2021 Toyota Mirai
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Toyota Mirai
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Two trim levels, rear-wheel-drive architecture, and sleeker looks
On sale from December 2021, the new Toyota Mirai comes to pick up from where the first-generation left off. We already saw it take a bow at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2019 and Toyota just announced the FCEV is ready to go on sale.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new 2021 Toyota Mirai, whether you’re looking to buy one or not.
Latest Toyota Mirai news and reviews:
This Miniature Toyota Mirai Is UK’s First Hydrogen-Powered RC Car
Toyota is proud of the achievements it has made when it comes to its hydrogen tech. Just over a week ago, the Toyota Mirai achieved a Guinness World Record by driving for 845 miles—the furthest distance ever traveled by a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) on just a single tank of hydrogen. Now though, Toyota is scaling down its hydrogen fuel cell technology, and we mean that quite literally.
James May gets yet another Hydrogen Powered Mirai
James May, yes the ex-Top Gear and Grand Tour Presenter, just got himself a brand new Toyota Mirai. The Mirai is powered by Hydrogen, of course, and the perfect replacement for his last Mirai. Will there be another Mirai vs. Tesla Model S race?
2021 Toyota Mirai
On sale from December 2021, the new Toyota Mirai comes to pick up from where the first-generation left off. We already saw it take a bow at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2019 and Toyota just announced the FCEV is ready to go on sale.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new 2021 Toyota Mirai, whether you’re looking to buy one or not.
2020 Toyota Mirai Sedan Concept
The 2020 Toyota Mirai Sedan Concept is a show car that previews the second-generation Mirai. Introduced in 2015, the Toyota Mirai was the first hydrogen production model offered in North America. The 2020 Mirai Sedan Concept shows a completely redesigned model on the outside, now featuring a sportier body with a four-door sedan layout. The production model will arrive in late 2020.
Although it’s labeled as a concept car, this vehicle gives us serious hints as to what to expect from the production-ready second-gen Mirai. That’s because the car you’ll find in dealerships will be almost identical. The big news besides the new exterior design and the more refined interior is the Premium RWD Platform that replaces the old architecture. And yes, this means that the second-gen Mirai will drop the FWD layout in favor of a sportier RWD setup. Toyota also promises a 30 percent increase in driving range and increased hydrogen capacity.
Toyota Mirai Gets Super Bowl Commercial To Help Boost Sales
Unlike hybrids and all-electric cars, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have struggled to gain any meaningful traction in the auto industry. Part of that may be attributed to a lack of awareness of its unique capabilities and another part of that can be pointed in the direction of not having enough of them in the market to begin with. After all, California is the only state in the U.S. where an FCV like the Toyota Mirai is currently being sold. Whatever the case may be, FCVs have yet to turn into popular alternative vehicles for a lot of people and no more is that evident than the lackluster sales of the Mirai.
That’s also a big reason why Toyota is spending big money in advertising the vehicle as it now has its own commercial spot for the Super Bowl. Titled “Daisy,” the commercial goes straight to the point in highlighting the Mirai’s ability to emit water instead of gas. The ad starts with a full-bloomed daisy sitting somewhat meekly in the middle of a concrete road. A car then stops just beside the flower before coughing out a plume of smoke out of its exhaust. Convenient, right? As the car moves along, the poor daisy (with a spotlight on it no less) keels over the same way a dehydrated person would if he’s spent days on end without water.
And just as everything appeared to go south on the flower, the Mirai heroically comes along, stops at the exact same spot as the previous vehicle, and discharges whatever water it has emitted straight into the daisy. Just like that, the daisy springs back to life and a voice-over comes in to proudly say that the hydrogen-fuelled Mirai’s only emission is water.
As far as a commercial goes, this one leaves the comedy behind and cuts straight to the point to showcase why the Mirai is such an important car in today’s world. Whether the ad succeeds in generating more interest for the car is a question that will only be answered over time. But for now, the commercial comes as a worthwhile gamble on Toyota’s part considering that it only sold 1,034 models of the car in 2016 and just 83 units in the first month of 2017.
