Trims
The all-new Eclipse Cross has something for everyone. Starting from $24,425 (USD), the base ES meets basic needs but if you want to stay connected and get some create comforts, forking over at least an extra $2000 is required. As you move up the trims, features like Apple Car Play/Andriod Auto, all-wheel-drive, heated mirrors, heated front seats, automatic headlights, dual-zone automatic climate control and many more. $7,000 later when you end up at the range topping SEL, a host of active safety systems among many other features turn the Eclipse Cross into an entirely different vehicle. Most exciting is the $36,000 GT with its leather seats, heads-up display and powerful 710-watt Rockford-Fosgate audio system.
Stripped down or fully loaded, the Eclipse Cross is a sensible buy. The base front-wheel-drive ES is a simple and reliable crossover for only $24,425, but with its limited features, it will likely feel dull long before its 10-year warranty is up. If safety is at the pinnacle of importance for you, the top SEL with the Touring package will provide all available active-safety features along with some premium niceties; at $31,390, it’s a dramatic step up from the ES but still competitive with rivals. A few nice features can go a long way in a new car, so we’d settle on the midrange SE. At $27,715, it’s only $3290 more than a base ES, but that extra coin adds:
- All-wheel drive
- Heated front seats
- Automatic headlights
- Dual-zone automatic climate control
The Eclipse Cross’s extroverted styling will get you noticed in traffic, but upgrading to the dramatic, shimmering Red Diamond paint for $595 turns up the visual appeal even more.
Source:
Car and Driver
The infotainment system is devoid of any physical buttons on its face, leaving the driver to utilize the steering wheel controls and passengers to decipher an active touchpad located on the centre console. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on all trims.
The 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross starts at a reasonable $27,798 which includes all-wheel drive and all manner of creature comforts like heated sideview mirrors and Apple CarPlay. Taking a $2200 walk to the mid-level SE adds dual-zone climate control and active safety nannies. The GT shown here stickers at $35,998. For this princely sum, one will also find a heads-up display, a banging 710-watt Rockford-Fosgate audio system, and leather seats. Rear-seat minions will enjoy heated chairs as well in the GT. Mitsu says the SE will be their volume trim. Our buying advice is to save your shekels and stick with the well-equipped base model.
Source:
Wheels.ca
If there's a case to be made for value here, it's at the lower end of the trim and pricing spectrum. The $28,310 sticker on feels too expensive, but an LE model gets me everything I want (the ES doesn't have Apple Car Play/Android Auto connectivity) for about two grand less. And if you can do without the advanced connectivity bells and whistles, you can hop into an AWD Eclipse Cross for just under $25,000.
Source:
AutoWeek
The SUV’s styling hurts visibility, which makes backing out of a parking spot difficult. Blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic warning come standard on the upper SE and SEL, but these helpful features aren’t available on the ES and LE trims.
Source:
Consumer Reports
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Performance
Unfortunately performance doesn't match its looks nor what the Eclipse name once stood for. However, for the average crossover/CUV buyer that mostly does city/highway driving, this won't be an issue. In fact, the 152 horses while few can be enjoyable and most importantly, easy to control. On paper, generous amount of power come on from 2,000 RPM but we hope power output can be improved with simple tunes thanks to the new boosted 1.5L I4 powertrain. For now, take it as a gateway product to sportier and higher performing CUV's if that's your thing.
Acceleration is adequate but nothing more. Around town, the Eclipse Cross feels perky and gets up to speed in traffic without straining. The 152-hp engine will rev if you ask it to, but it’s happiest cruising around at a leisurely pace. There is a perceptible delay when you suddenly accelerate after coasting or braking, so the Cross doesn’t lend itself to quick throttle movements and spirited driving.
Source:
Car and Driver
Eclipse Cross is the company’s first to feature their new turbocharged 1.5L inline-four. It is port and direct injected in a bid to get the most out of a litre of fuel, which is also the reason for the electronically controlled wastegates. Total output is 152 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, which is an amount of twist that outstrips the EC’s competitors and is available at just 2000rpm
Source:
Wheels.ca
This is a shame because the engine is pretty good. For those unaware, the Eclipse Cross is home to a new 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 152 hp and 182 lb-ft of torque on tap, backed by a continuously variable automatic transmission and (optionally) paired with Mitsubishi’s Super All Wheel Control all-wheel-drive system. On paper it isn’t that quick—our colleagues down the hall at Motor Trend timed it to 60 in nine seconds—but it packs an impressive, albeit noisy, mid-RPM punch.
Source:
Automobile Mag
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Ride Quality
Once inside, punching the throttle might present some excessive engine noise as some reports suggest, but this is no Mercedes. Similar lack of refinements reveal themselves in other areas that display as; abnormal body roll, steering that feels floaty when put through its paces, poor mitigation of road imperfections felt through the steering wheel, pedals and seats, tires that don't perform as required and many more. Even with these flaws the Eclipse Cross isn't a deal breaker. Ultimately it will come down to what certain owners are looking for. Just don't set your expectations too high.
