Test drove a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

W

wbwanzer

Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
387
Location
York, Pa.
I'm doing the prep work for my wife possibly getting another car soon. She currently has a '21 Kia Seltos (which came out mid-year of '20) which she likes. So I was at the Kia dealer to check out the newest Seltos. I wasn't overly impressed with the new one nor the Sportage either. There is a Mitsu dealer right next door so I went over and saw the Eclipse Cross which is comparable to her Seltos in size. She doesn't want a large vehicle. I took one out (unchaperoned by the salesguy) and was quite surprised. I had driven a Buick Encore GX earlier in the morning and liked the Mitsu way better than the Buick. I liked this Eclipse better than either of the Kias. I know, I know, it has a CVT. Well, it didn't bother me at all. It actually felt more peppy than any of the other three cars. It fakes shifts so it doesn't drone on. The seat was also more comfortable than the seats in the other cars. The ride was better also.

So the next step is to get my wife into the Eclipse and let her compare for herself. But I'm leaning toward the Mitsubishi because I was pleasantly surprised.
 
Mitsubishi is an underrated brand. I have a 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander. It has been flawless for 78K miles with only regular maintenance, battery, brakes and tires. I think the warranty is still 10years/100Kmiles. I might buy another one but just not the Eclipse Cross. I don't need the overdone tech and the styling seems strange. That's a highly subjective reason for sure, lots will disagree and that's fair.
 
Those are cool cars I always was a Mitsubishi guy my father had a montero sport and endeavor years ago they were excellent vehicles. I’m sure the newer vehicles are much more refined. Mitsubishi always made a good engine and they know the turbo business well.
 
Passport1 said:
Mitsubishi is an underrated brand. I have a 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander. It has been flawless for 78K miles with only regular maintenance, battery, brakes and tires. I think the warranty is still 10years/100Kmiles. I might buy another one but just not the Eclipse Cross. I don't need the overdone tech and the styling seems strange. That's a highly subjective reason for sure, lots will disagree and that's fair.
Click to expand...

The ecliupse cross looks like some Toyota clone, and to be fair so did the previous Outlander. I don't think they did themselves any favours by that
 
wbwanzer said:
I'm doing the prep work for my wife possibly getting another car soon. She currently has a '21 Kia Seltos (which came out mid-year of '20) which she likes. So I was at the Kia dealer to check out the newest Seltos. I wasn't overly impressed with the new one nor the Sportage either. There is a Mitsu dealer right next door so I went over and saw the Eclipse Cross which is comparable to her Seltos in size. She doesn't want a large vehicle. I took one out (unchaperoned by the salesguy) and was quite surprised. I had driven a Buick Encore GX earlier in the morning and liked the Mitsu way better than the Buick. I liked this Eclipse better than either of the Kias. I know, I know, it has a CVT. Well, it didn't bother me at all. It actually felt more peppy than any of the other three cars. It fakes shifts so it doesn't drone on. The seat was also more comfortable than the seats in the other cars. The ride was better also.

So the next step is to get my wife into the Eclipse and let her compare for herself. But I'm leaning toward the Mitsubishi because I was pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...
It sounds like you're picking you wife's new car. Glad that model works for you, sure never has at our house.

What do you like better than the equivalent toyota model?
 
AZjeff said:
It sounds like you're picking you wife's new car.
Click to expand...
I think that's prejudging the situation a bit.

For my wife, if it rolls down the road, holds enough passengers, and she gives interior and exterior comfort/looks her blessing, it's good enough. She couldn't care less otherwise, so she lets me fill in the blanks when it comes to buying a car: reliability, resale value, engine/trans combo, ride/handling, etc, which sometimes means her first choice isn't a good one. She appreciates that.

Though it sounds sexist, she would never let me give serious input on sewing machines or kitchen appliances of which I know nothing about. And I don't second guess our home decor either, unless I can't live with it. We each have more knowledge on certain subjects, and use it for the best outcome.
 
When I worked in the garage we always called Mitsubishis Bitsapieces because they always seemed to completely rust away into a million parts quickly.
 