Toyota Receives U.K. Government Funding For The Toyota Mirai FCV
The U.K. Government just decided to commit 600 million pounds to fund the proliferation of ultra-low emission vehicles by 2020. Included in that sum is a sizable amount earmarked for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, or FCV’s, and Toyota is getting in on the action with its H2-powered Mirai four-door sedan.
“We are proud to be at the forefront of bringing the benefits of ultra-low emission transport to the U.K. and welcome the Government’s announcement of funding that will enable more of our customers to introduce Mirai to their fleets,” said Paul Van der Burgh, Toyota’s U.K. President and Managing Director, in a press release.
Included in the investment will be 20 new Mirais slated to join various public and private sector fleets. Destinations set for delivery include the Science Museum, Aberdeen City Council, and Arval vehicle leasing service, all of which will use Toyota’s FCV for fleet purposes. The new Mirais are expected to see use by April of 2017.
In addition to actual cars, Toyota will provide support by opening new FCV specialist service centers throughout the U.K. These new service stations will be located in London, Swindon, Sheffield, Swansea, and Aberdeen.
As Toyota points out, Britain is ramping up its national H2 infrastructure network with new H2 refueling sites as well. The latest to open is located at the Center of Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence in Rainham, east London, where there also just so happens to be a Toyota Technical Training Center that offers instruction in fuel cell technology. The new station is the second in the U.K. to produce H2 fuel using solar energy.
Continue reading for the full story.
Tesla is an innovative company that, despite a lot of negative news recently, is rather successful as far as gaining a loyal following of customers and prospective customers. So successful, in fact, that so far Tesla has received more than 300,000 reservations with $1,000 deposits without a single one of them knowing what the car will look like or any specifications whatsoever. While some manufacturers have flat out said that Tesla isn’t one of their competitors, Nissan and BMW have both run advertisement campaigns attempting to poach Model 3 customers. Now, Toyota has done the same thing, boasting its Mirai and the term “No Waiting to Buy.”
If you recall, it started out with Nissan pushing its electric vehicle, the Leaf, and it’s laughable 84 to 107-mile range. Then, not long after that, BMW tried to boast its 330e plug-in hybrid and its hilarious all-electric range of just 14 miles. Nissan’s campaign boasted that purchasers get cash back and don’t have to wait, while BMW’s campaign involved a video titled “Wait or Drive” that included charging stations that look suspiciously similar to Tesla’s superchargers. Toyota’s campaign is powered by Google Ads and was first announced by Instagram user Activegareth when he searched for the term “Tesla Model 3 speed.” The ad included wording like “Mirai is Available Now,” “No Waiting to Buy,” and even had a dedicated web address of Toyota.com/Tesla-Model-3.
Keep reading for the rest of the story
TopSpeed’s Top 5 High-Tech Cars
In case you hadn’t noticed, the year is 2016, people, and it’s high time we get this whole technology thing kicked into high gear. Yeah, I know you can post cat videos and catch virtual pocket monsters, but I’m talking about real tech, stuff that can actually change the world in a profound way. Not that that video of Mr. Snowball chasing the laser pointer isn’t worthwhile, I’m just saying we can do better. Thankfully, there’s at least a few automakers out there pushing the limits of what’s possible on four wheels, and we’re all a whole lot better for it.
In this list, we’ve compiled the top five high-tech cars you can go buy right now. You know, with money. And while they might not be powered by trilithium extract or be made from carbonized uranium, these five vehicles represent the bleeding edge of transportation. Is your ride among them?
Continue reading to learn more about TopSpeed’s Top 5 High-Tech Cars.
Humans have been sending probes and satellites into space since the 1950s, but until now, communicating with those hunks of metal in space has required huge mechanical dishes. Of course, there are smaller ones too, like the ones used by satellite TV providers, but that isn’t small enough to bring satellite communication to cars. Some cars are “globally connected” via an onboard 4G LTE internet connection, but that connection isn’t as good as it could be, thus slowing down data communication between cars and the rest of the world. That connection is slowed because there are so many “middle men” between the car and the source of the data.
