· One vehicle of the hydrogen fuel cell powered Toyota Mirai completed an extensive and demanding European road test with no mechanical breakdowns
· Drivers highlighted reliability, cruising fun and comfort as well as easy and fast refuelling process
Over an eight-month period spanning four seasons, the hydrogen fuel cell powered Toyota Mirai successfully completed an extensive and demanding road test in Germany, Italy, Austria and Norway. One same Mirai vehicle clocked up a total of 200,000km, a distance equivalent of 78 drives from Brussels to Moscow in eight months. Starting from Hamburg, the test road ran through a wide range of areas which represent Europe-specific driving conditions. These areas included cities, countryside and motorways including German autobahns with no speed limit. This road test taking place through four seasons, the Mirai was exposed to a wide spectrum of outside temperature with the coldest at minus 20 degrees Celsius and the highest at 37. Responsibility for the road test was given to KJ Tech Services GmbH of Darmstadt in Germany.
Patrick Hake, Project Manager says: “Not only the total distance was specified, but also the amount of time spent on different types of road.” “We therefore carefully worked out several routes in the areas which represent well the most typical road conditions in Europe. Then, we organised a team of fourteen drivers working in one or two shifts per day and six days a week, to ensure we completed the road test according to the exact specifications.”
16 hours a day for 250 days
The first phase of the test ran from September 2015 to February 2016, the second phase from May to November 2016. For 250 days, the Mirai was on the road for 16 hours per day. During its 200,000 kilometre journey, the car used around 2000kg of hydrogen. The tyres were changed five times mostly to switch between summer and winter tyres, the brake was replaced once and brake pads three times. The Mirai had no mechanical breakdowns. “Throughout months of test, the car ran very smoothly with no outage at all,” says Patrick. “The fuel cell operated with 100% reliability. Even after driving 200.000 km, we didn’t notice any power loss at all.” “This was also the case during a week when the outside temperature dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius: no start-up problems were reported. It was very hot when we drove through Munich in summer, but we could keep cool in the car with the air conditioning working without any problem.”
“Being powerful, the zero-emission vehicle had no difficulty to cope with slopes.” Throughout the 200,000km drive, the car didn’t need anything more than normal maintenance.
Cruising fun and comfort
“We had a good cruising feeling even on mountains. ‘Fun’ and ‘comfort’ are the best words to describe it.” “We were surprised by the car’s power. It was easy to manoeuvre even in curves, responsive steering and smooth in acceleration. The power was immediately available when we wanted it, for example to overtake or surge away from traffic lights.” “The interior was enjoyable, too. The luxurious leather seats and steering wheel were so nice. The cabin was spacious enough even for the tallest driver had plenty of legroom.” “This is a rare case where I, as a project manager of a vehicle testing company, heard so much positive feedback from different drivers. They all have different driving styles from defensive to sporty. During this Mirai road test, they had to rigorously respect safety before anything else, as well as the predefined route and time. However, we didn’t ask them to change their usual driving style.”
Fill her up!
The drivers themselves were responsible for filling the car with hydrogen. “The process of filling up a hydrogen car is very similar to that of refuelling a conventional diesel or gasoline car. So, we received minimal training which focussed on ensuring safety.” “Refuelling was a very easy and safe process. We recognised a major advantage of the Mirai over other electric vehicles: refuelling is faster. It takes just three minutes and was immediately ready to drive. An electric car has to be recharged overnight.” “We observed that the quality of service was very good in all the hydrogen stations where we stopped. They were all willing and quick to help us. We could feel that they were committed and happy to contribute to the introduction of the new energy which makes zero-emission mobility a reality. As drivers, we also appreciated being able to enjoy the same quality of driving experience as conventional cars while emitting only water.” “If more and more of hydrogen refueling stations could be deployed, we wouldn’t see any reason why more customers would not pick the Mirai as their new car.”
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