Highs: Hips you'll want to grab with both hands, meaty V-6 power, some Evo handling behavior.

Lows: Thirsty, needs a telescoping steering wheel, thumping stereo option lacks the latest add-ons.

The Verdict: Almost two tons of fun.

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New sports coupes like the 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse age quickly, going from red-hot to hardly noticed in a few months. Will the lines on this Eclipse have legs? We brought one to within shouting distance of a '62 Ferrari GTO, a chorus line of Lamborghini Murciélagos, and a platoon of old Porsches and turned on the pundit meter. At Crystal Cove, an informal Saturday-at-dawn gathering of exotic and overly manicured cars at a beachside strip mall in Southern California, opinions are rarely left unspoken.



Results: inconclusive. The Eclipse drew stares, but any car that hasn't hit showrooms yet naturally gets gawped at. It drew sneers, but mainly from people who sneer at anything that doesn't roll on Campagnolo knockoffs. It got pointed at with cell phones, but mainly by guys who looked suspiciously like employees from the various automaker styling studios nearby (because they came in their own manufacturer-plate cars).

We left disappointed, this story having failed to be written for us by the loafer-shod crowd. Oh, well, here's our opinion: Mired in a sand trap for several years now, Mitsubishi has chipped one into the cup.

This is unexpected news. Why? Because Mitsubishi is foundering, bleeding enough red to shock a hemophiliac. Sales are retreating, and Mitsubishi Motors North America is on its third honcho in as many years (Rich Gilligan, a Mitsubishi manufacturing exec, now holds the CEO title). When companies are churning, the brains drain fast and the inspiration goes with them. But nothing about the new Eclipse says "crisis car." There's no hurry-it-up design, no chintzy details, nothing that implies Mitsubishi isn't still thinking, isn't still swinging.

Prices remained a secret at press time, but we were told to expect the base four-cylinder GS to start "just under $20,000," the GT V-6 about $25,000, and a loaded GT like the one pictured here for about $28,000. The Spyder convertible arrives in early 2006.

The worst criticism we can level is that fans of the original turbo all-wheel-drive Eclipse will be disappointed. Again. The '06 Eclipse is front drive only and continues the dimensional swell started by its predecessor, adding girth everywhere. The wheelbase rises by 0.6 inch, the width by 3.3 inches, the length by 2.9 inches. With 72.2 inches between the door handles, this Eclipse—it's supposed to be a sports coupe, remember—is wider than a Ford Explorer.

"Compact only" parking spaces are off limits, and maneuvering the Eclipse into a normal space with enough swing room for the long doors requires the persistence of a chimney sweep with hypothyroidism. Reliance on Mitsubishi's Project America platform, which underlies the company's Galant sedan and Endeavor sport-utility, hasn't performed miracles for the Eclipse's curb weight, either. Compared with a similarly equipped outgoing Eclipse, our 2006 GT V-6 is up 340 pounds, to a tubby 3560.

Mitsubishi keeps the acceleration brisk by adding displacement. Bore and stroke rise, and the SOHC 3828cc cast-iron V-6 now runs Mitsubishi's MIVEC variable intake-valve timing-and-lift system in its aluminum cylinder heads. This is a cold-hot switch similar to Honda's VTEC, with a crossover to the urgent lobe at 4000 rpm. With 3.8 liters, 263 horsepower, and 260 pound-feet of tire-peeling torque, the V-6 seems big enough to move mountains, or at least move this six-speed manual Eclipse—a five-speed auto is optional—to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 14.5 seconds at 100 mph. That's a little quicker than an Acura RSX Type-S, a lot quicker than a Hyundai Tiburon GT V-6, VW New Beetle Turbo S, and last year's Eclipse GTS. But a Mustang GT will smoke it.


The Eclipse also burns more Exxon and Arco. After 300 miles our fuel card reported 15 mpg. Heaven and ANWR help us! Mitsubishi claims 18 mpg city and 27 highway for the manual V-6, near the bottom in the segment (the Tiburon is slightly worse). Heavier and faster, the new Eclipse shouldn't surprise anybody by being thirstier, too. Get the hard-working 162-hp, 2.4-liter four if big fuel bills bug you. We tried one and left it smiling.
The Eclipse hides its paunch under mod garments. Behind a cinched "wasp waist," as Mitsubishi terms it, the hips bulge lusciously, the roofline arcing in one continuous slipstream toward the crisp rump spoiler in back. It's an R-rated shape, thankfully unpolluted by the corrugated sides or the soaring Arc d'Eclipse wings of past generations. Don't forget to lean in closely, or you'll miss the other details. The LED taillights are dressed up with shiny filaments and bezels, booty from the Star Trek prop room, perhaps. Likewise, the headlamps blaze through blue-tinted monocles that have no purpose other than to look interstellar.