If there was a way to link cars directly to satellites, we could create a high-speed data transfer system that would allow the distribution of massive amounts of data to cars on a global level, and create a more stable and secure form of communication. Well, now there is a way, and Toyota is displaying that technology with the Toyota Mirai-based Kymeta research vehicle that just debuted at the Detroit Auto Show.
The Mirai was already weird enough, with its aggressive design and hydrogen fuel cell, but Kymeta took it one step further with flat antenna satellite communication. Toyota and Kymeta have been working together to research flat antenna technology since 2013, and after 8,000 miles of testing, this concept represents the progress made so far. Toyota is hoping that this technology will offer a better car experience, and it will probably assist in the use of autonomous cars as well. So, let’s take a look at this concept and see what it is all about.
Continue reading to learn more about the Toyota Mirai-based Kymeta Research Vehicle.
Toyota really jumped on the Back to the Future bandwagon this year when the date that Marty McFly traveled to rolled around. Toyota saw it as an opportunity to promote its Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, highlighting it as futuristic technology despite its lack of flying capability. It all seemed a little forced, but a lot of people probably never heard about it, given the din of all the other Back to the Future things going on. So, Toyota is following it up with a Back to the Future-themed Mirai concept for the SEMA show in Las Vegas, and you have to hand it to Toyota, it really committed to the premise.
The car in the movie, a DeLorean DMC-12, is obviously a very different sort of vehicle than the Mirai, so the SEMA car has been heavily modified. It does seem like a lot of effort to go to for a car that never actually had anything to do with the movie in the first place, but it is pretty amusing to see, and you can forgive a lot for the sake of a well made joke.
Continue reading to learn more about the Toyota Mirai Back to the Future Concept.
You may have noticed an unusual number of “Back to the Future” references in your social media; that’s because 10/21/2015 is the date shown on Doc Brown’s DeLorean time machine in “Back to the Future 2.” In the plot of the movie, this is the day that Marty McFly arrives in the future to try and fix the things that have gone wrong in the timeline.
Though the DeLorean is the automotive star of the franchise, there’s a Toyota connection as well. Marty’s dream car is a black 1985 Toyota Xtracab 4x4 pickup, and Toyota’s taken the opportunity to play it up a little bit. (DeLorean probably would too, if it was still in business.) In addition to creating a “Back to the Future” edition of the all-new 2016 Tacoma, complete with 1980s-style KC light bar and nerf bumpers, the brand has brought its Mirai fuel-cell vehicle into the loop with a short video called “Fueled by the Future.” The video features the aforementioned Tacoma concept along with Christopher Lloyd, Michael J. Fox and other familiar faces.
Following a couple of announcements that it plans to increase production of the upcoming 2016 Toyota Mirai due to unexpected demand, Toyota has finally begun taking orders for the hydrogen-fueled family car. Starting today, California drivers who want to switch to alternative fuel can request a Mirai using Toyota’s dedicated Web page here.
However, the process is a bit different than placing an order for conventional cars, as production of the Mirai is limited. Specifically, vehicles will be placed with "select, eligible customers" which will be contacted directly by a Toyota representative to discuss ownership.
The first examples of the Mirai are set to arrive in October 2015, when selected customers will take delivery from one of the eight authorized Toyota dealers across California. Each Mirai will cost $57,500 plus an $835 destination fee.
A group of lucky customers will also benefit from the Mirai Trailblazer support program, which includes three choices: APR Support of 0% for 60 months + $7,500, Purchase Support of $7,500, or Lease of $499 per month for 36 months and $3,649 due at signing.
As a brief reminder, all Mirais come with three years’ of complimentary fuel, Safety Connect and Entune with hydrogen station finder app, and 24/7 customer call support. Other benefits include no-cost scheduled maintenance for three years or 35,000 miles, no-cost enhanced roadside assistance for three years, regardless of mileage, and eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on key fuel cell vehicle components.
Continue reading for the full story.
