European roads demand a high standard.

Amid the f ir s t heav y rain o f the

European leg, the team travelled from

Slovenia to Hungar y . Even on the

mo tor w ay the r a in seemed to be

pooling on the surface, so that each

passing truck sent up sprays of water

which reduced visibility. The situation

was much the same on the country

roads, where cars rushed past at high

sp e e d s do w n t he na r r o w l ane s .

Looking back on his job, Koashi-san

f r o m t h e V e h i c l e E n g i n e e r i n g

Development Division reflected on the

significance of coming to Europe.

“ I t h a s g i v e n m e a g r e a t

understanding of the high level of

performance that is demanded. My

work is usually in environmental

p e r f o r m a n c e t e s t i n g , w h i c h

evaluates aspects such as road

surface interference and abnormal

noise inside the vehicle. I think of it

a s l a y i n g t h e fou nd at io n s fo r

manufacturing a car – foundations

t h a t m u s t n o t f a i l u n d e r a n y

circumstance. I have come to feel

proud of the fact that my work

h e l p s t o p r o v i d e t h e h i g h

performance demanded in Europe.”

Entering Austria from Hungary, the

line of wind-power turbines stretches

on endlessly . Wi th team members

f r om v ar ious Eur opean countr ies

being well-versed on electricity, the

c o n v e r s a t i o n l e a d s t o J a p a n ’ s

situation and the future of EV. These

meandering on-board conversations

always f ind their way back to the

topic of cars. European car culture

seems to have matured as a dialogue

between society and the environment.

Mi y aur a - s an f r om the Dr i v e t r a in

Experiment & Analysis Engineering

Division speaks with one of the other

passengers, Ziv Zioni f rom Israel,

ab ou t t he e f f e c t o f c r o s s w inds .

Checking how the car behaves right

a f ter be ing passed b y a t ruck or

o ther lar ge v ehic le , the pa ir ar e

reassured by the gent le sway ing.

Ljubljana Stuttgart

03

C omp ar ing s ens a t ions ma y w e l l

become Toyota’ s ‘shared language’ .

Data doesn’ t tell the whole story.

Austr ia, Hungar y , Poland, Czech

Republic – driving through dif ferent

countries every day makes it possible

to notice the changing environment at

each border crossing. Roads give a

t r u e r e f l e c t i o n o f e c o n o m i c

conditions. In Poland and the Czech

Republic, roads are constructed by

connecting a series of large concrete

p ane l s; t he gap s b e t w e e n t he m

r e ma in a s l ine s on t he s ur f a c e ,

constantly vibrating the car. Country

r oads ar e pa v e d in a pa t chw ork

fashion, and the speeds remain high

even on winding forest roads. When it

r a in s , t he r o a d s ur f a c e f r i c t i on

coe f f ic ient f luc tuates wildly . Wi th

conditions changing from moment to

moment, drivers must maintain a high

awareness a t al l t imes. Fu ji i - san,

w ho s e ma in r o l e a t t he V e h ic l e

Evaluation & Engineering Division is

conducting body strength simulations

via CAE and representing them on

paper, had previous experience with

these roads through data. However,

after having actually driven them, he

spoke about the need to reconsider

the validity of that data.

“W h e n c o n s i d e r e d g l o b a l l y ,

Euro pean roads are ranked as

‘good’ in the data. But does that

really envisage those uneven roads

being driven at such high speeds? I

found the roads to be far harsher

than I had imagined.”

Passing Team 1’ s midpoint also

pro v ides chances f or reunions in

various countries with those members

who were part of the leg’ s first half.

In Austria, the team was able to meet

up wi th Gerhard Korpi t sch a t the

dealer the y v is i t ed, while Poland

allowed a reunion with Jakub Motyka

a t t he TMMP p lan t . Se e ing them

welcome the team as proud hosts

conveyed the significance of the leg;

the visits keenly brought home the

meaning of Captain Takashima’ s ‘One

to follow behind over the wireless.

Speeding up while in the right lane,

t h e c a r s a c c e l e r a t e f u r t h e r t o

overtake another vehicle, then quickly

return to the right lane after passing.

Maintaining good communication with

the surrounding traffic, they drive on

at a steady 160kph. “The important

thing is rhythm,” says Sekiya. This

is a country where it is possible to

communicate with one’ s surroundings

by the way you dr ive. And so the

team arr ives in Germany, the 12th

c o u n t r y s i n c e P o r t u g a l a n d a n

automotive powerhouse.

Team’ presentation. Members from

TMC promised to play the role o f

hosts next time in Japan.

A country where driving speaks volumes.　

Passing through various countries

provides oppor tunities to learn not

only about the roads but also about

t he dr i v ing s t y l e s in e a c h a r e a .

A c c or d ing t o S e k i y a - s an o f t he

Advanced Technical Skills Institute,

t r a v e l l ing f r om the une xpec tedly

‘ a g gr e s s i v e ’ E a s t e r n - E ur o p e a n

c o un t r i e s in t o G e r m a n y i s ‘ l i k e

drawing a beautiful line’ . Travelling

along the Autobahn, which in general

has no speed limits, proved a rather

tense time for members unfamiliar

with high-speed areas. Having never

before driven overseas, Fujii wipes

t he s w e a t f r om h i s hands w hi l e

gripping the steering wheel. Despite

accelerating to nearly 170kph, he has

trouble staying with the flow. Sekiya

passes from the rear, directing Fujii

Distance : 1,868km

Duration : September.11-

September.15,2017

Days : 5days

Vehicles : C-HR HV,Yaris HV,

Prius PHV,Aygo,

Corolla,GT86,PROACE

Reporter◯Toshiya Muraoka

9.12

9.11

9.13

9.14

9.15

Porto

Nürberg