2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross: A Fresh Puny SUV with an Old Name
Mitsubishi is debuting its very first all-new model in several years, but the company has mined its past for the fresh puny crossover’s name: Eclipse Cross. No, it doesn’t share anything beyond the badge with the long-running Eclipse sports coupe and convertible that, at times, bolstered Mitsubishi’s reputation for spectacle before disappearing in 2012. Instead, the Eclipse Cross is a decidedly non-performance-oriented petite SUV sized similarly to the fresh Jeep Compass and the Subaru Crosstrek.
The Eclipse Cross shares its 105.1-inch wheelbase with both the current Outlander Sport and Outlander crossovers, albeit the fresh model’s 173.4-inch length fits neatly inbetween the two. Mitsubishi says that the next Sport will shrink a bit and the next Outlander will grow, better spacing out the three, but for now there’s slew of overlap.
Unless you need the Outlander’s third-row seat, the Eclipse Cross emerges to be the pick of the Mitsubishi litter thanks to its mostly attractive design, its upgraded interior, and its fresh turbocharged inline-four. The direct-injected 1.5-liter will be the only engine in the United States (Europeans get a diesel as well), mated to a standard continuously variable automatic transmission with either front- or all-wheel drive. Horsepower and torque numbers aren’t available yet, but Mitsubishi has said that it will be more powerful than the current Two.4-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder that makes one hundred sixty six horsepower in the Outlander. So no, it won’t be a revival of the Eclipse GSX you reminisce from the 1990s.
The Eclipse Cross uses the company’s “dynamic shield” grille design; it reminds us a bit of a slightly toned-down Lexus NX. A wedge-shaped profile features a character line that rises to the distinctive rear end. Back there, the styling is less successful, with the bisected rear window and chunky aesthetic evoking memories of the much-maligned Pontiac Aztek’s design.
On the inwards, Mitsubishi seems to have taken a page from Lexus’s book, with a fresh touchpad controller that’s almost identical to that luxury brand’s Remote Touch Interface, albeit without the mouselike controller. We’re not fans of that system, so we hope the Eclipse Cross can improve upon its operation. A head-up display and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility are available, and the interior design looks to be definitively more modern than those in Mitsu’s aging current offerings.
2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Photos and Info, News, Car and Driver
2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross: A Fresh Puny SUV with an Old Name
Mitsubishi is debuting its very first all-new model in several years, but the company has mined its past for the fresh petite crossover’s name: Eclipse Cross. No, it doesn’t share anything beyond the badge with the long-running Eclipse sports coupe and convertible that, at times, bolstered Mitsubishi’s reputation for spectacle before disappearing in 2012. Instead, the Eclipse Cross is a decidedly non-performance-oriented petite SUV sized similarly to the fresh Jeep Compass and the Subaru Crosstrek.
The Eclipse Cross shares its 105.1-inch wheelbase with both the current Outlander Sport and Outlander crossovers, albeit the fresh model’s 173.4-inch length fits neatly inbetween the two. Mitsubishi says that the next Sport will shrink a bit and the next Outlander will grow, better spacing out the three, but for now there’s slew of overlap.
Unless you need the Outlander’s third-row seat, the Eclipse Cross emerges to be the pick of the Mitsubishi litter thanks to its mostly attractive design, its upgraded interior, and its fresh turbocharged inline-four. The direct-injected 1.5-liter will be the only engine in the United States (Europeans get a diesel as well), mated to a standard continuously variable automatic transmission with either front- or all-wheel drive. Horsepower and torque numbers aren’t available yet, but Mitsubishi has said that it will be more powerful than the current Two.4-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder that makes one hundred sixty six horsepower in the Outlander. So no, it won’t be a revival of the Eclipse GSX you reminisce from the 1990s.
The Eclipse Cross uses the company’s “dynamic shield” grille design; it reminds us a bit of a slightly toned-down Lexus NX. A wedge-shaped profile features a character line that rises to the distinctive rear end. Back there, the styling is less successful, with the bisected rear window and chunky aesthetic evoking memories of the much-maligned Pontiac Aztek’s design.
On the inwards, Mitsubishi seems to have taken a page from Lexus’s book, with a fresh touchpad controller that’s almost identical to that luxury brand’s Remote Touch Interface, albeit without the mouselike controller. We’re not fans of that system, so we hope the Eclipse Cross can improve upon its operation. A head-up display and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility are available, and the interior design looks to be definitively more modern than those in Mitsu’s aging current offerings.