2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT in the Autoblog Garage
After a week of excessive partying and far too little rehydration, however, realization dawns for all but a select few who were truly meant to reside in the beautiful but energy-sapping locale: Cancun is a fabulous place to visit, but most people wouldn't want to live there.
So goes our story of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT. For those who were truly meant for this car and vice-versa, it is a dream come true. "Attainable exotic" is more than a buzz phrase pushed by Mitsubishi's marketing guys. For the rest of us, however, we're thrilled to have had the opportunity to visit and would certainly like to go back one day, but it's just too much of a good thing for our modest lives.
Let's start out with the paradise that is the Eclipse, upon first glimpse. Gleaming curves dominate, at the same time voluptuous and muscular, starting up front with a catfish-like nose and sweeping up to a high, rounded bottom. Like many of Mitsubishi's vehicles, the Eclipse is in tune with the tuners -- the brushed aluminum gas cap, auto-off halogen headlamps and crystal-clear taillights are just a few hints of the vehicle's big ol' nod to the aftermarket community.
By far, the best thing about this vehicle is the giggle-factor that goes along with how easy it is to light up the 35/45VR-18 tires. Starting up in first, even with the smallest depression of the gas pedal, results in the kind of rubber burning that would have made you a role model peeling out of your high school parking lot. Shift into second, and the tires skip again, emitting yet another satisfying screech. For those bold enough to turn off the traction control in the rain, the tire skip can even be reproduced when shifting into third gear. Not that we'd know what it's like to turn the traction control off in the rain, of course, that would be imprudent. Just don't ask this Autoblogger's sister about how easily the car slid across the rain-soaked lanes rounding the tight turn getting onto I-375 from Jefferson in downtown Detroit.
Obviously, there's a disparity between the power of the engine and the ability of the transmission to transfer that power into movement across the pavement, which is one of the things that got a little old for us. But the fact of the matter is that the 260 HP 3.8-liter MIVEC V6 stuffed under the hood of the Eclipse is no small thing.
What's a MIVEC, you ask? We could try to explain it, but Mitsubishi says it better than we can:
The result is an engine that is both fuel-efficient and responsive to the performance preferences of the driver, resulting in a 0-60 time of just 6.7 seconds (the coupe hits it in a respectable 6.3, by the way) while maintaining gas mileage of 18/27 for our tester's manual transmission and 19/28 for the Sportronic five-speed automatic transmission that is also available.
The engine may just be a little too much muscle for what the car can take. In addition to the peel-out factor, the engine's power causes the front-heavy vehicle to feel like an under steering snow plow when launching around a corner or applying heavy brake pressure. Otherwise decent handling helps, but the vehicle's heft doesn't improve the situation – the coupe was criticized by auto journalists for being overweight, and with the extra weight that goes along with engineering a convertible to be safe, the 3,500 lbs. is even more of a factor. For those just looking for a tire-squealing good time, however, the Eclipse delivers, and then some. 
"Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing and lift Electronic Control (MIVEC) Engine
The Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing and lift Electronic Control (MIVEC) engine offers fuel economy in city driving conditions without sacrificing performance.
How does MIVEC work? At lower speeds (less than 3,500 rpm), the MIVEC engine intelligently adjusts itself to offer crisp throttle response to accelerate you through the intricacies of city driving. As engine speeds increase, MIVEC takes on its sportier side and spreads the power delivery throughout the rest of the RPM range by allowing more air into the combustion chambers."
Even with all of our praise about its aesthetic and acoustic benefits, we did have some laments about the top. First, the most important point to this end is extremely limited visibility, even for a convertible. Backing out of parking spaces with this vehicle is taking your life into your own hands. Maybe it's Mitsubishi's way of encouraging drivers to put the top down, but with all the money the automaker spent on the top, one would think that the design would be a tad safer. 
In addition to the power, the great thing about this vehicle is the fact that it's a convertible. The only thing better than the "LOOK AT MY CAR" styling of the coupe is the inherent thrill of inviting people to actually behold the god or goddess driving the exquisitely molded piece of art to the heavenly soundtrack provided by the precision-tuned exhaust. The convertible top's design strays from the roofline of the coupe Eclipse, but no matter -- the vehicle's profile has its own distinct styling that is different, not necessarily better or worse. On our tester, which was a gorgeous Satin Meisai Pearl color, the top was the same hue as the light blue of the body color, and from what we hear (or didn't hear, more precisely), the folding top is the product of some pretty advanced manufacturing processes that leave the vehicle interior fairly quiet even at high speeds with the top up.
