Plenty of legacy automakers are playing second fiddle to the industry disruptor known as Tesla, but fuel-cell vehicles are very different from battery-electric vehicles. Hyundai and Toyota have the upper hand with the Nexo crossover and the second-generation Mirai sedan in this domain.
Although James May loves old motorcycles and quirky classics that include the air-cooled Porsche 911, his latest purchase comes in the guise of a Mirai. Pictured in Precious Black over a black interior with Lexus-like appointments, the zero-emissions car also flaunts 20-inch black alloys, heated and ventilated front seats, the Skyview panoramic roof, and a color head-up display. These goodies are bundled in the Design Premium Pack that adds £15,000 ($20,725) to the starting price of the fuel-cell luxobarge.
The range-topping specification that James bought is rated at 317.3 miles per gallon (make that 264.2 miles per gallon in the U.S. or 0.9 liters per 100 kilometers), which is thoroughly impressive for a vehicle this heavy. For the British market, a fully-loaded Mirai tips the scales at 1,950 kilograms (4,299 pounds), and the GVWR is listed at 2,415 kilograms (5,324 pounds).
Visibly cheerful over his eco-friendly purchase, James didn’t even test the second-generation Mirai before taking delivery. He probably took the risk because his previous first-generation Mirai served him well from November 2019 until March 2021, when The Grand Tour presenter sold it.
The only problem with driving a fuel-cell car in the United Kingdom is, of course, the same issue that affects FCVs in the United States and pretty much everywhere else in the world. At the moment of writing, there are only ten stations for passenger vehicles in the UK, of which one’s up north in Aberdeen, Scotland, and the nearest hydrogen station to it is in Sheffield.
Japan, which is the leader in hydrogen mobility, currently runs 160 stations and plans to expand the fueling network to 1,000 stations by decade’s end.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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