2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse Review

Specifications

The Best in its Class by a Long Shot!

Two words: YEE HAW! Im not even going to try and contain my enthusiasm for this car, because that would be like asking me to lie under oath. Yes, its that serious. And this is one serious car. I dont think, in the duration of my time as an automotive journalist, that Ive ever run, and I mean run from my car to my desk in order to get onto the laptop and write down my thoughts. I was literally shaking, thats how excited I was. I know, you must think I am crazy, and you wouldnt be the first, but the new Eclipse is just that good. And Ive officially given myself a headache!

From the first moment I laid eyes on the completely redesigned Eclipse, I was nothing but impressed. I love what Mitsubishi and their team of highly skilled designers have done with the styling; the new front fascia, the rear bumper, the lights, the lines, you name it. Ill get to the interior later. Its a fantastic looking sports coupe and whats more, Im just scratching the surface.

To illustrate how attractive this car is, I was sitting at a red light downtown and I noticed this driver beside me in his S-class Mercedes, not only doing a double take, but a triple and quadruple take of the vehicle. I attribute this gawking not to me, because I was in my, ahem, business attire, consisting of a track suit and designer sunglasses, but more the Eclipses flaming orange exterior paint scheme, which sticks out in a sea of sameness like a black sheep amid a herd of wooly white lambs. After parking it at the local grocery store, I also had a few bystanders comment on how cool it looks. I said to them, “It drives even better.”

On the subject of driving, this is one ride that had me aimlessly cruising around town in because of its ride quality alone. Being motivated to aimlessly drive around does not occur often with me; one, because I rarely have the time, and two, fuel prices are not friendly. However, driving around in the Eclipse was worth every minute and penny. Its four-wheel independent suspension, coupled with a set of P235/45R18 all-season tires and 18-inch, 7-spoke alloy wheels, made for fantastic handling in both rain and shine. I had my share of time in each weather condition, and in both circumstances and everything in between, the Eclipse performed marvelously. When the car started to slip and slide a bit in the rain, the traction and stability control system immediately came into play and straightened it out.

Its power rack and pinion steering combined with the leather-wrapped steering wheel - which is extremely comfortable to grip - to make for great maneuverability. At first, I thought its power steering boost was too over-assisted for all those tricky corners that I threw the Eclipse into, but I dont think that I would have enjoyed tooling around town as much if the wheel was any stiffer. Its a very fine balance of sport and comfort.

Even in dreaded stop and go traffic, I still didnt find being behind the wheel of the Eclipse overtaxing. The standard six-speed manual transmissions clutch has a nice weight to it but doesnt make pushing it in and out a chore, as some sports cars tend to do. The gearbox also includes close enough ratios to allow for quick and seamless shifts, but without tempting me to shift into the wrong gear - for example shifting from third to fifth.

Now for the good stuff: the engine specs. For my test week I didnt just have the base four-cylinder Eclipse, but rather the Eclipse GT with its 3.8-liter, 24-valve, MIVEC V6, capable of producing 263-horsepower at 5,750 rpm and 260 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. Talk about a fantastic engine, what power! Weighing in between 3,472 and 3,611 pounds, depending on whether the six-speed manual or five-speed manual-mode automatic gearbox is included, the GT flies. I cant even begin to explain the perma-grin that was plastered across my face for the duration of the week. Even when people couldnt see me, like when I called my friend Rob to tell him about how awesome this car was, Im pretty sure he could already feel the excitement and smile on my face as soon as I said “hello”, because the first thing he asked me was, “Did you meet a guy?” Of course not, but I told him it was even better, I had the Eclipse GT. Acceleration from zero to 60 mph is an impressive 5.9 seconds, getting me from point A to point B in a flash - traffic excluded. And along the way the GTs front and rear ventilated disc brakes with ABS and EBD were there to slow me down.

But while the engines power made me smile from ear to ear, the audio system had me simply giddy with excitement. After all, whats a sports coupe without a killer stereo system? Boring. This is no snoozer stereo; in fact I could probably wake up the neighbors with it due to its bassy capabilities. Until this point, the Ford Mustang GT had one of the best audio systems Id come into contact with, but now Im officially handing the title over to the Eclipse GT. Not only does its optional Rockford Fosgate system come with a 650-watt (max) 6-CD/MP3-compatiable head unit, but its nine-speaker sound setup incorporates a ten-inch trunk-mounted subwoofer. Hands down the best out there, or at least the best Ive come into contact with, Im sure it will be hard to beat. The clarity and quality of sound that comes out of its speakers blew my mind. It even has the option to increase or decrease the subwoofer “punch” to a maximum of six notches. Of course, knowing me, the punch was on six all the time, but even on Sundays, when I usually listen to the classical stylings of Bach, Beethoven or Handel, the bass, despite being on six, didnt take away from the Organ Fugue, or even the Eroica Symphony. Plus there are multiple settings to optimize whatever music is being played. Even my music guru friend Aaron agreed with me that this is one fantastic system. And he knows his stuff, since hed worked at a world-famous recording studio as a sound editor.