Second, Mitsubishi didn't make sufficient alternate arrangements for interior lighting when it could no longer be offered overhead, making it difficult to pull over and read a map or look for the French fry that just disappeared between the seat and the console.
Finally, the top may be quick to fully open or close (about 20 seconds is what we estimate), but unlike many other convertibles such as the MINI or Saab 9-3 convertible, one has to be at a dead stop in order to operate the thing. It is convenient, however, that all one has to do to open or close the top is yank a few handles above the windshield and hold down a button.
The interior is also one of the places where Mitsubishi's enamoration with the aftermarket community is apparent, from attractive blue LED interior lights and drilled aluminum racing-style pedals to a cool button that electronically opens up the glove box.
Tuner influence is most visible, however, when one looks into the backseat to observe quite possibly the largest subwoofer available in a vehicle straight from the factory. Taking up the back of what would be the entire middle seat, the device's 8" woofness pumps out more bass than a DJ bumpin' booty music after hours. It accompanies nine speakers belonging to a 650-watt Rockford Fosgate-sourced stereo system with Digital Signal Processing, and sports a 6-CD/MP3-compatible in-dash changer optionally controlled by steering wheel-mounted audio controls.
While the sound system itself is appropriate for the Eclipse's likely audience of 20-something males, the lack of intuitiveness in the controls is disappointing. Mitsubishi does get props for including the "must-have" feature of steering wheel controls, but they're set on the back of the steering wheel in such a manner that some minor contortionism is the only way to really use them. Add to that the fact that the radio console itself stretches across the dashboard, making it next to impossible to reach those controls without leaning into the passenger's lap a little more than is socially acceptable.
Further examination of the interior reveals hard painted plastic where we'd like to see brushed aluminum accents, making us wonder how long the paint will hold up against trigger-happy radio users. On the bright side, we were thrilled to find that the seat warmers that were part of the premium package have two temperature settings and in addition to warming one's buns, the seat back provides warmth as well.
The Verdict
Mitsubishi has had a hard time selling the Eclipse, true, but that may be because it's competing in such an odd segment. Its competitors, which include the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, just don't appeal to the same audience. Taking it out of context a bit and comparing it to the likes of the MINI Cooper S convertible and the Saturn Sky Red Line may make more sense. Comparably priced at $28,000, Japanese reliability, Mitsubishi performance and Eclipse styling may just give this ride the edge it needs, though the handling and interior quality of the MINI and the more classic looks of the Sky will certainly give the Eclipse a run for its money.
The Eclipse Spyder is a head-turner, all right, and we're confident that the sun gods smiling down on year-round residents of Cancun are the same ones applauding the rightful owner of a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT for his/her fortune in finding what the rest of us search for our entire lives: the perfect automobile for them.
Even though it might not have been our cup of tea after the first few runs, we're assured that the focus groups Mitsubishi's marketing guys no doubt splurged on have paid off. This vehicle couldn't be more perfect for its target audience. Big booming stereo, trail blazing looks, tuner-inspired touches and an engine with some pretty sick power are what's important to this group – potential drivers are likely less concerned with a little snowplowing and the kinds of interior quirks that drive us batty than they are with raw power and dashing good looks.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
CorporateShill 3:45PM (11/01/2006)
Four problems with the car:
1) It's a Mitsubishi - meaning poor resale value, poor reliability, and crummy dealership service.
2) It's FWD.
3) The interior is cheap looking and has way too much plastic.
4) The design is too feminine for male tastes and not feminine enough for female tastes.
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Papercutninja 4:02PM (11/01/2006)
Wow. What a Mitsubishi salad-toss of an article you guys just posted.
"...applauding the rightful owner of a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT for his/her fortune in finding what the rest of us search for our entire lives: our perfect automobile. "
Really? Hyperbole much?
I've noticed that Autoblog has quickly become the same, editorially as the print mags. Meaning the "reviews" are nothing more than a reprint of the manufacturer's press release, with a sprinkling of nitpicks on minor details, as to not completely seem like a PR tool.
Are you doing this to ensure that the Manufacturers will keep Autoblog on their list of reviewers? To make sure you get invited to the press parties, the test-drives, the exclusive first-looks at another lame duck car?
What happened to telling the truth? I don't necessarily think that you have to bash the car, but i've had enough of "gorgeous" this and "pretty sick" that instead of some actual relevant descriptions.
Don't worry, i'll continue reading Autoblog. I get the same type of article found in Motor Trend, but without having to pay for it.
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Ryan 4:06PM (11/01/2006)
"1) It's a Mitsubishi - meaning poor resale value, poor reliability, and crummy dealership service."
