Used 2022 Toyota Mirai

The 2022 Toyota Mirai runs on hydrogen. This is a midsize, almost-luxurious sedan — based on the same foundation as the Lexus LS flagship sedan — powered by a fuel cell. It doesn’t require any fossil fuels for propulsion. It’s about as clean as personal transportation gets, apart from maybe a bicycle.

There is a downside, however, for anyone living outside California. Finding somewhere that sells hydrogen. Filling stations with hydrogen pumps are pretty much exclusive to pockets around Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

So a new Mirai would be great for someone living and working in, say, Santa Monica or San Francisco. For this reason, Toyota sells (or leases) the Mirai in California only.

The upside is that refueling takes just about five minutes. As opposed to around half an hour replenishing an electric car from 20% to 80% on a fast charger. And a full Mirai has a maximum range of 402 miles.

Apologies if you know this already, but we should explain briefly what a fuel cell is. It’s a metal box full of special membranes that create electricity when hydrogen is passed through them. Yes, the Mirai is an electric vehicle (technically an FCEV, or fuel cell electric vehicle), but it makes its own electricity instead of having to be plugged into a charger every so often.

Regenerative brakes capture energy as well, and this is all stored in a lithium-ion battery, which powers an electric motor that drives the rear wheels.

Mirai means “future” in Japanese. Toyota is part of an initiative working on expanding the number of hydrogen pumps as well as sustainable methods of producing the gas. At the time of compiling this review, there were 47 active filling locations, not all of which were stocked with hydrogen. The intention is to have more than 4,000 in the United States by 2030. But then there were plans to have 100 in California by now.

This is the second generation of Mirai, which debuted last year. It’s a significant improvement over its predecessor in virtually every respect.

If all the cabs in New York City were fuel cell vehicles, the air quality would be noticeably better. Fuel cells need clean air from which it extracts oxygen and so have filters designed to trap microscopically small particles. The only emission is everyone’s favorite blend of hydrogen and oxygen — water.

Once behind the wheel of the 2022 Mirai, forward progress is accompanied not by the growl of a combustion engine but by the subdued whoosh of an electric motor (some of that whoosh is piped into the cabin through the stereo system). This motor turns the rear wheels to the tune of 182 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque.

Toyota says the sprint from standstill to 60 mph takes 9.2 seconds, but don’t start yawning just yet. The way the electric motor delivers its thrust means the initial rush feels much more fun than the stopwatch might suggest.

Anyway, the 2022 Mirai is more of a comfortable cruiser than a racer, that just happens to be quite enjoyable to drive, with an ideal 50:50 weight distribution front to rear. There’s also sufficient muscle for driving up mountain roads and enough agility to savor the curves.

Regenerative braking systems were first used in hybrid cars. They tended to feel odd back then, but engineers have refined them to the point where drivers just get on with the job of slowing the car down and don’t worry about brake feel. The Mirai is like that.

Putting the shift lever into the Br position on downhill stretches creates regeneration without having to touch the actual brake pedal. That’s a useful little ploy when slowing down for a corner as well.

One of the perks of driving an FCEV is solo use of the carpool lane on California’s freeways.

In theory, the 2022 Mirai is a 5-seater. In practice, that middle rear seat isn’t especially accommodating, given the space taken up by one of the hydrogen tanks set longitudinally along the floor.

The other two tanks, electric motor and the battery pack all behind the rear seats result in just 33 inches of rear legroom and a small trunk of 9.6 cubic feet. Nor can the back seats do the usual split/folding thing to help with cargo carrying.

Life is much rosier and expansive up front, where the twin screens of the infotainment system and driver’s instrument cluster emphasize the car’s tech-richness, enhanced by an appropriately futuristic-looking dashboard. A couple of invisible aspects between the roof and the headliner make much-appreciated contributions.

One is an infrared reflective layer, the other is a layer of Thinsulate. Both block heat from entering the cabin, so the climate control doesn’t have to work so hard and consume a lot of energy. This is particularly welcome during a blazing Southern California summer. The Thinsulate also helps with sound deadening.

