Today, with a solar eclipse seemingly in the news, we need to address the elephant in the room. No, I’m not talking about how the third-generation convertible in “2 Fast 2 Furious” couldn’t possibly keep up with the Lancer Evolution, I’m talking about the latest use of the Eclipse name. While the internet hates it, it’s the last Mitsubishi to be launched in the United States, and it’s always been a Mitsubishi, which I think makes it historically important. The Eclipse Cross’s U.S. debut actually coincided with the 2017 solar eclipse, but the compact crossover stood out from the shadow of everything else.
[Writer’s note: April 8, 2024 marks the date of a total solar eclipse visible in North America, so we thought it would be fun to riff on that with a special automotive theme day. Yep, it’s Mitsubishi Eclipse day at The Autopian, and I’m writing about the crossover. -TH]
On April 20, 2016, Mitsubishi announced in a press release that Nissan found that fuel economy testing and fuel efficiency of its Japan-market eK Wagon and eK Space kei vehicles and their rebadged Nissan Dayz and Dayz Roox counterparts There are inconsistencies between ratings. As Mitsubishi says:
MMC [Mitsubishi Motors Corporation] Incorrect testing was performed, presenting better fuel consumption than actual conditions; and the testing method was also different from that required by Japanese law. We sincerely apologize to all our customers and stakeholders for this issue.
Six days later, Mitsubishi admitted that the problem was much more serious than a handful of models at the time, with the automaker “admitting that it had been cheating on Japan’s fuel economy tests for a quarter of a century.” Less than a month later, Nissan acquired a controlling stake in the troubled automaker, leaving Mitsubishi’s future unclear. What happens to products already in the pipeline? Will future Mitsubishi models be renamed Nissan? At the time, there were a lot of unknowns, but the first new Mitsubishi American car after the scandal broke was the Eclipse Cross.
Immediately, the crossover became the internet’s punching bag. To anyone who could recite from memory the words Hector ordered two spoon engines, the name itself was blasphemy. The first two generations of the Eclipse coupe were darlings of the tuning community, offering all-wheel-drive options and a 4G63 turbocharged four-cylinder engine similar to that found in the Lancer Evolution. That’s relatively cheap turbocharged speed, a formula the third-generation Eclipse abandoned, so this Eclipse-badged crossover feels like a stake in the heart. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t something interesting about the car.
The Eclipse Cross is the only 4B40 engine application sold in the United States. This 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder isn’t a high-performance engine, but it’s still interesting to see Mitsubishi produce a small turbocharged engine with both direct and port fuel injection, which offers some of the efficiency benefits of direct injection. , while reducing the impact of direct injection. Injection only issues such as intake valve carbon deposits. Both fuel systems are return-free, with a low-pressure fuel pump feeding both rails, keeping things relatively simple. The end result, of course, is 152 horsepower and 184 pound-feet. The torque isn’t spectacular, but it seems like a huge development for an engine that’s only available in the Eclipse Cross and China-market Outlander.
Inside the Eclipse Cross, Mitsubishi is trying to find its footing. The overall cabin design feels like someone tried to describe the 2015 Lexus NX’s interior over the phone, right down to the now-mercifully deleted infotainment system trackpad. The basic concept is there, but the execution definitely feels like a first attempt, even if a pair of magnesium paddle shifters still serve as a final reminder that Mitsubishi once made great things entirely on its own. On the road, the early Eclipse Cross wasn’t great either. The dull CVT tuning, imprecise steering and large body movements do not remind people of the sporty image of the past. However, this is a fairly comfortable small crossover, and it’s important not to confuse a middling offering with a lack of progress. Compared to the Outlander Sport, the Eclipse Cross is miles ahead in refinement, with better steering, better amenities, and a cabin that doesn’t feel like it stepped straight out of the Great Recession.
Still, this kind of incremental progress isn’t what we’re used to from Mitsubishi. This may come as a shock to our younger readers, but the brand is more than just Lancer Evolutions and a range of cars seemingly designed to be rented. We’re talking about a company that produced the first production engine with five valves per cylinder, the first turbocharged gasoline direct-injection engine, the first production car with adaptive cruise control, and the first A car with an active exhaust system. Its innovations were widespread enough that at one point Porsche licensed Mitsubishi technology. Astonishing stuff.
Of course, since Nissan controls Mitsubishi, every Mitsubishi product after the Eclipse Cross has at least some traces of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. The current Outlander rides on the same platform as the Nissan Rogue and uses Nissan’s PR25DD 2.5-liter four-cylinder pure gasoline engine, Nissan switchgear and Nissan’s infotainment system. It’s a solid value proposition and a good compact crossover, but for better or worse, it doesn’t quite feel like a Mitsubishi. Likewise, the upcoming European Mitsubishi Colt is just a rebadged Renault Clio hatchback, while the European-market Mitsubishi ASX is a rebadged Renault Captur crossover. Conglomeration makes sense from a business perspective, but it’s not always good for automotive diversification.
The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross marks the end of a chapter, and for that reason alone, it’s more important than you might think. A slew of balance-shaft-equipped Galants, a blazingly fast turbocharged all-wheel-drive Lancer, Paris-Dakar-proven Pajeros and gloriously wacky kei cars have all led to the creation of a crossover that’s perfect for the company. The story of what was once one of the car manufacturers has turned a new page. The most powerful technical force in the industry. It’s enough to make you a little sad, but the next scene won’t make you miss all the also-ran models that affected Mitsubishi’s image in the United States. Every new beginning comes from the end of other beginnings, and in this case, that end is a weird little CUV.
(Photo credit: Mitsubishi)
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