-The Outlander is a top five up there with honda and toyota in terms of reliability, so is the Galant, Endeavor.
""1) It's a Mitsubishi - meaning poor resale value""
You ever checked the price of a 1995 (11 year old) 3000GT VR-4 twin turbo, all whell drive, all wheel steering, hard top convertible? They still go for $30-50k.
Or a Mitsu EVO used they still push 30k even when they have been road hard and put away wet.
Or even the Eclipse for example, it holds a very strong resale, mostly the the 2nd generation.
"and crummy dealership service"
-Ya got me there, and a crummy dealer network. When I lived in Eureka CA the nearest Mitsu dealer was 250 mi away.
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Andrew 4:18PM (11/01/2006)
I think the obvious competitor is the Mustang. FWD vs RWD is significant, but they're about the same in terms of size, price, and target market. Personally I'd rather have a Mustang GT convertible, but I'd rather an Eclipse than the base Mustang with the ancient and unrefined Ford V6 from the Ranger.
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menice 4:08PM (11/01/2006)
I used to like the old eclipse, but
this design is nasty, it's like a solara has sex with a fatter fat chick and this is whats left. a bloated bubble of what used to be a cool car.
can they put a bigger ass (bumper) on the car?
trying to keep with the modders and to be cool they went with clear corner tails... that just dont look right to me, like a big window. they should have made more defined lines to them separating the signal/reverse/brake lights.
AT least they put a better engine in the car...
cause it aint easy to get this fat lady moving!
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Shawn 4:13PM (11/01/2006)
Eclipse as an "Attainable exotic?" It's an FWD car...that 260 hp is pulling on 3671 lbs. compared to a Mustang convertible at 3476 lbs. $28,000 is competitive when you can get a Mustang V6 Convertible for $24K and a 300 hp V8 for $31k?
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Andrew 4:21PM (11/01/2006)
Paapercutninja, I think they were pretty fair. They criticized the driving dynamics pretty harshly. Excercized restraint on the subjective style issues. That's a purely personal matter. In the end, the moral of the story was, it's good for its target market, and not quite right for the rest of us. How in the world could that be considered drinking the kool-aid?
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Jah 4:28PM (11/01/2006)
i couldn't make it through the whole thing here at my desk. maybe if i took a laptop to the toilet with me, it would be a good read, but it's not worth the risk of hot battery acid explosions in that vulnerable position.
seriously though, give me AWD and i'm interested; i love the old GSX. this...it's just a cute, neat little convertible. (and by "cute, neat" i mean "boring, boring.")
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menice 4:39PM (11/01/2006)
seriously mustang is the competitor?
Find me 1 person who is buying and stuck thinking
"hum, Ford Mustang, or Mitsu Eclipse? what should i buy?"
competitors: 350z, tiburon, civic si, acura, scion
(cant imagine this in the 2.4ltr 4cyl. GS model, and why is the SE only avail in 2.4ltr. dopes!)
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gkz 4:45PM (11/01/2006)
um, since when is it cool to spin the FRONT tires when you nail the gas?
Care to explain this one Autoblog? - "Obviously, there's a disparity between the power of the engine and the ability of the transmission to transfer that power into movement across the pavement, which is one of the things that got a little old for us."
Since that paragraph is right after the whining about wheel spin, the implication is that the transmimssion is responsible for the excessive wheel spin. Sorry, but you're going to have to explain that logic to me. If you truly had that much spin from 260 HP, you should be blaming really bad traction control and really bad grip from the tires; not the transmission.
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Josiah 4:49PM (11/01/2006)
28K for a bloated, ugly, overweight, FWD secretary's car?
Hmmmm no thank you.
2007 Nissan 350Z starting at $27,650 gets you a 300 HP RWD street eating machine.
Make it lighter, AWD, and less like a whale with a bee stung ass and I *might* be interested.
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Papercutninja 4:55PM (11/01/2006)
"The engine may just be a little too much muscle for what the car can take. In addition to the peel-out factor, the engine's power causes the front-heavy vehicle to feel like an under steering snow plow when launching around a corner or applying heavy brake pressure. Decent handling helps, but the vehicle's heft doesn't improve the situation – the coupe was criticized by auto journalists for being overweight, and with the extra weight that goes along with engineering a convertible to be safe, the 3,500 lbs. is even more of a factor. For those just looking for a tire-squealing good time, however, the Eclipse delivers, and then some. "
Is this what you consider to be "harsh"? The author sanitizes the MAJOR bad points of the car's handling by describing it as "a little too much muscle for what the car can take". There's no such thing as too much power in a car if it's engineered correctly. Then the phrase "..feel like an understeering snowplow…" is quickly followed up by "decent handling..." Which one is it? An understeering snowplow is not my idea of decent handling. The part that INFURIATES me is the line about "...was criticized by auto journalists for being overweight…" Isn't the author an AUTO JOURNALIST?! Why not have some integrity and plainly say the car is too heavy to be genuinely sporty?
