Eclipse Cross ticks quite a few SUV boxes
Mitsubishi New Zealand will add another mainstream SUV to its ranks in December with the new Eclipse Cross, which sits in between the ASX and Outlander.
Didn’t think there was a gap there? Think again, says Mitsubishi, which reckons its newcomer is ideally placed by having a foot in the two most important SUV segments on the market: small and medium. It’ll be priced from $41,690-$45,590 for the 2WD versions that will arrive first. Models with S-AWC all-wheel drive will follow in April 2018.
Eclipse Cross is intended to be a bit more aspirational than ASX or Outlander. It’s styled around the coupe-look that’s become such a thing in the premium-SUV segment and puts the emphasis on design and technology. The sole engine is a new 1.5-litre directinjection turbo unit, matched to a continuously variable transmission with eight-step mode.
Despite the low roofline, the Eclipse has some practical features. The rear seats are raised ‘‘theatre style’’ and can slide and recline – the latter in eight steps from 16-32 degrees. This gives boot space of between 341-448 litres, depending on how the rear seat is configured.
The interior architecture is bespoke: it’s different from ASX or Outlander. A key feature is a new touchpad, which can be used to control Apple CarPlay (a worldfirst, says Mitsubishi) with a variety of one and two-finger swipes, similar to a laptop.