Cone-shaped and body-colored, the door handles meld nicely with the landscape—what the Nissan 350Z should have had—and the new, scribbled "Eclipse" logo is pressed into the cargo cover to be seen through the rear hatch. Almost everywhere you gaze, something interesting, unusual, or expensive-looking is happening. Crisis? What crisis?

Low to the floor and surrounded at neck level by bodywork, each bucket seat provides firm side support and has more elbowroom than the entire cockpit of a Lotus Elise. Yep, we got width. Maybe length, too, but only those with simian physiology will ever find out. The Eclipse lacks a telescoping steering column, and the wheel lurks close to the dash and pedals. Drivers long of inseam will sit with their knees splayed, brushing the back of the wheel, knock-knocking the center console. Hey, Mitsubishi! The Ford friggin' Focus has a telescoping steering column. Get with the program!

Try on the Eclipse before you buy. Use the back seats only for growth-impaired children and in medical emergencies (especially amputation of the legs). An adult may be wedged in if the front riders courteously slide up, but as in many rear seats in this class, heads will bump the hatch. Better to just fold the rear seats down and maximize the 16 cubic feet of carry capacity—at least what's left if you opt for the Premium Sport package and its 650-watt Rockford Fosgate six-CD stereo with MP3 capability that includes a 10-inch subwoofer mounted in the back.

This digital boomer (the package also includes leather-and-suede power and heated seats, auto climate control, and 18-inch wheels) makes a ripping sound and has more adjustments than your usual factory-issue stereo. But the unit isn't satellite-radio ready and lacks an AUX jack for your iPod. These are curious oversights considering that Mitsubishi prides itself on being hip with the thump-and-bump crowd.

It's a sporty coupe with 60.1 percent of its weight on the front struts, so handling expectations must be adjusted accordingly. A 0.81-g skidpad run (identical to that of the last Eclipse we tested) seems to hint at mediocre performance, and the big six, working through the open differential, sometimes makes more tire smoke than forward thrust. But the new Eclipse has a few tools to please.

Weight seems to shed at speed. The body takes a confident set in corners, stays flat, and keeps the arcs smooth and precise. The wheel has a natural heft, with the effort and rack speed tuned by people who know their business (and share e-mails with the Evo dudes, no doubt). Faint scrubs and shudders, the first signs of the Eclipse's inevitable understeer, are telegraphed through the system to your palms. You can't power-slide it as you can an Evo, but lift slightly, and the Eclipse rotates its mega-butt in the right direction.

Despite its old architecture and huge displacement, the V-6 zings to its 6500-rpm redline with a passionate roar. The stopping distance from 70 mph is about average at 182 feet. So the Eclipse escorts drivers to the limit safely, with a confidence to its controls and a stroke to the senses. What more can one demand of a new sporty car?

Sure, it could be smaller, faster. A 300-hp Evo coupe would have us rhapsodic. But the Eclipse's best sales days didn't come until after it started its rise in size—the best year ever, 2000, was during the previous generation, with 57,349 sold. You may prefer Little Eclipse, but the public has voted with its wallet for Big Eclipse, so another one is what we get, and this one is pretty good.

2006 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE GT V-6
Vehicle type: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 3-door coupe

Estimated price as tested: $28,000

Estimated base price: $25,000

Options on test car: Premium Sport package (includes sunroof, heated power seats, heated mirrors, Rockford Fosgate stereo, 18-inch wheels and tires)
Major standard accessories: power windows and locks, remote locking, A/C, cruise control, tilting steering wheel, rear defroster and wiper

Sound system: Rockford Fosgate AM-FM radio/CD changer, 9 speakers

ENGINE
Type: V-6, iron block and aluminum heads
Bore x stroke: 3.74 x 3.54 in, 95.0 x 90.0mm
Displacement: 234 cu in, 3828cc
Compression ratio: 10.5:1
Fuel-delivery system: port injection
Valve gear: belt-driven single overhead cams, 4 valves per cylinder, hydraulic lifters, variable intake-valve timing and lift
Power (SAE net): 263 bhp @ 5750 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 260 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
Redline: 6500 rpm