"Good for the target market"? If it can find it's target market, I'm sure it would still flounder. This car has been committee-ized to death. The Eclipse concept car was edgy and popular, when it came to production the bean counters watered it down so it's a half-assed design. The once mighty Eclipse, the real Mustang competitor, has turned into nothing but a bloated boulevard cruiser.
In the end, if these "auto journalists" don't honestly express their genuine opinions on the cars that they test, manufacturers are going to continue engineering, designing and selling crap cars. Which I am sure we can all agree is bad for all of us.
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Tim 4:53PM (11/01/2006)
Ryan: "You ever checked the price of a 1995 (11 year old) 3000GT VR-4 twin turbo, all whell drive, all wheel steering, hard top convertible? They still go for $30-50k.
Or a Mitsu EVO used they still push 30k even when they have been road hard and put away wet.
Or even the Eclipse for example, it holds a very strong resale, mostly the the 2nd generation."
Actually, the blue book value for a '95 3000GT VR4 is about $12,000 not $30k as you say. This is a good sum for an 11yr old car tho as with the evo, it's a very unique machine. Also, you can pick up an '03 Evo for about $20k though newer ones will quickly reach $30k but I believe that is because the demand is so high for such an awesome performer. A '99 Eclipse GS will run you about $8500 or about $2k more than the same year Galant will run you.
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araemo 4:56PM (11/01/2006)
"quite possibly the largest subwoofer available in a vehicle straight from the factory."
Does my car not count since it just ended production? Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V (With 'audio fanatic package')...
Though that one there MIGHT take less usable space than the big ol box in my trunk. ;)
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Ryan 5:29PM (11/01/2006)
"Actually, the blue book value for a '95 3000GT VR4 is about $12,000 not $30k as you say."
-Did ya do the hardtop convertible?
"Excellent
$22,340 "
That is kbb, but none are for sale on ebay or on cars.com. Quite often they are 30-50k.
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MikeUF 5:39PM (11/01/2006)
Im gonna be honest...I have been a reader of this blog for 2 years now. I have posted many comments. I'm sorry to say this review was horrible. I consider myself to be at least slightly aware of the tuner market and have never heard of anyone bragging about there auto on/off HALOGEN headlights. On top of that compared to the Mini convertible and Sky convertible, the eclipse is pretty vanilla. I live in Miami so convertibles are a dime a dozen down here and an eclipse is about as vanilla as you get. Well maybe the stang is...
Anyway I expect more...
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Ryan 5:48PM (11/01/2006)
"eclipse is about as vanilla as you get. Well maybe the stang is..."
-Yeah totally want to cruise Miami in a sebring!
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sl8anic 5:51PM (11/01/2006)
What Mitsu needs to do is throw Eclipse sheet-metal & interior onto EVO. I'd buy THAT in a second.
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Brian W 7:26PM (11/01/2006)
Not a good review! They aren't having trouble selling them, there are selling at the rate they predicted. The Rav4 spins the front tires and has terrible torque steer on a family auto but everyone should buy one? Instead of building a copy cat Hyundai or boring Toyota, they make a coupe that is different looking, what were they thinking? Funny some people think it's fun to drive and handles well, others think it should handle like a RWD. No free ride like all Hyundai's get, maybe Erin can't drive!
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Tom Design 8:44PM (11/01/2006)
I love the pretty, yet aggressive styling, very well done and I predict it will stay "fresh" for a while. A little frog like in the big rear haunches, but I like organic shapes in cars, and applaud Mitsubishi for not cloning like Toyota/Lexus, and Hyundai. The drop top looks fantastic up or down, and cleverly done; no surprise, since Mitsubishi had one of the first clamshell hardtop converts in the 3000GT. However, to call this engine a scorcher or too much of a good thing, I'm not sure of that. A stock 1999 Buick Regal GSE I drove at the track at Loudon, NH, hit 60 in 5.9 sec and returned 18/27 mpg. Granted it was a supercharged 3.8 litre, but was a $26k flying sedan! This sweet droptop isn't breaking any power ground at 6.7 sec to 60, and the mileage is 90's news.
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