Welcome back to Vanagas Extreme Machines. Today we are going to talk about hydrogen. Yes yes, for real, hydrogen is prettu special technology. It has been very interesting to me all my life even though I didn’t fully understand it fully, but today we have a Toyota Mirai in front of us.
And this is a true hydrogen legend. Are you a chemist? I don't. So what is hydrogen? Basically, this is the first element in periodic table. Remember? We were thought that back in school. It is the first element.
It is colourless, scentless and highly flammable gas. Its' molecules are made up of two atoms - H2. Hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant element in the world. In fact, not only on Earth but in the whole universe. However, it does not exist in pure form on Earth.
That's all about chemistry. and let’s go back to Toyota. Toyota has been developing alternative technologies long enough.
Basically, Toyota makes cars with internal combustion engines, hybrids, electric cars, and hydrogen-powered cars, just like this. Toyota began developing hydrogen technology in 1992. That is 30 years of history. By testing this technology, they have practically gone about 1.6 million. kilometers - that's pretty impressive. I have to say that the U.S. space industry has contributed equally to the development of hydrogen (or hydrogen cell) technology . This means, that it was developed during the Gemini, Apollo programs.
The legendary Spaceshuttle had a similar hydrogen fuel cell. The first Toyota concept car, the FCVR, was introduced in 2011. In other words, a decade ago. It also laid the foundation for Toyota’s first production hydrogen car, the Toyota Mirai, which was released in 2014.
and that first-generation model was produced from 2014 to 2020. In other words, it has been in production for 6 years. In front of you is the 2nd generation Toyota Mirai. By the way, Mirai means "future" in Japanese.
Yes yes yes - hydrogen. Toyota says hydrogen is the future and why, we’ll be able to talk about it a little later. So, before you is a 2nd Toyota Mirai car and it is very different from its predecessor. In fact, here is my personal opinion, but I will quote one of the famous Soviet avia constructors. I don’t remember well if that was Tupoliov or Antovo, but he said, “Ugly planes don’t fly.” That’s what I think we will never have 1st generation Toyota Mirai ir Vanagas Extreme Machines. For me, it’s, let’s say, at least an ugly car, but this is something else .
It is much longer. It is 5 meters long. This car is wider, lower and much much more attractive. Here’s my personal opinion, but I think this car was missing the Lexus badge, because by all its concept and what I’ll show you later, there should be a Lexus here.
This is Toyota’s most luxurious evolution. I think we can say that. In Lithuania, this car would cost from 67 500 euros Its main competitors, hmm, could probably be Hyundai and Honda. How does a hydrogen car work? If we’re talking about hydrogen fuel cells, let’s not confuse with a hydrogen internal combustion engine.
These hydrogen fuel cells basically make this car an electric car. Yes yes – it is an electric car. Simply, electricity is produced when hydrogen meet oxygen. And during that reaction, electricity is generated and that electricity drives this car. It is in a sense this car is an electric car. Energy is simply produced with the help of hydrogen.
And this car is different from an electric car in that, and here’s the biggest advantage of this technology is that this car can be much lighter because it doesn’t have to carry the large amount of batteries that are needed to travel long distances. Another thing, so far electric car batteries are charging really long or simply for too long. This hydrogen car fills up very quickly. The biggest curiosity in the whole Baltics or, in other words, in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - is only one hydrogen gas station in all 3 countries. And it's in Riga.
In the middle. But this is what prevents the development of hydrogen cars in Lithuania. Not only business should think about that but also people in government who are there to make sure that new technologies could emerge in Lithuania. So, really really, please note that! I’ll tell you more about this car later, but sincerely I really like this technology.
I’ll tell you how the technology works a little more broadly. Here’s a fuel cell under the hood. It is the fuel cell to which the hydrogen coming in conjunction with the oxygen that produces electricity. Hydrogen comes from 3 compressed tanks. One of them is in the middle of the car.
The second is under the back seat and the third is behind the rear axle of the car. Additionally, there is a battery behind the rear seat. This battery or accumulator makes this car a hybrid. In other words, it can run on the electricity that is stored in the battery, and at that time the hydrogen cell does not work when it needs more power (more electricity) then the fuel cell turns on.
In other words, it is a hybrid hydrogen car. Thus, the hydrogen, the fuel cell, the battery and the engine that drives the wheels are in the rear of the car the rear wheels are the drive wheels of the Toyota Mirai. In fact, with its predecessor, the first-generation Toyota Mirai, the drive wheels were the front.
That’s a big change. Mirai has a paddle-type design with 20-inch rims that really fit very well and that blue color is probably the most representative color of this model. It looks very nice.
Let's talk about the technical characteristics of Toyota Mirai. Engine power - 182 horsepower. The torque is 300 Newtons.
This car accelerates to 100 km / h in 9 seconds. And the maximum speed is 175 km / h. I guess, this speed ... The Japanese like limited electronics.
