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2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse Coupe Preview

Remaking a Sports Coupe Icon

Japans oldest automaker, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., and its U.S. division, Mitsubishi Motors North America, has a lot riding on the success of its new Eclipse, first introduced in production trim at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, earlier this year. The sporty coupe is currently the U.S. import segment leader when it comes to sales figures, but the personal two-door category has been in a slump in recent years, at least until Ford reinvigorated it with the new Mustang.

On the positive, those wanting sporty styling and performance backed by a Japanese nameplate dont have many options anymore. What, with Toyota having effectively pulled the plug on its long-running Celica, Hondas Prelude long gone, Mazdas MX-6 a distant memory, and other Japanese offerings no longer available, only Acuras RSX and

Japans oldest automaker, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has a lot riding on the success of its new Eclipse. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

Scions new tC remain. Hyundai still offers its Tiburon, a worthy contender to the Japanese. Among the domestics, Chrysler still sells its Sebring Coupe and Dodge its two-door Stratus, while Pontiac is just in the process of bringing out its all-new G6 Coupe. But this said, most Eclipse buyers will want an import.

Also good for Mitsubishi, its new Eclipse is an entirely different animal than its two Japanese and single Korean competitors. While it targets each with regards to sporty styling

The Eclipse is a bit bigger, a lot bolder and much more powerful than its compact rivals. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

and expected pricing, thats about it. The Eclipse is a bit bigger, a lot bolder and much more powerful than its compact rivals. Its based on D-segment architecture compared to the Acura, Hyundai and Scions C-segment platforms, but that said its not a large car by any stretch of the imagination.

To be more concise, the Eclipse will offer slightly more interior versatility than its competitors, with the most dramatic increases in the vehicles interior width. Leg, hip and shoulder room is as follows: legroom up front measures 42.8 inches and

The Eclipse will offer slightly more interior versatility than its competitors. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

in back allows 29.2 inches, hip room up front totals 53.7 inches and in the rear boasts 44.4 inches, plus shoulder room stretches 54.2 inches wide for front occupants and 51.2 inches for those in back. Headroom, by the way, is set to 37.5 inches without the optional glass sunroof, and 34.6 inches with it in place. Overall interior volume reaches 97.3 cubic feet with the sunroof, while passenger volume is 81.6 cubic feet, again with the sunroof. Cargo capacity is maximized to 15.7 cubic feet.

To put this into perspective, the Eclipse offers about the same amount of front and rear legroom and headroom as the RSX, the

The materials Mitsubishi uses to build the interior are better than average, and fit and finish looks good, at least with the preproduction example. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

advantage of a couple inches extra hip and shoulder room in front and rear (actually rear shoulder room is about the same), and an overall interior volume boost of 16.3 cubic feet. Cargo capacity is about the same.

While the numbers show a nominal difference between the Eclipse and the RSX, other than interior width, Ive sat inside the car and it looks and feels larger. Also, the materials Mitsubishi uses to build it are better than average, and fit and finish looks good, at least with the preproduction example available to us in Detroit, Toronto and Vancouver - preproduction examples are usually not as good as production,

The terra cotta (Avant-Garde) interior is simply decadent, and my personal favorite. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

which bodes well for the Eclipse.

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