Say what you will about Mitsubishi, but this corporation is slowly and gradually but absolutely building enhancements throughout the board. Having said that, many of the automaker’s goods however have space for advancement and — even with its streamlined appears to be like, a lot easier-to-use tech and zippy motor — the 2022 Eclipse Cross proceeds to drop guiding additional perfectly-rounded compact SUVs.
The 2022 Eclipse Cross is 5.5 inches lengthier than prior to with a additional aggressively styled entrance fascia. The upper LEDs purpose as daytime operating lights and the dimples below residence the headlights and fog lights. The good lightbar that spanned the rear of the outdated variation is long gone, replaced by two individual taillights. I in fact chosen the more mature structure, but the new taillights are pretty exclusive and give the compact crossover some existence on the road.
The Eclipse Cross keeps the exact same 1.5-liter turbocharged I4 motor as prior to, pushing out 152 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. The low-conclude torque makes the Eclipse Cross really feel pretty peppy off the line and there is a stunning amount of mid-array punch. A repeatedly variable transmission doesn’t essentially do this motor any favors, having said that — it can be a minimal loud below stress, although I suppose that’s par for the study course with most CVTs.
New suspension sections are fitted for 2022, partly to accommodate the Eclipse Cross’ lengthier general duration, but also to increase upon the former model’s predilection for entire body roll. The retuned shocks and springs do a far better position, confident, but the Eclipse Cross is however a minimal far too roly-poly for my flavor. This detail truly leans in turns, which doesn’t encourage considerably in the way of driver self confidence. Weirdly, the Eclipse Cross’ steering manages to be equally rapid and sloppy at the exact same time, building it a minimal tough to retain the crossover centered through a transform. Mixed with the entire body roll, this Mitsubishi is just not truly fun to push.
The most gasoline-successful Eclipse Cross is EPA-approximated to return 26 miles for each gallon in the city, 29 mpg freeway and 27 mpg mixed. My loaded SEL AWD tester knocks individuals quantities down to 25, 26 and 25, respectively. That’s far better than an equal Hyundai Tucson but however falls below other compact CUVs.
The Eclipse Cross’ inside has far better tech than prior to.
Mitsubishi
Inside, the Eclipse Cross’ know-how gets a bump with a recently accessible 8-inch screen with embedded navigation. Frankly, I believe Mitsubishi could have left a indigenous nav process on the table considering that all but the lowest trims get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for straightforward entry to Google Maps and Waze. Mitsubishi at minimum makes its navigation a little bit additional exclusive by incorporating What3words tech, which divides the total earth into three-meter squares and assigns a few words and phrases to each square. A single of my preferred locations to take in is at “steepest, baffled, witless.”
The multimedia screen is positioned two inches nearer to the driver and is now operated solely by contact. Previously designs had a touchpad that was a overall discomfort in the neck to use, so I am all about this improved functionality. The screen responds pretty swiftly to inputs and the icons are awesome and massive. Mitsubishi’s flimsy minimal head-up show screen carries over, having said that, which is some thing I might most likely just forgo.
Forward-collision mitigation with pedestrian detection and lane-departure warning are normal on all 2022 Eclipse Cross trims. LE designs and over get automated higher beams and rain-sensing wipers, whilst the upper two trims get blind-location warning, lane-adjust aid and rear-cross website traffic inform. Adaptive cruise manage is reserved for the best SEL trim only. These are good attributes, confident, but the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 supply many of these as normal throughout the board. Mitsubishi truly should to do the exact same.
The revised rear appears to be like very good.
Emme Hall/Roadshow
Inside, the SEL trim’s new grey leather-based goes a extensive way towards building this cabin additional inviting. Even so, the Eclipse Cross’ inside is almost nothing to create household about, but there are a number of awesome amenities sprinkled all through. Heck, the leading SEL trim even has heated rear seats.
Cargo house is improved for the 2022 model many thanks to its larger sized footprint. There’s now fifty.1 cubic feet of house, or 23.4 cubes with the second row upright. Unfortunately, that’s however significantly below what you get from Honda, Mazda and Toyota.
The Eclipse Cross starts below $25,000, but my SEL tester is optioned to the hilt — with $1,600 for all-wheel push — and comes to $34,075 such as $1,195 for desired destination. When I can give the lousy steering, floaty suspension and lackluster a pass for $25K, it can be difficult to justify this mid-$30K rate when I could get considerably nicer alternatives like a Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5 or Toyota RAV4.
The refreshed Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross normally takes a action forward for 2022, still it however plays in the again of a hugely competitive class of crossovers. It truly is a very good worth, never get me mistaken, but as they say: You get what you shell out for.