When we talk about engine power and 182 horses, it doesn’t sound like very much, but keep in mind that electric motors have one very, very big advantage. 182 horsepower is available whenever you press the accelerator pedal. In other words, there is always maximum power. The internal combustion engine has, say, maximum power at certain speeds.
In other words, he doesn’t have it when you start accelerating, then that power grows, then it falls and you only have those horsepower at the certain point. All electric motors, in principle, have instant maximum power. And it really changes everyhing. So, I would suggest not to be afraid of these characteristics.
They’re really not very bad. Now listen, under the fuel cell cover ... Namely, not the engine cover, but the fuel cell cover is a 330-cell hydrogen fuel cell.
This fuel cell uses 800 g of hydrogen (H2) for 100 km. Only 800 g. This power capacity is measured in terms of power density.
Otherwise, it is denoted in kilowatts per liter. It is this power plant has 5.4 kW per liter. It is smaller but 20% more powerful than the previous Toyota Mirai which had 4.4 kW / l. In other words, we see that technology can shrink, lighten, and its capacity can increase very a lot. There are very special fuel tanks.
Their total capacity is 142 l. 5.6 kg of hydrogen are blown into those 142 l at an extremely high pressure. In other words at a pressure of as much as 700 bar. Remember? Hydrogen is the lightest element in the universe, which is why so few kilograms are added to such a large number of liters.
With almost 6 kg of hydrogen, the car can travel 650 km. That’s really quite a lot. The technology is currently being worked on, and it is very likely that in the very near future the new Mirai fuel tanks will be able to be as high as 1,000 bar.
In other words, it will be possible to add even more hydrogen to them. This means that the car will be able to travel even further. This is the main advantage of this technology. So, the fuel tank.
At the touch of a button in a front console the fuel tank opens And here we have a special filling nozzle , similar to gas equipment. Just keep in mind that this nozzle is filled with hydrogen at an extremely high pressure and it is really very precise. Mirai Trunk Oh ... here are the stuff left
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mirai Trunk. Capacity - 321 l. In fact, I’ve seen bigger trunks and a small... or the midsize Toyota Corolla has a bigger trunk. But clearly, here are fuel tanks, here are batteries, so that’s understandable why it’s not too spacious. Buddies, announcements First of all, if any of you have a very unique car model, please DM me on Facebook or Instagram or maybe in the comments below here on Youtube and I’m really looking forward to see what you can offer. Secondly, when you watch Youtube - I usually do it like this: if I see that I don't have enough time but I like the content I see I can take and speed up my any other individual's speech You can make me talk 1.25 or 1.5 faster
I watch Youtube like this so often. I see that a new type of technical subtlety starts to give you headace. It’s not very very easy for me either.
So the last fact before you go talk about how this car works and a few more fun things. It weighs 1,950 kg. In other words, almost two tons.
I’m probably not mistaken that outside as well as inside it’s the most luxurious Toyota model. In fact, after the first-generation Toyota Mirai, Toyota said "We want to create a car that driverswould enjoy " From the outside, they really did it. It’s truly a limousine-class car that, in my deep conviction, is even better than Toyota’s flagship Toyota Camri. Take a good look at these fine lines. To me, this car really reminds me of the Lexus LS.
I’m sure here’s that Lexus platform. The good thing is that Lexus is Toyota. You know, and an interesting fact - Toyota Mirai and Lexus LS were delivered 4 days apart.
And now let’s jump in and see how the owners of luxury Toyota drive. The interior of Mirai is really luxurious and it is a high level, beautiful design interior. Very comfortable seat for the Mirai driver. There is seats, two screens, one in the center, the other smaller, in the center console. Steering wheel control. Well, I would think those who drive a Toyota, one way or another, will find their own buttons that they are used to using.
The gearshift lever resembles a hybrid car. Its principle is that if you want to drive forward, push the lever to the left and down. Then it comes back. In this case, you activate the drive position. If you want to go back, make a left and up, then you drive back. Mirai's entire roof is glass.
And very strange, but it’s not a hatch. It does not open. This means you can watch the sky at night or during the day, or pull a curtain and have the kind of roof that we are used to seeing in every car.
You’d probably want a little more space at the back of the car. But although a five-seater, but sitting in the back for two is really quite comfortable. Plus, there’s a huge armrest that has its own sound, temperature and other settings. And in this car, the rear seats are not only heated but also ventilated.
You can press a button and see the car from a bird’s eye view. This is a bird-eye feature and in this case you can see what is around your car or if there are any disturbances before you go. Such an interesting feature.
So, you all know that hydrogen is born when hydrogen meets oxygen. Do you know what by-product, as in the case of a normal car, is the exhaust gas that comes into this car? You won’t believe this car removes WATER. Pure water that you can drink. Here’s the H20 button and when you press it, the car drains water under the rear wheel. Image the way you bring your dog outside to do 'natural affairs". He raises his leg... Well in this case the car does not lift the wheel but drains the water.
That water is not recommended to drink, but basically, you can drink it. This is the simplest H20. This car does not pollute the environment.