2024 Eclipse Cross Owner here. Did a ton of research beforehand and both the wife and I came away quite pleased with our decision. Very peppy and comfortable, the infotainment stuff is easy to use and it probably has the best CVT transmisison I've ever driven. So far we've put on 380 kms and we're currently sitting at half a tank of fuel from when we drove it off the lot. I've been driving very gently for the break-in process doing roughly 70/30 city/highway but I'm frankly amazed at the mileage so far- it looks like a good 750 km/ 465 mile range and that's before all the rings and valves have seated properly. DO NOT go by the rated MPG numbers. The 25 mpg city is spot on, but the 26 mpg highway rating is laughable. The reason this vehicle came onto our radar in the first place was we got a 2022 model year as a rental car last year for an out-of-town funeral down in the States, and hand-calculated pump-to-pump we were getting 33.5 mpg (this was mostly highway driving mind you, and the vehicle had over 17,000 miles already so well broken in. Not sure of the trim level but it had the electronic parking brake so not the base model with the 25/28 mpg ratings).

I haven't been able to test out the S-AWC (4WD) system yet, but all indications point to it being one of the better ones available right now. In normal mode power is split 80/20, snow is 40/60, and gravel is 50/50 but up to 70% of the power can be sent to the rear axle in certain conditions. Despite being a full-time 4WD system, if it's in normal mode with the ECO button activated then it reverts to FWD with power only being sent rearwards when the computer thinks it's needed. The amount of fuel and drivetrain wear and tear that can potentially be saved with this feature is something to think about- whenever driving in warm, dry conditions you just don't need power going to all 4 wheels in my opinion.

I hope this helps, and fingers crossed your wife comes away impressed from the test drive. I feel the need to add, since this is at heart an oil website, that although in NA the manual states only use 0W-20, both UK and AUS manuals say the Eclipse Cross can take anything from 0W-20 to 20W-50 so lots of options! :)
 
oldsoul24 said:
I haven't been able to test out the S-AWC (4WD) system yet, but all indications point to it being one of the better ones available right now. In normal mode power is split 80/20, snow is 40/60, and gravel is 50/50 but up to 70% of the power can be sent to the rear axle in certain conditions. Despite being a full-time 4WD system, if it's in normal mode with the ECO button activated then it reverts to FWD with power only being sent rearwards when the computer thinks it's needed. The amount of fuel and drivetrain wear and tear that can potentially be saved with this feature is something to think about- whenever driving in warm, dry conditions you just don't need power going to all 4 wheels in my opinion.
Click to expand...

The SAWC is basically the same system in the Evo. It's always 50:50 split front/rear, then it can send 100 to either rear tire. I believe the outlander's system is backwards where instead of the rear wheels splitting the tq, the fronts get it.

Edit: it seems that the outlander's AWD system is different via different front/rear settings but the s-awc is the same as the Evo.

The evo is always at 50:50 and the different modes will adjust the speed and strength of the center diff's lock based off the slip and yaw sensors.
 
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I have been an almost evangelical supporter of Mitsubishis in the used car market. Great cars. Enormously underrated.

Nearly every consumer that contacts me at 48 Hours And A Used Car wants me to find a CR-V, a RAV4, or a Forester. I try really hard to push them into alternatives because the price difference between Mitsubishis and the popular brands is amazing.

I sold a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with 39,300 miles for $24,400 last week. Technically, it would have qualified for the $4,000 tax credit but my customer's income was too high. It's far nicer than anything in its class, was over $40k when new, and gets a solid 75 miles per gallon combined with about 25 miles of pure EV range.

If my daughter needed a car right now she would have the keys. It was that good.

Most of what I buy is for businesses because they're looking for workhourses instead of showhorses. Those consumers who aren't addicted to Consumer Reports are also wonderful to deal with. Those who can't buy anything other than a 'Toyondaru' should just go buy themselves a brand new car. COVID and the chip shortage have completely eliminated any possible deals for popular models.
 
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