The Toyota Mirai isn’t your traditional electric car. Although it uses electricity to power the wheels, the powertrain is fueled by hydrogen.
Toyota is one of the few automakers still investing in and developing hydrogen-fueled vehicles. Many automakers haven’t made the change to promote fuel-cell technology, but the Mirai is now entering its second generation. This little hydrogen-powered car is the rarest Toyota, and it’s a stylish model with impressive designs and an upscale cabin. This small hydrogen-powered car is only sold in southern California, where hydrogen refueling stations are located.
Let’s consider some benefits of the new 2024 Toyota Mirai.
What’s the greatest benefit of the Mirai compared to EVs?
The biggest challenge automakers have faced in the electric vehicle world is the time it takes to charge the batteries. Even with faster charging speeds, most EVs take 30 minutes or more to charge and must have at least 10 percent of the battery charge remaining and will only charge the batteries to 80 percent of the capacity. This means the useable driving range of an EV represents only 70 percent o the entire battery capacity.
The Toyota Miria can refuel like a traditional gas-powered vehicle, which takes only a few minutes to refuel. Time your gas pump the next time you stop, it probably takes less than 10 minutes to go from empty to full, and you can utilize more than 95 percent of the fuel before refilling if you choose to.
How is the Mirai better than a gas-powered vehicle?
If the world were filled with an infinite amount of crude oil and emissions from gas and diesel vehicles didn’t pollute the atmosphere, we probably wouldn’t talk about electric vehicles or any alternative fuel models. Unfortunately, there’s a finite amount of oil and emissions that harm the environment, contributing to greenhouse gasses.
Hydrogen-powered vehicles only expel water vapor into the atmosphere, which is good for the environment. This allows the Miria to be a clean-burning vehicle that helps the atmosphere much more than harming it. Additionally, the Mirai uses hydrogen, which is one of the most abundant elements in the entire universe.
What about EVs
Electric vehicles don’t produce any emissions or expel exhaust out of a tailpipe. Unfortunately, batteries for electric vehicles require large amounts of rare earth metals, which are also limited in availability. This could mean the future should be in hybrid models such as the Toyota Miria, but most automakers don’t have hydrogen-powered vehicles available or in the pipeline at all.
What does the new Mirai include?
The latest version of this Toyota hydrogen-powered vehicle has new software updates and new exterior paint colors. The Toyota Safety Sense is part of the mix, with a new version going from 2.5+ to 3.0 for the latest Mirai model. This upgrade adds Traffic Jam Assist and Proactive Drive Assist to the safety package of this Toyota car. The XLE model can have a digital smartphone key, making it easy to access your car using your smartphone.
How much power and driving range does this Toyota include?
The Toyota Mirai is a mid-motor RWD sedan with room for five passengers. The small hydrogen-electric system produces 182 horsepower and 221 lb-t of torque. Similar to a traditional hybrid car, the Mirai uses a 1.2-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. This car takes a long time to get up to speed, spending 9.1 seconds accelerating before reaching 60 mph. The driving range of this little Toyota is 300 miles, and it doesn’t take long to refuel, which means it could be ideal when you want a small car that fuels quickly but only expels water vapor from the tailpipe.
Is the Mirai a modern car?
This hydrogen-powered car comes standard with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It also has a Wi-Fi hotspot, a 14-speaker JBL audio system, SiriusXM satellite radio, and in-dash navigation. These items provide the technology items you want and make this Toyota a modern car. You’ll also enjoy the benefits of connectivity with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to give you the connection you want to your smartphone on the road.
Should you drive the Mirai?
If you live close enough to a hydrogen refueling station in southern California, you can buy this car and enjoy the drive. Otherwise, the Toyota Mirai isn’t sold in your area and wouldn’t be a practical car. Unlike EVs, you can’t install a hydrogen refueling station in your garage to make it easy to add more fuel to your car when you need to.
The Toyota Mirai isn’t a practical car for most of the world, but it does represent Toyota’s commitment to alternative fuel solutions, including hydrogen.
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