for “performance and looks” in addition to the inherent qualities (and drawbacks) of a fuel-cell electric vehicle. “We have pursued the goal of making a car that customers will feel they want to drive all time,” declared chief engineer Yoshikazu Tanaka. “We hope that with the new Mirai we will be a leader in helping realize a hydrogen energy society.”
Riding on 20-inch wheels, the Mirai Gen 2 is a four-door sedan with rear-wheel drive, seating for five adults, a longer wheelbase than the mid-sized Camry (2,920 millimeters from axle to axle), and an overall length of 4,975 millimeters. The Lexus-like exterior design is complemented by a 12.3-inch center display in the cabin, as well as a digital instrument cluster that wraps around the driver.
Built upon the Toyota New Global Architecture, the 2021 Mirai further promises a lower center of gravity than the first generation, greater agility and responsiveness, as well as a higher degree of structural rigidity. As for the three-tank setup we’ve mentioned at the beginning of the story, the difference in volume between them and the Mirai Gen 1 is “around one kilogram of hydrogen.”
James’ car is good for around 500 kilometers with a full tank of hydrogen. Starting from there, 30 additional percentage points translate to a driving range of 650 kilometers for the Gen 2 Mirai. That’s 404 miles in one go, and according to Toyota, the all-new model is “conceived as a car people will want to own.”
The automaker makes a business case for “performance and looks” in addition to the inherent qualities (and drawbacks) of a fuel-cell electric vehicle. “We have pursued the goal of making a car that customers will feel they want to drive all time,” declared chief engineer Yoshikazu Tanaka. “We hope that with the new Mirai we will be a leader in helping realize a hydrogen energy society.”
Riding on 20-inch wheels, the Mirai Gen 2 is a four-door sedan with rear-wheel drive, seating for five adults, a longer wheelbase than the mid-sized Camry (2,920 millimeters from axle to axle), and an overall length of 4,975 millimeters. The Lexus-like exterior design is complemented by a 12.3-inch center display in the cabin, as well as a digital instrument cluster that wraps around the driver.
Built upon the Toyota New Global Architecture, the 2021 Mirai further promises a lower center of gravity than the first generation, greater agility and responsiveness, as well as a higher degree of structural rigidity. As for the three-tank setup we’ve mentioned at the beginning of the story, the difference in volume between them and the Mirai Gen 1 is “around one kilogram of hydrogen.”
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