DRIVETRAIN
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Final-drive ratio: 3.78:1/3.24:1*
Gear, Ratio, Mph/1000 rpm, Max test speed
I, 3.21, 6.2, 40 mph (6500 rpm)
II, 2.24, 8.9, 58 mph (6500 rpm)
III, 1.54, 13.0, 85 mph (6500 rpm)
IV, 1.17, 17.1, 111 mph (6500 rpm)
V, 1.09, 21.5, 134 mph (6200 rpm)
VI, 0.79, 29.5, 134 mph (4500 rpm)

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 101.4 in
Track, front/rear: 61.8/61.8 in
Length/width/height: 179.7/72.2/53.8 in
Ground clearance: 6.1 in
Drag area, Cd (0.35) x frontal area (23.8 sq ft, est): 8.3 sq ft
Curb weight: 3560 lb
Weight distribution, F/R: 60.1/39.9%
Curb weight per horsepower: 13.5 lb
Fuel capacity: 17.7 gal

CHASSIS/BODY
Type: unit construction
Body material: welded steel stampings

INTERIOR
SAE volume, front seat: 50 cu ft
rear seat: 30 cu ft
luggage: 16 cu ft
Front-seat adjustments: fore-and-aft, seatback angle; driver only: front height, rear height, lumbar support
Restraint systems, front: manual 3-point belts; driver and passenger front, side, and curtain airbags
rear: manual 3-point belts, curtain airbags

SUSPENSION
Front: ind, strut located by a control arm, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear: ind; 1 upper control arm, 2 lateral links, and 1 trailing link per side; coil springs; anti-roll bar

STEERING
Type: rack-and-pinion, hydraulic power assist
Steering ratio: 17.1:1
Turns: lock-to-lock 2.6
Turning circle curb-to-curb: 40.0 ft

BRAKES
Type: hydraulic with vacuum power assist and anti-lock control
Front: 11.6 x 1.0-in vented disc
Rear: 11.2 x 0.8-in vented disc

WHEELS AND TIRES
Wheel size/type: 8.0 x 18 in/cast aluminum
Tires: Goodyear Eagle RS-A, P235/45R-18 94V M+S
Test inflation pressures, F/R: 32/32 psi
Spare: high-pressure compact on steel wheel
*This final-drive ratio is for 5th and 6th gears only.

C/D TEST RESULTS
ACCELERATION: Seconds
Zero to 30 mph: 2.2
40 mph: 3.1
50 mph: 4.6
60 mph: 6.1
70 mph: 7.7
80 mph: 9.5
90 mph: 11.9
100 mph: 14.5
110 mph: 17.3
120 mph: 23.5
130 mph: 29.3
Street start, 5-60 mph: 6.4
Top-gear acceleration, 30-50 mph: 10.0
50-70 mph: 9.8
Standing 1/4-mile: 14.5 sec @ 100 mph
Top speed: (governor limited) 134 mph

BRAKING
70-0 mph: 182 ft

HANDLING
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.81 g
Understeer: minimal moderate excessive

FUEL ECONOMY
EPA city driving: 18 mpg
EPA highway driving: 27 mpg
C/D-observed: 15 mpg

INTERIOR SOUND LEVEL
Idle: 44 dBA
Full-throttle: acceleration 81 dBA
70-mph cruising: 68 dBA

LOS ANGELES -- Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. has issued its second recall of the redesigned Eclipse in a month's time. Both problems involve potential brake failure.

The most recent recall involves 3,760 of the coupes built between March 30 and June 10.

Company spokesman Dan Irvin says a seal inside the master brake cylinder may have been installed improperly. It could cause the driver to use more force to brake, which could lead to increased braking distance, he says.

Irvin says the braking still meets federal standards. "Even in an affected cylinder, the brakes did not lose stopping ability," he says, "but we wanted to call them in to ensure there are no problems."

On May 24, the company recalled about 1,200 of the coupes because of a problem involving the vacuum brake booster, which could cause brake failure. Irvin says the most recent defect is not related to the earlier recall.

He says dealers and consumers have been notified of the recall.

The 2006 Eclipse went on sale May 19, 10 days ahead of its original schedule. The company sold 2,140 of the coupes in June vs. 890 in June 2004. Irvin says about 1,800 of those sales were the 2006 models. He says Mitsubishi had projected 800 sales for the new model in June.

Irvin says because of the popularity of the redesigned Eclipse, the plant in Normal, Ill., began working two hours overtime on July 7. By the end of summer, he says, the plant will be able to produce 25 Eclipse coupes an hour vs. 19 now.