Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Black Edition - Highway, the Final Verdict

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Black Edition on the Highway – Final Verdict

We reviewed Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross , the $35490, middle of the range SUV recently. We neither loved nor hated it, but it did what it said it would do.

Today, we spent a few hours on the highway, simulating an hour each-way commute, as if any of us would ever actually do that. Dear god people!

Getting out of town

There was no need of the usual pile of provisions usually required for a weekend of boozy merrymaking. Max, Ethan, Casper, and I challenged Eclipse Cross Black Edition to a 2 hour round trip without making bums sore. OH GROW UP!!!!!

That 1.5 4-cylinder/CVT combo continued to feel mild, there is no other word for it. The CVT had the occasional hesitation, as if it is not quite sure what it is doing, and this become more obvious later. We threaded our way through inner city lanes before turning onto freedom of the open road, switching to Sport Mode to….. oh wait, there is no Sport Mode.

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ABOVE: 2023 Eclipse Cross

The Highway:

Max and I are seasoned pros at the long-distance thing. For that reason, I prefer to fly, then hire a car at the other end. Highways full of van-towing bogans are for the birds.

Punters are banging on like broken dunny doors, about distance driving. We’ve seen it in our EV stories, with comments on range, and how everyone wants a road trip. While tht might be true, few people go farther than the nearest supermarket. Most do less than 50km a day, so an hour each way is a doddle.

Sydney’s notorious tunnels are something locals tackle with monotonous regularity, and in some cases the noise inside the car is a hot mess. Eclipse Cross Black Edition was extremely quiet, far beyond expectation.

Once on the open road, Max settled in for a 110-stint, reaching for the cruise. “Where’s the distance buttons? Am I Missing something? Where’s the lane centering?” Casper cackled manically, and Ethan rolled his eyes like a truculent teen. Max is usually the one in a classic car where the only safety feature is good luck. I was surprised to hear how soft he’d become as he had gotten used to mod-cons, and I couldn’t help but to let the edges of my mouth curl upwards, just a little.

The upshot is – Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Black Edition is showing its age in the driver-aid areas.

It feels fairly stable at speed, but things changed as we hit traffic on the crosslink between the M5 and M4. The CVT hesitation seemed worse after being a cruising speed for a while. With less than 3,000km on the clock, we wondered if there was something amiss.

The ethereal feel makes cruising rather pleasant. Eclipse Cross handled Sydney’s suspect surfaces gracefully too. I expected a choppy ride on those uneven spots churned up during bad weather, but I was pleasantly surprised.

What the boys thought:

Max: The looks are not my cuppa. I like the drive generally, but the CVT might need a looking into.

Casper: Cheers to Mitsi. Eclipse Cross does what it says on the box.

Ethan: The tech needs an update. Auto steering, front sensors, and wireless CarPlay are a must.

Verdict:

After making a decent fist of highway and city chores, Eclipse Cross Black Edition was thirstier than claimed in the glossies. We clocked up an 8.9L/100k average over 421km, well above the 7.3L/100k in the brochure.

Despite being short on some of the safety and driver aids, we still think the aging Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross represents a good argument for visiting the showroom. The warranty is good, even better if you service with Mitsubishi.

The build and quality are good for the price, but keep in mind the range-topping PHEV, which costs a princely $60,000. That price is not commensurate with the promise of what lays within. The cabin is great for 35k, and we’ll say no more than that.

If you just want reliable wheels, and heaps of space, go for it.

Eclipse Cross Black Edition