It cleans the air, but I’ll tell you about it when we drive. You won't win Dakar with this car. But for everyday use you will not find anything better. Take an interest in Inbank car financing. Like I mentioned this car is an electric car. The hydrogen fuel cell makes almost no sound.
The sound of electric motor is completely minimal. So you ride in complete silence. Particularly good music hardware is turned off right now, I have to mention. With that in mind, it’s very nice to keep in mind that we’re used to driving cars that make some kind of sound.
In this case, you hear the wind resistance when you drive a little faster or the tires. The sound insulation of the Mira is like a high-end car. There really is a lot of investment here.
The car has a wide variety of auxiliary functions. There is also a Toyota safety–sense and various controls for driver assistance. Well, these days you may not be very surprised by that, but the car will help you to drive in every possible way. Remember we talked about engine power? That it is 182 horsepower.
It doesn’t look like much, but this car is quite dynamic, but whenever you press the accelerator division it does everything you ask of it. And it’s not a race car, but it gets to go fast. The main thing I would like to say. Remember, I said that Toyota wanted to maka a car that would bring joy to the driver.
This is this car. I could equate it with Rolls Royce in its conceptuality. I don’t compare it to Rolls Royce, don’t get me wrong. but Rolls Royce never declares what power, for example, their engine has. They answer - enough. It seems to me that this is created with the concept of "Enough of everything".
That is, enough engine power, enough comfort. Really, you are driving this car and you’re missing absolutely nothing. I’m not a big sedan or hetchbeck fan I prefer SUVs, and I’ve driven probably about 100km with this car and it delights me with every moment. It doesn’t have anything super special, but the overall balance is done so good. Is so silent. It does what you ask.
It's a very good feeling. It doesn't matter that I'm a Toyota ambassador - I don't have a purpose to say what I wouldn't believe myself. I really like this Mirai. The blinking of turns reminds me a mechanical clock. Listen ... click click What else I wanted to say? This car, emits drinking water or just H2O, does not pollute the environment, it has a special function - it cleans the air.
Look, here is such a special monitor and it says: "air purification". This means that the more I accelerate or the more hydrogen I use, the more air is taken from the outside, passes through a special filter and is cleaned. Tt comes out even cleaner through a special filtration system .
In other words, this indicator shows how many thousand. l / min of air is cleaned additionally. We brought this Mirai to the IKI Velomarathon. He will work in the IKI Velomarathon as a security car and will be followed by cyclists. I myself jog a lot and I know that if you jog in Vingis Park and come to the part where the cars drive and you pass an older car and it stinks With Mirai you get only water and clean air for the ones behind you. Awesome As I mentioned, I won’t show it, but the car has a very good JBL sound system.
Toyota mane an effort and, in fact, knows how to make music sound better. What I am missing... volume control is either on the steering wheel or here on the front console. And it seems to me that doing volume control with buttons isn’t a very good idea because it’s still more comfortable and it seems that almost all car manufacturers have already realized that, and Toyota already has a wheel on all new models to change the sound, I don’t know why Mirai wanted to stand out, although this is a brand new model, but these are the buttons. I could probably tell you a lot here, but this car evokes really good emotions and you want to be a driver in it. You can select settings while driving this car.
In other words, it can be either standart or sport mode. By the way, the sport mode adds a bit of sound to the music equipment to make it look like the sound of an internal combustion engine. Or it can be eco mode. You drive it extremely economically.
The car also has a smart parking system. You just have to mark the place where you want to park the car. If you are not a skilled maneuverer in the parking lot, this car will park itself in the marked places. You just need to choose the right place and the car does it for you. A part of the screen is projected on the windshield. So I see the speed, the cost, well the different settings..
The rearview mirror is dimmed if the car at night glows. And it has one very interesting feature - if passangers are in the back and you don’t see the view through them, You can switch the mirror to another mode and in that case you see the image through the entire rear view camera. So passangers or items do not bother you at all.
You see the whole picture perfectly. When we talk about Mirai cars, most of them are sold in America or, basically, California. 65% of the cars are sold in America. 35% in Japan, naturally where they are born.
And only 5% in Europe. When it comes to hydrogen technology, the biggest obstacle right now is simply the lack of gas stations. As I mentioned, the only gas station in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is in Riga.
You are not going to Riga to fill your car. This is complete nonsense. But if there were more of those gas stations ... mmm ... I think that would be a really good idea. I like to ride a hydrogen car every single day.
This is the Vangas Extreme machines experience with the hydrogen Toyota Mirai. For me personally, it was a really new experience and an interesting car concept. As a driver I really enjoyed this car and as I mentioned Toyota made the car you want to drive. I just want to drive. When it comes to hydrogen technology, we have some questions, but I would like to point out one thing. Toyota usually doesn’t miscalculate.
They have made hybrid technology and, if you look at taxi drivers in Vilnius, Lithuania or around the world – they use it. And you write off taxists – they know what is the most effective. They calculate what is durable, cheap and works well. Thanks again and see you soon in the next Vanagas Extreme Machines.
2021-10-05