The Toyota Mirai has been subjected to a demanding test of long-distance in Germany “a reliability of 100%”, according to the brand itself. The vehicle hydrogen fuel cell of the japanese manufacturer has landed in Europe and wants to make clear the validity of this technology even in intensive use.
Toyota has appealed to the German company KJ Tech Services for the conduct of the trial, those who have selected a team of eight drivers that were distributed in two daily shifts, six days a week. During the 107 days that have been slow to reach the border of the 100,000 kilometres, the Mirai has circulated during 16 hours each day.
The route has taken place for Hamburg and its surroundings with a combination of city, secondary roads and highways including the famous autobahns. Given the dates of the test drive (between September 2015 and February 2016, the Mirai had to face the cold German winter, with temperatures that came to the 20 degrees below zero.
The vehicle fuel cell stack suffered no mechanical failure as explained Patrick Hake, project manager of KJ Tech Services. During the intense test of long duration of the hydrogen car only had to change tires twice and the brake pads front on one occasion.
To complete the journey has been necessary refuel about 400 times with something more than 1,000 pounds of hydrogen. The drivers themselves of the test were in charge of this operation that, unlike electric cars, battery-powered, it only requires about three minutes.
The Toyota Mirai european has slight differences aesthetic with the version that is already marketed in Japan, but identical technical characteristics. Its mechanics develops 154 HP and a torque of 355 Nm, which allows you to accelerate to 100 km/h from standstill in 9,6 seconds and reach a top speed of 178 km/h. His autonomy is around 500 miles.
By the time the sales already begun in Germany, the Uk and Denmark and will arrive to most markets, although will depend on the charging infrastructure hydrogen -why don’t expect that in Spain short-term. The Mirai is a success of sales in Japan, where it has had to increase production due to high demand, and hopes to make it big in the Old Continent.
–