2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | CarGurus Test Drive Review

it's hard for a car company as small as Mitsubishi to compete in today's market but as is often the case when things start to look their darkest a little light shines through in 2016 Nissan bought a large stake in Mitsubishi and today we have this the 2018 Eclipse cross its name as a callback to better days but as the eclipse cross enough to carry Mitsubishi into the future hi i'm george kennedy for CarGurus and if you're like me and group in the 1990s and early 2000s the name Eclipse carries a little bit of weight to it sure it's not Nissan GTR or Toyota Supra but it's one of the cornerstones with a sport import tuner culture [Music] [Music] Mitsubishi hopes to capture some of its heyday with this new compact crossover it has a handsome front and in some sharp angles but take a look around back the rear is something to behold with strange angles all around the split rear window brings a little Honda CRX which is certainly good company but everything else is a little too Pontiac Aztek which is definitely not good company moving inside the styling is sharp enough at first glance but look closer and you'll notice a lot of parts share with Mitsubishi she's dated Outlander like the heated seat buttons any circular temperature it buttons these could be easy-to-use dials at least the second row head and legroom is decent to tall people can't sit ahead or behind one another but most folks will be fine behind the rear seats the 22 points 6 cubic feet of cargo space is decent but drop the rear seat and there's just 48 point 9 cubic feet that's well behind the Honda CRV and Subaru Forester which both have closer to 75 feet the Eclipse Cross has Mitsubishi she's new infotainment system it's not groundbreaking in any way but you have the option of using either the touchscreen or its trackpad down here which lets you scroll through items without reaching up it's sort of like the Lexus enform system but this one has some serious flaws for example there are no volume or tuning dials now it's bad enough not to have a tuning dial but instead of a volume knob they have these touch buttons and they're not even on the proper side of the screen [Music] trims for the Eclipse cross our es le SE and SEL the bass es comes standard with Bluetooth connectivity multifunction steering wheel controls the touchscreen that I mentioned and a USB port which is prominently placed in the center console the le adds all-wheel-drive voice control satellite radio the touchpad and apple carplay and android auto and the SE upgrades to automatic headlights rain sensing wipers heated front seats blind spot monitoring and push-button start our range-topping SEL test model added leather seats and head-up display or HUD which is helpful but not accommodating for tall drivers I can move it completely into my line of sight partly because the driver's seat doesn't lower far enough the eclipses cross was supposed to be Mitsubishi turning a corner but at least for a driver my size feels like an incomplete effort that said the engine is a bright spot this turbocharged 1.5 litre four-cylinder engine makes 152 horsepower in 182 pound-feet of torque Center a continuously variable transmission the CB team manages power well in most driving situations and acceleration is decent and if you want a sportier feel there's a manual mode and steering wheel mounted paddle shifters though for a CVT all of that does feel a little silly but that's okay we can live with silly there's also super all-wheel control which is Mitsubishi's name for all-wheel drive and this little button down here lets you switch between Auto snow and gravel drive modes honestly most folks will leave it in Auto and some might put it into snow when they need it steering is well weighted but there's a lot of body roll once you turn into a corner it's still better than its larger sibling the Mitsubishi Outlander but doesn't measure up against supposed to drive alike the Ford Escape and Mazda cx-5 in all this would be fine for commuting and well-suited for city driving the most efficient version of the Eclipse crosses the es with front-wheel drive returning fuel economy of 26 miles per gallon city 29 highway and 27 combined the SEL with all-wheel drive returns fuel economy of 25 miles per gallon city 26 highway and 25 combined now real world driving will vary our week of combined city/highway driving we found fuel economy of eighteen point two miles per gallon the Eclipse Cross comes standard with a reversing camera in a full array of airbags and you can also get it with driver assistance features like forward collision avoidance lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control you can also get blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert but for added coin the 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse cross has a base MSRP of twenty-three thousand two hundred ninety five dollars and you can add all-wheel drive for just six hundred dollars more our range topping SEL test model with options and add-ons clocked in at thirty two thousand three hundred ten dollars which feels like a lot for all the shortcomings I mentioned [Music] the Eclipse cross shows some serious potential but unfortunately this model year showcases the underwhelming legacy of the past 15 years sure it's got decent acceleration and apple carplay but you're going to have to be better than that to compete in the modern compact SUV market the fact that it has eclipsed in the name only serves to remind enthusiasts just how far Mitsubishi has fallen thanks for watching subscribe to see more videos like a review in the Mitsubishi Outlander if you think I'm wrong that the Eclipse cross can compete with other compact SUVs like the Ford Escape and Mazda cx-5 let us know in the comments and to read my for review in the 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse cross go to cargurus.com [Music] you [Music]