In just a few short days, California-based customers looking to get in the world’s first purchasable, mass-produced hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle (FCV) will be able to place their orders for a new 2016 Toyota Mirai. The Mirai will only be available in California for its initial U.S. launch.
Toyota will charge $57,500 to buy each Mirai outright, but says that price may rise slightly with increased shipping costs for 2016 models. Leasing comes in at $499 per month for 36 month, plus $3,649 due at lease signing. Toyota will give customers three years of free H2 fuel, up to a $15,000 maximum, or whichever comes first. California customers will also be eligible for a $5,000 state rebate, as well as a sticker that permits single-passenger carpool-lane driving. Federal incentives could drive the price lower, but Toyota must first persuade the government to bring back its H2 program that expired in December.
Prospective customers must undergo a screening process to determine their eligibility for Mirai ownership, which takes into account things like proximity to California’s hydrogen refueling station infrastructure and “various Mirai fit and driving preference questions.” There are currently only eight H2 refueling stations open in California, with another 48 in development. You can find a map of the stations here.
Each order must be placed online. Dealers will help interested buyers “explore” the sale and hand over the keys, but prospective buyers can’t purchase the Mirai from a dealership directly. Only one Mirai vehicle per customer is permitted.
And I thought Ferrari was the only one that did this kind of stuff.
Toyota says it wants to sell only 3,000 Mirai models by the end of 2017, but adds it’ll build more in the years to come.
Continue reading for the full story.
With the 2016 Toyota Mirai hitting dealerships this October, customers interested in buying or leasing one of these hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles can now put one on order. Production of the zero-emission sedan will be limited to just 3,000 units for the U.S. market (5,700 units globally) through 2017, so Toyota is encouraging “select, eligible customers” to sign up early, which they can do here.
For now, the Mirai will only be available through just eight Toyota dealers, all located in California (near L.A. and San Francisco), but earlier this year, Toyota mentioned plans to offer the vehicle in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. According to a map on Toyota’s website, there are currently just three hydrogen fueling stations (all in the L.A. area), but an additional 46 are planned in California, stretching from San Diego up to around Lake Tahoe.
Upon its introduction, the 2016 Toyota Mirai will be priced at $57,500 – not including any applicable state or federal tax incentives – or a $499 per month for a 36-month lease with $3,649 down. Despite its limited production and high starting price, the Mirai will surely be popular among environmentally minded drivers, with a range of 300 miles, five minutes to refuel and exhaust emissions that consist solely of water vapor.
Continue reading to learn more about Toyota Mirai.
With a fuel cell stack that offers an impressive 3.1 kW/L of hydrogen, an electric motor that produces 153 horsepower, and fueling that takes only five minutes, the Toyota Mirai is arguably the most innovative hydrogen-powered vehicle built as of 2015. Add the fact that Toyota will fill up the Mirai’s tank for free for the first three years of ownership and we may have a game-changer on our hands. Needless to say, the news that Toyota plans to triple Mirai production due to high demand isn’t surprising if you ask me. But now that the futuristic four-door is already a hit, Toyota is focusing on raising even more awareness, this time among NASCAR fans.
Relax, NASCAR won’t replace today’s V-8 cars with a fleet of Mirais, but it did accept a Mirai to pace the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway. The race took place Saturday, April 25th, 2015, making the Toyota Mirai the first hydrogen-powered car to pace a NASCAR race.
The governing body accepted the Mirai as a pace car after the mid-size sedan met NASCAR’s performance requirements for the 400-mile race. And for the first time in NASCAR history, a vehicle lapped an oval track using no gasoline and emitting nothing but water vapor. This is the second time Toyota brought alternative fuel technology to NASCAR, after the Camry Hybrid paced a full race back in May 2009.
Continue reading to learn more about the 2016 Toyota Mirai Pace Car.
The world might not know it yet, but the Mirai is Toyota’s next big thing. It’s the hydrogen-powered car that takes the next step past the Prius. Despite all the advancements in the area of fuel cell technology, some analysts – Toyota says – are calling bullsh*t.
