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2017 Toyota Mirai Road Test and Review

Scott Oldham
by Scott Oldham
April 16, 2017
5 min. Reading Time
2017 Toyota Mirai Front Quarter Driver Side ・  Photo by Toyota

2017 Toyota Mirai Front Quarter Driver Side ・ Photo by Toyota

Your neighbor on one side is on his third Toyota Prius. Your neighbor on the other side can’t stop talking about his Tesla. And the guy across the street has converted his 1978 Mercedes 300D to run on canola oil. It’s time to take these jokers to school.

Mirai is Japanese for “the future” and the 2017 Toyota Mirai sedan is one of just three fuel-cell powered cars on the market. It runs on hydrogen, the third most abundant element on earth, and emits nothing into the atmosphere but water vapor. This is the new queen of green.

It competes with the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell sedan and the Hyundai Tucson FCEV crossover.

Let's take a closer look at the 2017 Toyota Mirai.

Models and Pricing

The 2017 Toyota Mirai is only on sale in California, and only available through 8 select Toyota dealers around Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

Exterior color is the only option. And there are six to choose from. I particularly like Elemental Silver. Buyers also get to choose between two interior colors, Deep Ocean Blue or Warm White. The white is striking, but would certainly be hard to keep clean, especially with kids.

Every Mirai comes loaded with standard navigation, power heated front and rear seats, a heated steering wheel, blind spot monitor, dual zone climate control, a premium JBL audio system, Bluetooth and Toyota’s Entune App Suite. Standard safety technology includes a Toyota’s Pre-Collision System, which warns of an impending collision and helps slow the vehicle if necessary, and Lane Departure Alert.

Power comes from a fuel-cell stack that generates electricity and powers a electric motor. The result is 152 horsepower that drives the Mirai’s front wheels through a single-speed direct drive transmission. Range on a tank full of hydrogen is about 275 miles.

Sticker price is $57,500, plus an $885 destination and handling fee. The Mirai can also be leased. As of this writing a 36 month lease is available for $349 a month after $2,499 due at lease signing. That’s with a 12,000 mile a year limit.

Buyers can also take advantage of a $7,500 incentive from Toyota as well as $5,000 in state incentives. It’s also eligible for single-occupant use of California’s HOV lanes.

 Photo by Toyota

Photo by Toyota

How It All Works

Hydrogen is stored under the Mirai’s rear seat in two carbon-fiber reinforced tanks. It then travels to the fuel-cell stack, which is also mounted under the floor. There, it goes through a chemical reaction involving the oxygen in the air, creating electricity which drives the electric motor and ultimately powers the vehicle.

There’s also a battery pack in the trunk to allow for regenerative braking, which captures electricity, and assists in high power demand situations like hard acceleration. Like the motor, which comes from Toyota’s hybrid models, the battery pack is a proven unit used in other vehicles.

The key to the system is the Mirai’s Power Control Unit, which is mounted under the hood with the electric motor. The PCU, which is the same unit used in the Toyota Prius, decides when to use stored energy from the battery or to draw energy directly from the fuel-cell stack. 

The incredible part is how seamlessly it all works.

 Photo by Toyota

Photo by Toyota

Easy to Refuel -- But Where?

Unlike charging an electric vehicle, which takes hours, it only takes about five minutes to refuel a Mirai, and the process is very similar to filling a conventional car’s fuel tank with gasoline. You pull up to a pump and insert the nozzle into the port on the car.

There are two differences, however. Gasoline is a liquid. Hydrogen is a gas. So the Mirai’s fuel tanks must be filled under pressure. To achieve that pressure, the fuel nozzle must be sealed to the vehicle before fueling can commence. It’s an easy process, but differs slightly from what you may be used to with a gasoline powered car.

Hydrogen is also harder to find. Unlike gas stations on every corner, hydrogen stations are still rare with just six in the Bay Area, one in central California along Interstate 5, 17 around Los Angeles and one north of San Diego. But the infrastructure is continuously expanding. Toyota predicts another seven stations opening this year and as many as 100 by 2020.

Hydrogen is also expensive, costing over $16.00 a Kg. Filling the Mirai’s 5.0 Kg tank with hydrogen in Southern California costs about $75.00. To offset this barrier, all Mirais come with 3 years or $15,000 in complimentary fuel.

 Photo by Toyota

Photo by Toyota

Looks Like Something From The Future

If you want to start a conversation, show up in a Toyota Mirai. It gathers a crowd like a Ferrari on fire. People are drawn to this car. They want to know more about it and they’re not afraid to ask.

