2023 Toyota Mirai at AJAC EcoRun

• The 2023 Toyota Mirai starts at $50,595 in the United States and at $55,665 in Canada, freight and delivery charges included.

• Available in California, British Colombia and Quebec.

• Driving range on a fill-up of hydrogen is 402 miles or 647 km.

As the industry is shifting to electric vehicles, whether automakers and consumers like it or not, the main concerns about acquiring an EV are price, range, charging times and availability. Right now, only two mainstream manufacturers are offering hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, or FCEVs, in an effort to alleviate one of these concerns. The 2023 Toyota Mirai is one of two hydrogren-powered vehicles on sale in select regions of the United States and Canada.

We’ll skip the lengthy technical details, but FCEVs incorporate an electric propulsion motor, fed by a system that converts hydrogen and oxygen to electricity on the fly. The vehicle is equipped with one or more tanks that need to be filled with hydrogen, and the only thing that comes out of the system during its operation is drops of water here and there. An FCEV is as clean to drive as a BEV, but the hurdle is the hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, or lack thereof, for now.

The 2023 Toyota Mirai is available in California as well as in British Columbia and Quebec. Through the first half of the calendar year, the automaker delivered 1,722 units in the U.S. and 11 in Canada, so sales are marginal.

The Toyota Mirai is rear-wheel driven by a single electric motor that develops 182 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. The Mirai’s tanks contain up to 5.6 kilograms of hydrogen, and unlike gas-powered vehicles and BEVs, its energy efficiency is expressed in kg/100 miles or kg/100 km. The Mirai XLE has a driving range of up to 402 miles or 647 km, while the Limited’s range is, ah, limited to 357 miles or 575 km. It takes about five minutes to fill the Mirai’s hydrogen tanks.

During this year’s AJAC EcoRun, a yearly event that gathers automotive journalists from across Canada to get behind the wheel of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles in order to promote eco-driving and the energy-saving technologies on board said vehicles, we got to sample the Mirai once again. You can check out our Toyota Mirai review, but here’s how it performed during the EcoRun in the hands of yours truly and my colleagues during the event, which consisted to 10 legs spanning from Vancouver to Kelowna, B.C., with a score recorded after each of those legs.

The 2023 Toyota Mirai we drove consumed an average of 0.64 kg/100 km in its most efficient leg, and 1.39 kg/100 km during the least efficient one. It’s worth noting that the drive consisted of lengthy uphill and downhill portions, as well as city and highway stints, greatly affecting the vehicle’s energy efficiency performance. My trip in the Mirai XLE started out very well as the efficiency meter stayed more or less under the 1 kg/100 km in exclusively city driving, but my destination was at the top of a hill, and that last stretch of road crushed my hopes of finishing the leg with a good eco-driving score. I ended up with an average of 1.17 kg/100 km—meaning an overall range of 298 miles or 479 km. My average was the second worst of the group, and most drivers finished with a hydrogen consumption of less than 0.8 kg/100 km.

Energy efficiency aside, the 2023 Toyota Mirai is an impressively refined, smooth and quiet midsize sedan. The interior furnishings are fitting for a Lexus product, while fit and finish is top-notch. Boasting a much more inspiring exterior design than the first generation, the second-gen Mirai is also noticeable on the road, with its elegant fastback profile.

The Mirai XLE starts at $50,595 in the United States, freight and delivery charges included, while the Limited starts at $67,095. In Canada, the Mirai retails from $55,665 for the XLE and $78,710 for the Limited. The significant price difference between the two trim levels is explained by the addition of 20-inch chromed alloy wheels, ventilated front seats, heated and ventilated rear seats, advanced park assist, a power rear window sunshade, head-up display and a panoramic moonroof, among other features.

From a driving experience standpoint, the 2023 Toyota Mirai is a comfortable and utterly relaxing vehicle, and the XLE trim level has a fairly reasonable price, making it applicable for government green vehicle rebates in select regions as well. However, the lack of a proper hydrogen refuelling infrastructure outside of California and B.C. severely limits this car’s appeal, at least for the being.

On the same subject:
2023 AJAC EcoRun: Going The Extra Mile
2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 at the AJAC EcoRun
2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid at the AJAC EcoRun
2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe at the AJAC EcoRun
2023 Kia Niro PHEV at the AJAC EcoRun
2023 Lexus RX 500h F SPORT at the AJAC EcoRun
2023 Lexus RZ 450e at the AJAC EcoRun
2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE Sedan at the AJAC EcoRun
2023 Range Rover PHEV at the AJAC EcoRun
2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid at the AJAC EcoRun

2023 Toyota Mirai

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