Description
While its predecessors were hailed and praised by users, the third generation of the Eclipse didn’t live up to its name. Moreover, it wasn’t available with an all-wheel-drive system.
Mitsubishi understood that the times for sporty coupes were mostly over, but it still had some nameplates in its inventory which might be useful. The Eclipse, for instance, was already known. To make more money with it, the Japanese carmaker tried to move the Eclipse sports car into a pricier segment, ditching the battle against Honda Civic. The third generation of the Eclipse shared its platform and assembly lines with the Chrysler Sebring Coupe and Dodge Stratus coupe. It was the Japanese cousin of the cloud-cars.
Thus, Eclipse’s third generation came with different styling. At the front, the headlights were not that aggressive anymore. They looked more like spread on the corners, flanking a curved hood that didn’t sport a bulge anymore, like its predecessors. The bumper was still a remainder about its sporty character and featured a trapezoidal grille in the apron. From its sides, the Eclipse showed a slightly ascending beltline and curved greenhouse.
Inside, the carmaker lost the appeal for sporty ambiance but left some touches here and there, such as the bolstered seats and the option for a manual transmission. Also, in the instrument cluster, the carmaker kept the big speedometer and tachometer in front of the driver. On the plus side, the Eclipse-3 provided more room for the rear passengers.
Under the hood, the carmaker installed a choice of two engines ranged between a four-mill 2.4-liter and a 3.0-liter V6. All versions were available with a manual or automatic transmission.
