Top Car

January 2016|TOPCAR.CO.ZA 31WE’VEBARELYalightedfrom the futuristicnew Prius beforewe’re bundled intothe evenmore futuristic Mirai. Thisone is prop erly ‘science-fictio n’being powered by hydrogen , with anemis sions payload of just a couple ofmilliliters of pure water. First, justlook at it. To call it edgy would bean understatement. To call it ugly,well I’d see your point. I just thinkit’s awkward. Awkward to lookat,awkward to get yo ur head around–clearly someoneat Toyota felt thatto be cutting edge your styling needsto comprise edges that cancut. In profil e it looks lessunhinged, the front-end,in good lighting and in acomplementary shadeofpaint (the darker the better)is pa ssable, but then there’sthat wonky rear-end Icannot defend.Normal ity returns whenyou get inside. It’s apleasant space to live in andergonomically abandonsToyota’s need to surprise,``````so that’s good. Thumb thestarterinto a mild thrum, notch the shifterinto D and the drivingexperienceis identical to what you’d find inanelec tric vehicle, including copiou samounts of torque from the fuel-cellsystem. It’s comfortable, planted andeerily sil ent desp ite being pedaled(ironically) through the short handlingcircuit of Fuji Speedway. Hydrogenpower works well in the motorcar,but early adopte rs will suffer a lonelyexistenc e and face the challeng e ofsparserefueling venues. So, sadly, yo ucan forget about owning one in ever-progressive Mzansi.Hydrogen power is the bombNowToyota, the arch-planet-saverbehindthe firsthybrid,bringsthe fuel-cell car toyourstreet(ifyou live inSwindon)TOYOTA MIRAIToyota Mirai>PriceN/A>EngineToyotaFuel-Cell System,113kW, 335Nm >Single-speed, front-wheel drive>Performance9.6sec0-100kph, 180kph, 760gofhydrogen/100km, 0g/km CO 2 >Weight1 850kg>On saleElsewhere``````Abittoomuchsakémethinksduringthose lateeveningstrategysessions``````MacPherson struts while a superiordoub le wishbone arrangement at therear repl aces the old car’s torsionbeam. Having the prev ious-genPrius available for unusual ba ck-to-back comparisons drove home thenew car’s greatly improved ability toiron out stacca to bu mps as well asprovide a much moreenga ging driveon the circuit. This won’t mattermuch to the average Prius buyer, ofwhich there are 3.5 million orso.They’ll want to know about its greencredential s, but let’s unpack the oilyand wiry bits first.Hybrid Synergy Drive againcombines a 1.8 litr e inlin e four-cyli nder pe trol motor with twoelectric motors and a CVTtransmission, much as it did in theMk3. Gone though, is the old nickel-metalhydride battery, repl aced by a lighterlithium-ion hybrid. It’s smaller and flatter, sobetter stowed under the rear seat and thatmeans a larger bo ot. Toyota suggests acombined fuel economy of 4.2ℓ/100km inEco grade, which is comparable to thecurrent car, but then this one comes withTSS. That’s Toyota Safety Sense to you andme, a multi-feature safety suite thatincorporates pr e-collision braking,pedestrian detection, lane departure alertwith steering assist and full-speed dynamicradar cruise co ntro l. Forgive me for noticingthat seems a hell of a lot like well-laidgroundwork for Toyota’s autonomousfuture. Moreabout that on page 99. The newcar then, not just a better Prius – but also abetter ca r.tcInterior leftover fromStarTrekVI: the Searchfor aFillingStation. ‘Shecannaehandle 15 3kW, Cap’n!’ etc