First Drive: Toyota Mirai

Toyota

What is it?

Toyota's Mirai is the brands first venture into Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology. And with over twenty years of R&D having gone into the futuristic E-segment saloon, it looks set to be a successful one. Similarly to an EV, fuel cell vehicles produce no harmful emissions, emitting only water.

With a range 'equal to that of a petrol car' and a refilling time of three to five minutes, the Mirai promises the ease of a conventionally fuelled vehicle, minus the pollution.

However, problems arise when it comes to actually refuelling the car. With only three filling points in the UK at present – all located within London – the Mirai would not prove a sensible option for drivers in England's extremities.

What's under the bonnet?

The Mirai's compact fuel cell stack is located under the front seats and operates by pulling oxygen in though a small pipe located at the front of the bonnet.

The chemistry of the 370-fuel cell stack is that the hydrogen molecule comes in, and it hits a catalyst, freeing the electron. This then goes around and creates a current within that cell and then gets pulled towards the oxygen and matches up, which creates water - the Mirai's only by-product. That electron going around is the electricity produced which is used to power the car.

A battery is also used to power the Mirai, which regenerates its power via braking. The fuel cell stack and the battery are automatically selected to drive the motor to optimise environmentally efficient and powerful running.