Toyota has revealed the 2021 Mirai Concept,
essentially a production-ready preview of the second iteration of the brand’s
hydrogen fuel-cell electric sedan that will go on sale in select markets in
late 2020. The original Mirai that debuted in 2015 had many things going for it,
including being the first production hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV)
offered for sale to retail customers in North America, but desirability was not
one of them.
With the new model, Toyota is rebooting the series
with a more coupe- and Lexus- inspired design, while
surprisingly ditching the first Mirai’s more common front-wheel drive
architecture for a sportier rear-wheel drive setup, all in the name of creating
a more desirable car.
The production nature of the 2021 Mirai is evident
from the down-to-earth interior too, which for the most part, avoids the
excessive and off-putting design language of its predecessor. Aside from the
standard 8-inch digital instrument panel and the Toyota Premium Multimedia
infotainment system with a 12.3-inch high-resolution TFT touchscreen, there
will also be an available digital rear-view mirror displaying images from a
camera.
With a similar footprint to the Lexus GS, the
second-generation Mirai rides on Toyota’s global RWD platform, which should make
it a lot more engaging behind the wheel. It also promises to deliver a
30-percent increase in range exceeding 630 km between refueling,
said to have been achieved by an improvement in fuel cell system performance
and increased hydrogen storage capacity.
Unlike regular electric cars, the Mirai generates
its own electricity onboard from hydrogen and oxygen, emitting water as the
only byproduct. A big advantage over conventional battery-powered cars is that
a fill-up takes only about five minutes at an SAE-conforming hydrogen fueling
station, which sounds great until you consider that there’s only a handful of
places that offer hydrogen – for now, at least. That’s why currently, Toyota
only plans to sell the new Mirai in California and Hawaii, though it said that
there are new stations planned for the Northeast and other areas.
We’ll know more at the end of the month when Toyota
brings it to the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show that runs from October 24 through
November 4.
