The Grand Tour

James May Compares His Tesla Model S 100D And Toyota Mirai

James May, co-presenter of The Grand Tour and co-owner of DriveTribe has given us a present for the holiday season: a comparison review between his Tesla Model S 100D, and his hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai. It’s important to note that he owns both of these cars, and has been teasing a comparison since he first revealed he bought the two a couple of months ago.

“Here are two electric cars. One of them may be the future. Or it could be both of them. Or it may be neither of them,” he says at the beginning of the video.

He explains how the Tesla is much more a car of the future with a large touchscreen display and very few physical buttons. With a powerful pair of motors it also boasts incredible performance. In comparison to this, the Toyota dons a much more traditional interior, with the majority of it coming straight from the hybrid Prius with plenty of tactile buttons and only a small screen which displays information. It does however lack power when compared to the 100D. 152bhp is sent to the wheels of the Mirai, where 400+bhp is sent to all four wheels of the Tesla. In the Mirai’s favour, it has a much better ride, like a Bentley, according to James.

The infrastructure behind the American electric car is well developed unlike the hydrogen network for the Toyota, so it’s much easier to find somewhere to charge the car. However, when you do find one of the few hydrogen fuel stations in the country, the car will refuel in the same amount of time as a normal fuelled car. There have however been instances where hydrogen has leaked from storage tanks, so obviously the industry needs some improvement.

The video concludes with an evaluation from James. They both have their pros and cons, and it’s obvious to see that electricity is the future. How this electricity will be produced is a question that is yet to be answered, though.

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