Toyota Australia played host to a rather monumental test of its hydrogen technology. A hydrogen-powered Toyota Hiace was trialed on public roads in the country which spanned a variety of road surfaces including pavement, asphalt, and even some light off-roading, which is part and parcel for any well-traveled Aussie driver.
During the 2023 Super Taikyu season on November 11 at the Fuji International Speedway in Oyama, Shizuoka, Toyota Executive Vice President, Hiroki Nakajima, announced that the brand was trialing a hydrogen-powered Hiace in Austalia, being tested on a variety of surfaces such as standard pavement to not-so-standard dirt. The test was conducted to gather data that will contribute to the commercialization of this new technology.
Toyota has been racing its hydrogen-powered Corolla in Japan. Since the 2021 Super Taikyu season, the Japanese brand has been out on the track racing among other cars and being driven by a carbon-neutral vision for internal combustion engines.
The Australian Hydrogen Hiace test is the first public trial for the technology, away from the confines of a race track, and subject to the factors and elements of the real world.
Toyota published a video about its trial, which tracked the Hiace’s journey from start to finish with interviews and insights in between. There were a number of setbacks on the trip, a couple of detours, and a lot of kangaroos.
The model has a turbocharged V6 engine that is powered by hydrogen fuel. It’s a 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine whose architecture is similar to the Land Cruiser 300. The motor is otherwise paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. With the system in play, the Hiace makes 160 hp which is a far figure from the 407 hp that can be found on Toyota’s gasoline-powered full-size SUV.
More importantly, hydrogen power seems to be another viable alternative to fossil fuels. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have been rising steadily in demand for a while, but hydrogen is also one of the other alternatives that a couple of companies have been considering as a big step toward a carbon-neutral future.
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