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Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross: Partial Eclipse
MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE CROSS
PARTIAL ECLIPSE
Words by Marco Rallo
Photos by Enzo Rachelli
Do not be fooled by its name, we are not welcoming the heir of the green coupe you’ve seen in “Fast and Furious”, but the new crossover from Mitsubishi, that of the Eclipse has only part of the name. As you can imagine it is a car designed to facilitate family life and not for late night clandestine races, but despite this it seems that the Japanese company put a lot of hope and efforts in this very model, so much to call it the perfect combination of practicality and sportiness. We tested the all-wheel-drive version with automatic transmission – which is nothing but the well-known CVT – which simulates the passage of the 8 virtual gears without annoying delays, also thanks to the paddles on the steering wheel.
There is only one engine available and it is a petrol 4 cylinder 1.5cc turbo, capable of delivering 163 horses and about 250Nm of torque. Although it cannot be described as particularly thirsty (7l/100km in the mixed cycle), a hybrid variant or a more modest unit would not have been bad, given that over long distances or uphill roads, fuel consumption is not properly suitable for daily and regular use of the vehicle. Removed this aspect and focusing on the line, we note how the brand has decided to maintain the current family feeling on this model, where especially at the front you notice a marked sporty character, thanks to a sharp design of the headlights and the two chrome profiles in the lower part of the bumper. At the rear, instead, we find a detail that divides – like it or hate it – there’s a high tail, truncated and with a sort of horizontal “strip” that incorporates part of the lights and divides the large rear glass, this is one of the aspects that makes difficult the maneuvers in reverse, in case you do not have the rear view camera.
Once you get on board there is plenty of room for five people, leather seats are comfortable and there is everything that is convenient on a family car. Finding the ideal driving position takes very little time and after a few minutes at the wheel you begin to realize how the Eclipse Cross is able to offer much more than you can imagine, especially if you would have stopped at its certainly unique look. This is not a car meant to be fast and despite a weight that slightly exceeds the one ton and a half, the CVT does not lend itself to lightning accelerations, but after all on the motorway it is possible to maintain a good pace. At the center of the dashboard there is a touch screen display from which you can command the radio and info of the car, which can also be used via the special pad placed on the central tunnel, perhaps superfluous, but more practical when the road is not perfectly smooth. Where the interior trim appears precise – even taking into account the shiny plastics that collect fingerprints just looking at them – what does not seem to be very precise is the indicator of the fuel reserve, which after missing a stop at a random petrol station, made me live dramatic moments first marking 50km of autonomy left and then, after just a couple of minutes, 0km.
Air conditioning, heated seats, head-up display and a more than an adequate safety equipment make the Eclipse Cross a good alternative in the crossover market, but all this does not come off with little money. It requires at least € 24,950 for the entry level with only front-wheel drive, while a model like the one under test approaches the threshold of 30 thousand, exceeding them (and not by little) if you opt for the Diamond spec, the one that offers the most complete equipment in the price list.
MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE CROSS AWD
Layout – front-engined, all wheel drive
Engine – in-line 4 cylinder 1.499cc – turbocharged
Transmission – 8-speed CVT automatic gearbox
Power – 163 hp @ 5.500 rpm
250 Nm @ 1.800 rpm
Weight – 1.595 kg
Acceleration – 9,8 sec.
Top Speed – 200 kph
Price – from €28.4590
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