The glass of the side windows also protects against ultraviolet light and is water repellent — just in case it might rain in California.

If there was a Lexus L instead of the usual Toyota logo on the nose of the 2022 Mirai, no one would think there was anything wrong with that picture. Everyone has their own tastes, but we’d say this was one of the more handsome efforts to ever come out of Toyota/Lexus. That in itself makes the Mirai stand out.

Although both trims are offered in various premium paint finishes, the Limited version has an exclusive Hydro Blue. This model may also come with 20-inch alloy wheels replacing the standard 19-inch counterparts.

Toyota has given the Mirai an aerodynamically effective body to optimize fuel economy. The drag coefficient is 0.29, achieved in part by wipers that drop to a lower-than-usual resting position, underbody panels, and an integrated rear spoiler.

ALL AUTO CONTROL
This clever standard feature connects the dual-zone automatic climate control with the heated front seats in the XLE — or the 3-zone climate control with the heated/ventilated front/rear seats in the Limited — to create an integrated setup for optimum temperature-related comfort.

JBL AUDIO SYSTEM
Sure, the 2022 Mirai is an interesting eco-friendly car with cool hydrogen technology. But we still have to sit in it, use it and endure the occasional traffic jam just as we would with any other car. So a decent sound system always goes a long way toward improving the quality of driving life. The people who make this standard-issue JBL setup (usually an option on other Toyotas) are also responsible for the superb Mark Levinson systems that come in Lexus vehicles.

It might be because the target audience is pampered Californians, but Toyota lavishes the 2022 Mirai with classy standard features like heated front seats and automatic climate control all working together, power-adjustable steering column, wireless charging, 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, Wi-Fi, and a 14-speaker JBL system.

It also has full, self-leveling LED headlights, LED daytime running lights/taillights, 19-inch alloy wheels, heated side mirrors, puddle lights, keyless entry/start, 8-inch digital driver information display, power-adjustable front seats (8-way for the driver, 4-way for the passenger), leather-wrapped steering wheel, simulated leather upholstery, and a self-dimming rearview mirror.

Safety features are plentiful, including forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure alert with steering assistance, and adaptive cruise control.

The infotainment system comes with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration, Amazon Alexa compatibility, satellite radio, Bluetooth, and navigation.

An Advanced Technology package ($1,410) for the XLE adds a 360-degree camera system, front/rear parking sensors with automatic emergency braking, and front footwell illumination. These items are standard in the Limited trim.

This top model also brings heated/ventilated front seats/rear outboard seats covered with perforated simulated leather, memory settings for the front seats/steering column, 8-way power-adjustable front passenger seat, 3-zone automatic climate control, fixed panoramic moonroof with a powered shade, rain-sensing wipers, active sound control, digital rearview mirror, manual rear side shades, powered rear window shade, and a self-parking system.

Options for Limited trim are 20-inch alloy wheels ($1,120). And both versions offer premium paint ($425).

A rear-mounted AC synchronous electric motor drives the rear wheels of the 2022 Mirai with 182 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque. Energy comes from a lithium-ion battery and/or directly from the hydrogen-fed fuel cell located under the hood.

Hydrogen is stored under high pressure (10,000 psi) in three tanks. One is in the center of the floor area (like an old-school transmission tunnel), the other two are behind the rear seats. They’re all protected by an extra shell of light-yet-strong carbon fiber.

After finding a filling station with a hydrogen pump, refills take about five minutes. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) puts the XLE model’s range at 402 miles. The better-equipped and therefore heavier Limited trim achieves 357 miles.

The EPA has a way of working out miles-per-gallon equivalent (MPGe) figures for energy consumed over distance covered. These calculations are from last year, but we expect no difference for 2022.

Electric motor, fuel cell, lithium-ion battery
182 horsepower
221 lb-ft of torque
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 76/71 MPGe (XLE), 67/64 MPGe (Limited)
Range: 402 miles (XLE), 357 miles (Limited)