I have a lot of conversations about advanced technology vehicles and alternate fuels. About half of them end somebody saying, “Sure, fuel cells sound great, but who can live with a car that needs special fuel you can only get at a few stations?”
So you can imagine that when somebody who does exactly that e-mailed me, I wanted to talk.
“I love it, and I feel like I’m part of the solution” to climate change, said Mark Mobley of Garden Grove, Calif. “I went from a 2005 Corolla to the Mirai. I skipped the whole hybrid step and went from a car with roll-up windows to all this new technology. People stop me in the grocery store parking lot to talk about it.”
Mobley got his hydrogen-powered 2016 Toyota Mirai earlier this year. He put his name on a waiting list after Toyota organized a Mirai test drive in Orange County last year and took delivery April 12.
The Mirai is a futuristic looking midsize sedan about the size of a Toyota Camry. It runs on hydrogen gas, which it combines with oxygen to produce electricity. There’s no exhaust gas. The only byproduct is a trickle of water from the tailpipe. Automakers have invested billions developing vehicles powered by fuel cells, but the system’s high cost and a paucity of places to refuel have limited the technology’s growth.
The Mirai costs $57,500. Most drivers lease their vehicles for $499 a month, but Mobley went all in: he financed the Mirai and bought it outright.
“I’m really committed to helping the infrastructure for fueling grow,” he said. “I trust Toyota to get the technology right. That’s why I bought my Mirai.
“Some people think their lives are out of control, but this is something I can do to make a difference.”
California has the country’s best infrastructure for refueling hydrogen powered cars. It’s the only state where you can currently buy a Mirai, but stations are rare. The nearest is six miles from Mobley’s house.
“I usually refuel on weekends,” he said. “I drive about 18 miles to work” as a quality inspector for Beckman Coulter, a manufacturer of medical diagnostic machines. He gets the equivalent of an EPA rating of 58 mpg for a gasoline vehicle. The range is 265 to 300 miles on a fill-up. The Mirai stores hydrogen in a pair of high pressure carbon fiber tanks. It takes about 5 minutes to refuel. A fill-up would cost $50 to $75 at current hydrogen prices.
“I usually have the pump to myself, but one time two other Mirais were in line behind me. It was like seeing a gathering of California condors,” he said with a laugh. Toyota is giving initial Mirai owners a prepaid card that should cover fuel for three years. He also gets to use the car pool lane, a considerable benefit in Los Angeles traffic.
California’s network of hydrogen stations is growing. When one opened in Santa Barbara 128 miles up the coast, Mobley decided to take a road trip.
“It’s got terrific torque. It meets all my needs for acceleration,” he said. “The trip was great.”
There are no public hydrogen filling stations in Michigan. Toyota hopes to begin sales in some northeastern states in 2017, but only if a network of filling stations is in place.