Interestingly enough, Toyota agrees with them – not that hydrogen cars are a bad idea, but that bullsh*t is a great source for creating hydrogen fuel. To demonstrate, Toyota is producing a video series called “Fueled by Everything,” in which the automaker explains the process of creating hydrogen while showing off its latest product.
Without spoiling the video’s plot or diving into science that’s way beyond my degree in journalism, manure can be turned into hydrogen using a digester that breaks down the cow pies, releasing biogas in the process. The gas is then collected and purified before being sent to a steam-methane reformer. From that reforming process comes pure hydrogen, which can then be used for fuel.
From that point, the news is all about the Mirai and how it produces power from hydrogen. For that run-down, check out our full 2016 Mirai review. The Readers’ Digest version is this: the hydrogen combines with oxygen inside the fuel cell and produces DC electrical current. It’s that electrical energy that’s used to power the Mirai’s electric motors.
So yes, Toyota can in fact, power the Mirai on bullsh*t.
Continue reading to learn more about Toyota’s latest "Fueled by Everything" Series.
I have a friend who several years ago left the his job as a very successful automotive journalist for a public relations position with one of the world’s largest car manufacturers. When I asked him why he did it, he explained that once he had driven every low-volume supercar under the sun, the job actually started to get boring, and the logistics and scale of high-volume car manufacturing started to look more interesting. At the time I thought his brain had fallen out through his ear, but after some reflection, I think I new what he meant.
These five videos from Toyota showing the build process of the new Mirai fuel-cell sedan reinforce his sentiment. There’s no music, no voiceovers and no obnoxious edits, just cars getting screwed together by people who know what they’re doing. It might sound weird, but watching it all come together honestly gave me a sense of Zen and completeness.
The packaging requirements of a hydrogen fuel-cell car make the assembly particularly interesting to watch. The third video shows the fuel being assembled separately. By the time the battery pack, electric motor and absolutely massive fuel cells are all bolted together, you might begin to wonder if the engineers actually bothered to figure out how to fit it all in the compact chassis. Obviously it all comes together, but actually watching it is truly fascinating.
Though the Mirai uses many components common throughout the rest of the Toyota lineup, its low-volume, experimental status means it’s assembled at the Motomachi Plant, which started out as Toyota’s first assembly facility 56 years ago. Now nicknamed “LFA Works, “ it’s where Toyota’s most special cars are assembled, including the LFA, Soarer, Corona and Supra.
Continue reading to learn how the Toyota Mirai is made.
Surprising both critics and Toyota itself, demand for the hydrogen fuel-cell Mirai passenger car has tripled expectations, with 1,500 orders placed in just the first month of availability. Toyota originally planned on selling a mere 400 examples in 2015, but has now revised that projection to include 700 built examples for this year, 2,000 built for 2016, and 3,000 built for 2017.
According to a report from AutoExpress, 60 percent of the orders came from Japanese government/private fleet customers, while the remaining 40 percent came from private buyers.
Major automakers, including Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, have recently expressed interest in collaborating with the Japanese government to build the infrastructure needed to support these new vehicles, with 2015 set as the target date for construction.
The Mirai’s success comes amid growing competition from other hydrogen-powered vehicles rolling out from Honda and Hyundai, as well as the development of future fuel-cell cars from BMW, Mercedes, and General Motors.
Toyota plans on offering the Mirai to customers in Europe and the U.S. later this year.
This is a critical moment for hydrogen power. Many automakers are hedging their bets when it comes to that next step past petrol, and if hydrogen fuel cells are to succeed, they will require a good deal of consumer interest, not only in Japan, but throughout the world as well.
Click past the jump to read more about the Toyota Mirai.
2015 is almost upon us, car lovers, and TopSpeed has one last post to close out the year that was 2014! As this little blue green ball we all inhabit completes yet another revolution around that warm spot of fusing hydrogen hanging in the sky, we tend to revert back to the time-honored tradition of summarizing a few of the big events that transpired over the course of the year. It’s a crossroads, a time to bask in the glory of past wins, as well as learn from prior mistakes in a bid to avoid such blunders in the future.
