Hydrogen-Powered Toyota Mirai Sedan Spotted in India [Live Photos]

At the Tokyo Auto Show, the Japanese brand Toyota revealed a futuristic car, the 2nd Gen Toyota Mirai, that runs on hydrogen fuel cells. Not long ago, the first-gen model of the car was spotted in India and has reportedly reached the Banglore Toyota centre.

Back in 2019, the company disclosed the latest Toyota Mirai before it went on sale, which features a 30 per cent increase in the driving range with increased hydrogen capacity. Toyota launched the updated version earlier this year that contains the “Advanced Drive” system, including a driver monitor camera and remote software updates, a lane centring system, and an advanced parking assistance system.

The Toyota Mirai sets a record for the longest range of any fuel cell electric vehicle. The car was driven by a hypermiler along with a partner for two days from the Toyota Technical Centre, California, where its fuel cell group is based. The route followed normal roads, which included the Pacific Coast Highway and rush hour traffic in San Diego.

On its way, the car passed 12 hydrogen fuel stations and hasn’t stopped to refuel the tank. The car used 5.65 kg of hydrogen, leaving water as the by-product. According to the calculations, diesel or petrol-fueled cars emit 300 kg of carbon dioxide in this span of driving time, drastically contributing to global warming.

The main reason for going hydrogen is to make the vehicle eco-friendly and follow the No Emission campaign. The car has two hydrogen tanks with a three-layered structure made of fibre-reinforced plastic. Speaking of the interiors, the car houses a 12.3-inch central touchscreen and a digital instrument display, with many of the controls moved to the centre of the dashboard.

The Mirai now has five seats, and this has been enabled by a reworking of the hydrogen fuel cell configuration, whereas the original Mirai was a four-seater car with a different hydrogen tank configuration. The electric engine has a power output of 182 HP and a maximum torque of 300 Nm.

As far as the launch of the Mirai sedan in India is concerned, we don’t think it is coming to our country anytime soon. Taking the current scenario into consideration, sourcing hydrogen as a fuel is quite difficult in India. The first-gen model of the car, which has been spotted in Bangalore, must have been imported for testing purposes.

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