After months of shadowy teasers, the 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross has finally been revealed at the Geneva Motor Show 2017. Eclipse isn’t a new name to Mitsubishi, having used it in the 1990’s/2000’s on their American sports car range. But the times, they are a changin’, and the latest addition to Mitsubishi’s almost all-SUV lineup is a reflection of global automotive tastes preference towards SUVs.
The Eclipse Cross is Mitsubishi’s rival to the Nissan Qashqai, and at 4,405mm long, it sits just over 200mm longer than the brand’s own ASX. It draws its power from an all-new 1.5-litre turbo four combined with a CVT automatic, as well as a 2.2-litre turbo diesel, presumably from the Outlander. Both are AWD-only, and the diesel uses a new 8-speed automatic. Both transmissions come with sporty aluminium paddle shifters behind the steering wheel to shift manually, if that’s your thing.
The Eclipse Cross’ interior is nothing like we’ve ever seen from a Mitsubishi product before. It’s rather Lexus NX-like in layout with a modern and upright dashboard. It features a tablet-like infotainment system that features a very similar touchpad to the Lexus range as well, with both the necessary Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto on offer.
Even from photos we can see that the Eclipse Cross’ interior looks to be a higher quality affair than we’ve ever seen from Mitsubishi. The materials used are attractive as well, from the ample use of piano black plastic to what appears to be supple steering wheel leather and soft touch dash plastics. The Eclipse Cross also features a heads-up display, something we’ve not seen from Mitsubishi before. The door pull and mirror controls look to be taken straight out of the Nissan Qashqai – a sign already of Nissan’s takeover of Mitsubishi?
The Eclipse Cross will be available with a long equipment list, including Mitsubishi’s recent active safety advancements, with equipment such as LED lighting at both ends, radar cruise control, collision mitigation warning, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, automatic high beam, rear cross traffic alert, a 360-degree parking camera and blind spot monitoring.
Mitsubishi Motors Australia have confirmed that the Eclipse Cross will be launching in late 2017, with pricing likely to start north of the ASX’s $25,000 base. Chasing Cars will be at the Australian launch of the Eclipse Cross, and will bring you news of the car as soon as it’s released.
