[charanreddy]

Hello BHPians,

Just read about the Toyota Mirai on ET. Is it just me or does this design look hideous (No offence to folks who think otherwise).



Quote from ET : "Toyota Motor Corp said it will introduce its first mass-market fuel cell car in the United States next year, hoping to replicate the success of its Prius hybrid with a vehicle that runs on hydrogen instead of gasoline.

The four-person sedan named Mirai, the Japanese word for 'future', will be at California dealerships in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Only 200 will be available in the United States next year, with volumes increasing to 3,000 by 2017, executives said at a press conference in Newport Beach, California."


I was thinking I have seen this some where and then It stuck me - Alien from the Predator movie (especially around the jawline ) !



@ Mods, Please feel free to delete if image is too gross.

(Image copyright ET, respective owners).

[DicKy]

Wouldn't have been ugly if the glasshouse wasn't boxier and upright.

This looks like an ordinary sedan plastered with a wide body kit, change the glasshouse and will be more palatable.
Looks like the next gen of Prius wave, and glad to see Toyota using a Japanese name in a hopefully global car.

[sajusherief]

I totally agree with charan, this design indeed looks hideous. They better have an explanation for this unconventional design.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

What a hideous design!

But - I am really interested in knowing what is the reason behind making it so bad to look at! There should be some aerodynamics at play, the sides specially feel designed only for good airflow - but i wonder why those jaw like edges are being given for the front bumpers.

And yes - it reminds me of 'predator' as well!

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by sajusherief

I totally agree with charan, this design indeed looks hideous. They better have an explanation for this unconventional design.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

What a hideous design!

But - I am really interested in knowing what is the reason behind making it so bad to look at! There should be some aerodynamics at play, the sides specially feel designed only for good airflow - but i wonder why those jaw like edges are being given for the front bumpers.

And yes - it reminds me of 'predator' as well!

Looks like the huge hideous air vents in the front are for cooling purposes to cool the 'boiling water (?)' or something like that.

[D4D]

The ugly jaws in the front bumper makes it so ugly. Else I think the looks would be acceptable for a toyota.
300 miles on a 5 liter hydrogen tank filled at 10,000 psi is a phenomenal number.

[allien936]

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[shashank.nk]

Here's a drive report from the Verge,not much detail, but gives you an idea of what its all about:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/21/7...hydrogen-power

a snippet from the review

But unlike an EV, the Mirai can be "recharged" in three to five minutes, Toyota says. That's one of hydrogen's benefits: there's no multi-hour charging process, just a quick stop for a refill the same way you'd get gasoline. The only emission is water.

IT JUST DRIVES LIKE A CAR

It seems like an obvious win, but fuel cells can be problematic, which is why they've been in development for decades. They can be finicky in cold weather, and a tank of compressed hydrogen is quite literally a bomb — but developments from Toyota, Honda, and now Audi appear to have ironed out the kinks. (A Toyota representative told me that they've fired bullets at the Mirai's tank without it being punctured.)

[Vikram Patel]

I understand that the design is hideous but two things:
1. This might not be their final design. The car is not going to be in production till late 2015.
2. they are trying to replicate the success of a Prius. Conscious Conservationalism (I forgot where I read this term in regards to Prius). BUt basically the Prius benefitted from having a hideous design because that way it was told apart from the other 'nprmal' cars and people could associate it to being Environmentally friendly, a banner people who drive the prius like to sport. With the Mirai following a similar suit, making it stand out will benefit the company is targetting the growing conscious conservationalist.

[Soumyajit9]

The pictured specimen might just be a concept or a test vehicle.
I hope that the production model gets a bit more tamed.

[libranof1987]

This should be an interesting development.

But $57000? No wonder they're introducing this in California, the capital of environment-conscious snobbishness.

As far as the practicality is concerned, I don't think there should be a lot of issues in California at least; if the ease of finding electric-charging stations is any indication.

[Speed.Demon]

I don't know what Toyota were thinking when they designed that front bumper. They must have had their reasons I guess.

But, If hydrogen fuel cell technology do catch on, why would anyone buy that when this is around?