2023 Toyota Mirai comes with new tech, keeps the old price

After Honda discontinued production of its hydrogen-powered Clarity, Toyota remained the only company to sell the alternative electric car. Mirai is the only fuel cell electric car, from a major manufacturer available in the US. Due to the lack of widespread hydrogen infrastructure in the US, Mirai is only available in California.

The 2023 Toyota Mirai can be easily mistaken for the previous year's model, in fact, the car hasn’t changed much since its second generation was introduced in 2020. The previous model did look like an inflated Prius with air intakes capable of swallowing small children. Thankfully, Toyota abandoned that design and introduced the current model with far more plausible looks.

The latest update brings a host of tech upgrades and leaves the exterior and interior of the car unchanged. The new infotainment system has vastly improved connectivity, and advanced driver assistance systems are available for the first time in Mirai.

Mirai Limited comes with the optional Toyota Teammate, it essentially is Advanced Drive and Advanced Park bundled together. The new functions use LiDAR, cameras, and radar to provide a far improved performance. Advanced Drive is a Level 3 autonomous driving system that can be engaged on limited-access highways as well as in a few other scenarios. The system can accelerate, brake, and steer on its own and the driver is monitored constantly to ensure he or she keeps eyes on the road.

As you expect, Advanced Park can autonomously park the Mirai. The system can perform parallel and perpendicular parking and has been optimized for backing into a tight parking spot without any human interference.

The interior displays remain unchanged, 8-inch instrument cluster for the driver and a 12.3-inch center screen displaying all the info required. The software, though, has been bumped up to Toyota Audio Multimedia which has been developed for the company by the US-based Connected Technologies. That means OTA updates, dual Bluetooth connection, wireless Apple CArPlay, Android Auto, collision emergency notification and assistance, and a new Wi-Fi hotspot capable of simultaneously running 5 devices.

There is an optional Service Drive Connect which brings with it the Intelligent Assist - Toyota’s answer to voice control. That option introduces Cloud Navigation and destination Assist - thanks to an internet connection the driver gets all up-to-date info about the route and destination and the satnav can change directions on the fly if the planned route runs into trouble.

In the US, Toyota Mirai is only sold in California simply because it is the only state with reliable and sufficient hydrogen infrastructure. For the same reason, BMW is bringing its iX5 hydrogen-powered model to California only. Mirai is available on the Old Continent and in the UK as well.

In the US, the updated 2023 Toyota Mirai keeps the last year’s prices - the base XLE model starts at $49,500 and the Limited trim starts at $66,000. Add to it a $1,025 destination charge and it’s not a cheap car but Toyota throws in $15,000 worth of hydrogen chagrin that can be used over 3 years. The company claims that Mirai can get as much as 400 miles out of one charge which takes around 5 minutes. In Europe Mirai XLE starts at €46,500 and the Limited version asking price is €62,040.

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