The Eclipse Cross’s suspension is clearly tuned for comfort, and taking corners at speed results in moderate body roll. That softness pays off in its ride quality; the chassis remains composed while bombing over broken pavement and railroad crossings. However, small cracks in the road transmit vibrations up through the steering wheel and seats, something rival crossovers such as the Hyundai Tucson and the Kia Sportage damp out more thoroughly. Steering is accurate and light—which is good for parking-lot maneuverability but discourages back-road antics.
Source:
Car and Driver
Unfortunately, once you’re outside of the confines of an urban setting, the Eclipse Cross feels out of its depth. The ride shifts from pert in the city to jarring on country roads, and the light and easy steering perfect for parking has a touch too much assistance and feels vague at high speeds.
The suspension is the worst offender. It’s hard to say if Mitsubishi might have been aiming for sporty handling, but it’s missed the mark, instead creating a stiff ride on rural roads and crashes and bashes through the cabin.
Refinement also drops back a peg out of town. The calm quiet facade and well-judged CVT gives way to rev slurring, road noise and a general feeling of confusion. You can pick the changeover from well mannered to lost and confused right around the 75km/h mark.
Source:
CarAdvice
No, it’s the ride and handling that let the Eclipse Cross down. I’d like to describe the Eclipse Cross’ ride as soft and floaty, but I can’t. Floaty it is, but soft it isn’t—it kicks hard over bumps large and small, the body resounding with clunking noises that are hallmarks of cut-rate engineering. Steering feels no better than the Outlander Sport I tested a couple of months ago. Like its smaller, cheaper, and woefully outdated sibling, the Eclipse Cross wanders to-and-fro on the freeway and offers little steering feel in the curves.
Several of my fellow writers complained about body roll, but having pushed the Eclipse Cross as hard as I dared on the canyon roads of Malibu, I can confidently say that body roll is the least of its problems. The steering is lousy, grip is almost laughably light, and the tires scream like Clarisse’s lambs long before there’s anything to complain about. Hit a bump as you turn in and the Eclipse Cross will bounce like a pogo stick through the entire corner; hit a mid-corner bump and you could well be looking for a change of underwear.
Source:
Automobile Mag
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Interior
For a coupe-like CUV, the interior might not represent that nearly as well as the exterior from face value. If other areas of the Eclipse Cross check out, like its ride quality woes, the interior won't be a deal breaker, in fact it might win you over. Front seats are reportedly comfortable on shorter distance trips. They lack lumbar and thigh support that with other issues like poor headroom, legroom and bad blind spots, make you think twice about long distance trips. Moving up to trims like SE, SEL and GT, blind-spot monitoring help. We do however get nice features like power folding mirrors for those tight parking spaces, attractive materials and an open feeling cabin.
Inside, the Eclipse Cross doesn’t feel parsimonious, a complaint readily leveled at a few machines from this company in recent years. Given the broad net cast by its competition, Mitsu has to step up its interior game and the Eclipse Cross does so. Front seats are comfortable for all, while those long of torso may find themselves ducking their heads thanks to the EC’s attempt to draw a “coupe-like” outline. However, the shape of that cubist rear hatch mentioned earlier could pay dividends when trying to Tetris in tall loads from IKEA.
Source:
Wheels.ca
Technology and feature-wise, the Eclipse Cross ticks all the necessary boxes, right down to the nice-but-unnecessary power folding mirrors. But there are little frustrations here and there. Unfortunately, for example, Mitsu has decided to copy (bizarrely enough) the weird touchpad control system that Lexus is only just now fine-tuning. So, to change volume without using the steering-wheel mounted control, you've got to bumble around with a slightly laggy pad -- very frustrating. That's the car's biggest ergonomic weak point, as far as I'm concerned, and it's a shame because with a series of buttons and a volume knob it could have been sidestepped entirely.
Source:
AutoWeek
The cabin benefits from attractive materials, a logical design, and an open, airy feel. Unfortunately, the bisected rear-window design restricts rearward visibility, and the lack of front-seat lumbar and thigh support drew complaints after highway trips.
Forward visibility is average for the class, but the Eclipse Cross has large blind spots in the rear. The rear window, which is divided horizontally to create visual flair for the exterior styling, doesn’t help matters. Our SE test vehicle came standard with blind-spot monitoring that helped guide us through lane changes, but drivers in lower trims will need to make more frequent over-the-shoulder traffic checks.
Source:
Car and Driver
My biggest complaint about the interior—and it’s a biggie—is the stereo. Like the awful unit found in the Honda Civic, the Eclipse Cross’ touch-screen stereo has no proper volume knob. Worst yet, the touch panel that controls volume and power seems to have been positioned as far from the driver as possible. (There are volume buttons on the steering wheel, but no mute button.) Along with the touchscreen, the Eclipse Cross’ stereo has a touch pad on the center console, but it isn’t really a touchpad; it’s more of an over-hyped left-right-up-down button.
Source:
Automobile Mag
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