At 190.4-inches long and 71.4-inches wide, the Mirai is essentially the exact same size as a Toyota Camry. However, its sculpted sides, futuristic fenders and floating roof make it look a bit larger. And its front end is one of the most aggressive on the road with huge side scoops and vertical fog lights.

Is it beautiful? Not exactly. But it’s unique and bold, and the design announces to the world that this is no ordinary mid-size sedan.

 Photo by Toyota

Photo by Toyota

Interior Pros and Cons

Much like its exterior, the interior of the 2017 Toyota Mirai is anything but understated. The Mirai’s dashboard is right out of the future with touch-sensitive buttons everywhere, sweeping shapes and center-mounted instrumentation (which takes a little while to get used to).

Visibility is outstanding, and the seats in our test vehicle were extremely comfortable. A height-adjustable driver’s seat and the tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel are standard, so there’s a perfect driving position for everyone.

The climate system looks a bit intimidating at first, but it’s actually simple to use and all the knobs and buttons function with precision. Build quality is very high, nothing feels cheap and the thick, leather wrapped steering wheel feels good in your hands.

The only miscue is the old-fashioned foot pedal that operates the parking brake. It feels out of place in such a technically advanced and expensive sedan.

 Photo by Toyota

Photo by Toyota

How it Drives

From behind the wheel, the new Toyota Mirai drives much like an electric car. Which, of course it is, only instead of plugging it into an outlet, it carries its fuel source onboard.

The Mirai is a comfortable, effortless sedan with a smooth ride, responsive steering and secure road holding. It cruises well on the highway.

Its powertrain is dead silent except for the soothing whir of it electric motor. It’s powerful off the line and quick enough to merge on the highway without stress. A Tesla will blow its doors off, but it can hang with a Prius. With 0-60 mph acceleration in about 9.5-seconds this is not a sport sedan, but around town it doesn’t feel slow.

 Photo by Toyota

Photo by Toyota

Cargo and Cupholders

Storage inside the Mirai’s interior is well thought out and generous. The center console bin, door pockets and two front-seat cupholders are large. They’re also deep and well placed, so tall drinks don’t interfere with any of the switchgear and they won’t tip over when you swerve around that pagan in his gasoline burning, polar-bear killing, glacier-melting SUV.

Toyota doesn’t offer an official cubic-foot measurement of the Mirai’s trunk. This is because the space is very small for a car this size due to the real estate being used for the sedan’s battery pack and hydrogen tanks. What’s left for cargo measures about 21-inches deep and 50-inches wide. That’s enough for a Target run or a set of golf clubs.

Also, unlike other mid-size sedans, like a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry, the Mirai’s rear seat does not fold to increase the space.

 Photo by Toyota

Photo by Toyota

Family Friendly?

The 2017 Toyota Mirai offers a large interior with a big back seat, but it only seats four. There is no middle rear seat. Instead, that space is utilized for a sizable console.

Parents with younger kids will appreciate the Mirai’s easy to reach LATCH connectors in the outboard rear seats, and easily accessed upper tether anchors. Preteens will like the rear air-conditioning vents and rear heated seats. Unfortunately there’s no onboard WiFi.   

Due to its low production numbers and single-state availability, the Mirai has not been crash-test rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Fuel economy is 66 MPGe in the city and on the highway, which is also the rating of the new 2017 Honda Clarity. For comparison, an electric car like the new Chevy Bolt is rated 128 MPGe city and 110 MPGe highway. And Toyota’s Prius Prime plug-in hybrid is rated 133 MPGe.

The Mirai’s warranty includes scheduled maintenance for three years or 35,000 miles, roadside assistance for three years and it covers key powertrain components for 8 years or 100,000 miles.

 Photo by Toyota

Photo by Toyota

Final Thoughts

Cleaner than a Prius and cheaper than a Tesla, the 2017 Toyota Mirai makes a compelling case for itself and its technologies. It’s not perfect, and the fueling infrastructure has a long way to go before it's comprehensive, even in Southern California, but the Mirai is an impressive first effort in a new direction.

Because of the efforts by Toyota, Honda and other carmakers, fuel-cell and battery technology continue to improve rapidly. It’s expensive, but the lack of harmful emissions and the abundance of hydrogen more than justify the pursuit and the investment.

If you’re an early adopter, live in California and the hydrogen-powered Mirai fits your lifestyle this is an impressive sedan that’s easy to live with and even easier on the environment.

 Photo by Toyota

Photo by Toyota


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