Driving the Toyota Mirai, the most futuristic car you can buy

Go ahead. Call it ugly. Toyota doesn’t care.

People called the Prius ugly, too, when it was first launched (still do, actually), and it went on to become one of America’s best-selling cars. With the Prius, Toyota knew it had a game-changing technology on its hands, and to make it noticeable to its customers — who didn’t tend to pay much attention to cars, even when 50 mpg fuel economy was on the spec chart — Toyota had to make it noticeable-looking. People noticed. Next thing we knew, the Prius’ doorstop-chic styling became a point of pride. Toyota took a risk on ugly, and it paid off.

Toyota is attempting to perform the same trick with the 2016 Mirai. Only now, it’s working with hydrogen, not hybrids. We explicated the reasons for the Mirai’s various styling elements when the Mirai was introduced last year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, so we won’t bother repeating ourselves, but even after spending time with it, we’re not sure we’ll ever find it anything but jarring. Time will tell if Toyota can do the same trick with the Mirai that it pulled off with the Prius, but Toyota is banking on it, and banking even bigger on the technology and infrastructure becoming the next revolution in driving.

At this point, not many people know how fuel cells work, and since there aren’t many moving parts — no cylinders, pistons, crankshafts, etc. — understanding the process seems like a chemistry test. But in a nutshell, here’s how it works:

In a fuel cell, electricity is produced from a reaction between hydrogen and air. First, hydrogen atoms are compressed and stored in high-pressure tanks, two of which are present in the Mirai, together holding about 11 pounds of hydrogen at 10,000 psi. The hydrogen atoms are sent through a platinum membrane that separates the electrons from the protons. Those electrons produce an electric current that powers an electric motor-generator capable of 151 hp and 247 lb-ft of torque. The newly liberated hydrogen protons are introduced to oxygen in the air on the other side of the membrane, which in turn creates water — about a half-cup per mile, says Toyota — which exits the tailpipe. And yes, it's drinkable.

To reduce costs, Toyota had to make the fuel-cell compatible with its existing hybrid system and the Prius’ nickel-metal hydride battery, so Toyota fitted a four-phase boost converter, bringing voltage to 650V. As with the Prius, this is used primarily to assist during acceleration and capture regenerative braking energy.