No matter who sat in my temporary Eclipse, they were blown away not only by the stereo, but by the car. You know a car is good when a coworker, who is totally car inept, says how much she would like one of “these” cars to the point where she started whining about her lousy wheels. Another coworker, who was incredibly impressed with the whole package, said that he wanted to “upgrade” from his Honda S2000 - which is a pretty decent ride costing tens of thousands more - to an Eclipse, but only if and when the Spyder version comes out. Yes, he said upgrade. Its not just me who thinks the Eclipse is the cats meow. Meow.

So why all the positive feedback? Can the Eclipse be that good? Yes. Plain and simple. Ive already talked about how amazingly it drives and how good it looks from the outside, but the inside is just as praiseworthy, if not more. As soon as I sat in its ultra-comfortable seats I thought, “Wow!” The interior quality is phenomenal for this class. I love the optional two-tone theme on the dash, door panels and seats. Its similar in concept to that of the new MINI Cooper, where the designers brought color themes of the outside in. Going along with its beautiful terra cotta exterior finish, the interior sports an orange and black trimmed dashboard, along with two-tone front leather seats (orange and beige). As mentioned, the seats are divine. They support the back so well, include decently sized side bolsters, and are even comfortable after longer hauls. Whats more, theyre upholstered in two textures, leather and suede, both which are soft to the touch. Its the perfect combination, because in the summer the suede inserts dont get too hot and in the winter, they dont get too cold. Genius! Whats more, their grippy surface kept me in place when I felt racy. And, as part of the optional Premium Package, which includes that superb stereo system, a power glass sunroof, and leather seating, it also comes with butt warmers.

Furthermore, the motorcycle-inspired gauges, backlit in ice-blue LED illumination are totally hot. They complement the rest of the cabin and are in uniform color with all of the buttons. I sometimes find, in other cars that I drive, that the instrument cluster is comprised of one color and the rest of the buttons are another, which doesnt necessarily work. But everything works so well in this car.

I have to say I maintained my enthusiasm for the Eclipse all week long, but there were moments when my enthusiasm toned down. For example, I tried to reverse into my parking stall but it just wasnt going to happen. The rear end is so high that I can barely see out of it. Its not impossible to get a view of whats behind, mind you, just more effort than I would like. Visibility when parallel parking isnt horrible, but not great either. The front window configuration - there are extra little windows at the front sides to increase side visibility - did compensate for the lack of rear visibility somewhat. It is a little detail (found in other Mitsubishis too) that makes my life so much easier.

But ah, the dreaded fuel economy! I suppose not much can be expected from a powerful 3.8-liter V6. Its estimated fuel economy is 18 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. Thats doesnt sound so bad if said quickly, and compared to a V8 with similar power is actually pretty good, but me, being used to four-cylinder economy models most of the time, ended up driving 342 miles in my test week and paid over $50.00 in gas (gas prices being more that $2.50/gal). And since this powerful machine drinks an elixir of higher grades, fuel costs are well beyond my budget. Although as mentioned previously, the GT was worth every penny.

Now that Ive test driven the Eclipse, I am going to say that its competition pails in comparison. This is hands down the best vehicle in its category. And as much as I liked the Acura RSX Type-S, Accord Coupe and Mustang GT, the Eclipse blindsides them all.

Mitsubishi has again, yes again hit the nail on the head with its new coupe. Its no surprise that I became emotionally attached to the Eclipse. After all, I became attached to the Lancer Ralliart, Galant and Endeavor before this one, and found leaving these almost as difficult as parting with the Eclipse. I cant put my finger on why I love these cars so much, but I do. The Eclipse, along with the rest of the product lineup, is outstanding. Someone tell me why there arent more Mitsubishis on the road? With a no-extra-cost five-year, 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper, and 10-year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty added to some of the best cars in their respective fields, Im dying to find out.