The final part of Toyota's Big News Day Out is this, the Mirai hydrogen saloon, with details for European customers for the first time since it was shown off in Tokyo last year.
New Mirai is... desirable?
We first have to give credit to Toyota's designers for the new Mirai's styling. Whereas the first-generation Mirai was technically impressive, but looked like a mutant Prius, this one is far smoother, sexier and more Lexus-y (with a hint of Camry). It's, dare we say it, desirable.
It's also rear-wheel drive, with the electric motor mounted under the boot, and drawing power from a much-improved hydrogen fuel cell up front. Those improvements include a much-expanded range - the first Mirai would go for around 500km on a single fill of hydrogen; this one has a 650km range on one fill-up. Toyota is further sticking the hydrogen knife into battery electric cars by claiming that the Mirai can be filled up in between three to five minutes (assuming one can find a hydrogen filling station - there are currently none in Ireland, but plans are afoot).
Three-tank hydrogen layout
Part of that range is down to the Mirai using a three-tank hydrogen storage system (the old one used two tanks), and that increases the total tank capacity by around 1kg of hydrogen (doesn't sound like a lot, but consider how much hydrogen you'd need to gather together to weigh a kilo).
Yoshikazu Tanaka, the new Mirai's Chief Engineer, said: "We have pursued the goal of making a car that customers will feel they want to drive all the time, a car that has an emotional and attractive design and the kind of dynamic and responsive performance that can bring a smile to the driver's face.
"I want customers to say, 'I chose the Mirai not just because it's a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, but because I simply wanted this car; it just happens to be an FCEV.' We will continue our development work focusing on that feeling, and we hope that with the new Mirai we will be a leader in helping realise a hydrogen energy society."
12.3-inch touchscreen
On the inside, while you might spot a few Toyota Camry components, the dash is all-new and designed to wrap around the driver, with a huge 12.3-inch touchscreen in the centre. Unlike the old Mirai, which only seated four people, including the driver, this one is a full five-seater.
It's built on a new, modular, rear-wheel-drive platform that will presumably also find its way under the next generation of Lexus models. Toyota claims that the high stiffness of the platform means that: "The performance of the fuel cell system give the new Mirai linear, smooth response when pulling away and an elegant driving feel, with unity between the driver's throttle inputs and the car's acceleration. Handling is light and easy on winding roads, while highway driving produces a sense of power at all speeds."