In many ways, 2014 was a time of great change and rebirth, with both exciting successes and catastrophic failures laced throughout. We’ve seen the glorious return of heroes like the Dodge Challenger, plus the emergence of exciting new technology like in the Toyota Mirai. Unfortunately, we’ve also seen a glut of niche vehicles stretched thin between a variety of purposes, like the Mercedes GLE Coupe, as well as fatal corporate mistakes in a record-breaking year for automotive recalls.
Usually, we’re a glass-half-full kind of crowd, so we’re tempted to say, overall, this most recent spin around the sun yielded a net gain for the automotive world. Perhaps, but we suppose that’s still open for debate. Regardless, it’s been a mixed bag, no doubt about that. But don’t fret: we’re here to tie it up into one neat package for you.
Click past the jump to read our list of highs and lows from 2014.
The Toyota Mirai is proving to be more popular than even Toyota anticipated, potentially paving the way for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to follow in the Toyota Prius’ footsteps as a pioneer in the alternative fuel segment. While it’s still a little premature to laud the Mirai in equal terms as the Prius, demand for the former has forced Toyota to spend 20 billion yen ($165 million as of 12/12/2014) to triple the domestic production capacity for the fuel-cell sedan.
Japanese newspaper Nikkei is reporting that Toyota is also planning to increase production capacity at its factory in Aichi in order to accommodate the increased output of fuel-cell stacks and hydrogen tanks for the Mirai. The Japanese automaker also plans to add more equipment on a separate Aichi site that is heavily involved in vehicle assembly. The additional capacity should give Toyota the resources to meet the rising demand for the Mirai. The vehicle is scheduled to hit dealerships in Japan on December 15, 2014, but interest in the car likely means that Toyota will have to work long hours to meet the number of models that will likely be ordered as a result of the this spike in demand.
According to Nikkei, Toyota plans to build about 400 models for its home market by 2015. The Mirai will then follow its Japan release by arriving in Europe by September 2015 with just around 50 to 100 models sold annually. Meanwhile, the U.S. is scheduled to get its shipment, believed to be around 200 to 300 models, by the end of 2015. Due to the availability of hydrogen and other variables, California will be the only state to get the Mirai for the time being.
All these allocations and the possibility of a sales expansion in the U.S. means that production of the Mirai could be increased as Toyota gears up to produce more models in the coming years.
Click past the jump to read more about Toyota Mirai.
Remember Toyota’s hydrogen-powered FCV concept from the 2013 Tokyo Motor show? It took a couple of years, but for the 2015 model year, Toyota released the production version of the FCV Concept called the Toyota Mirai. In short, the Mirai is a sporty looking car that has an electric drivetrain and is powered completely by hydrogen. Currently only available in certain locals that have hydrogen fueling stations, the Mirai can achieve up to 310 miles per tank of hydrogen and emits nothing but a little H20 from its “exhaust” pipe. For being the best of its kind at this time, the Mirai has a respectable amount of cargo room in the rear boot and features an upscale interior with a digital, center-mounted instrument cluster and a large touchscreen infotainment system. Priced at more than $50,000 here in the U.S. the materials and their fit and finish inside are comparable to that of a Lexus or BMW.
When the Mirai made its official debut, Toyota also announced that it was unleashing a large campaign to start making hydrogen readily available for the masses. The brand has teamed up with hydrogen supplier Air Liquide to bring hydrogen to New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, to name a few. These add to the 19 refueling stations Toyota has helped bring to Southern California in the past.
Toyota believes that hydrogen will eventually be a fuel of choice, so it has been pushing the implementation of it pretty hard. So hard, in fact, that the Mirai is actually part of Toyota’s core lineup. Of course, it isn’t available in places where hydrogen isn’t available, but something tells us that Toyota will continue to push for new hydrogen stations in the future and will bring the Mirai and even more hydrogen vehicles to new areas as quickly as it can. Until then, take a look at our full review below.
Click past the jump to read more about the 2016 Toyota Mirai.