2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse

If you’re looking for a fresh and funky, ultra-modern sports coupe that’s full of attitude and aggressive styling then take a close look at the new Mitsubishi Eclipse – it’s got all of that by the bucket-load.

The Eclipse has long been a firm favourite with sporting fans the world over and offers a firm and fast ride through its stiff front-wheel-drive chassis, as well as a wealth of tuning and styling possibilities to make

the car look entirely your own. And all of this is offered at a very reasonable price, making the car very popular with the younger, go-getter set.

This, the most recent edition of the Eclipse, is most certainly the most outrageously styled that we’ve seen yet from the famous Japanese automaker, and was probably given this hot new edge to keep the car popular with the younger, tuning and modifying drivers out there.

Mitsubishi would have no doubt noticed that the Eclipse was appearing more and more in tuner car magazines wearing huge body kits and wild paint jobs, and as this was their biggest market for the car, they clearly gone all-out on the new car to make keep it firmly in the young car-buyers mind, and hopefully on their driveways.

However, as a result of this youth and tuning focused styling Mitsubishi may well have alienated older drivers – could you see your mother driving the wild Eclipse?

Styling wise the Eclipse is way out there. The steeply raked front end does hold a certain reflection back to the models of the past, but there is also the look of the new Mitsubishi

Evo X mixed-in, and this could well be the new sporting family face that Mitsubishi has planned for all of its hot models to come. The overtly large trapezoid front grille is simply a gapping hole in black with the black bumper bar running across it and that is the pure Evo X look, but as with the Evo X and the Eclipse, it is a good look full of purpose and aggression.

 

 

In true coupe style, the roofline rises and drops in a near semicircular line and finishes in a fat, curvy and chunky rear end, most probably decked-out with a large and looping trunk lid spoiler.

Those exciting coupe looks come at a price, and that is the fairly pointless rear seats that will take little more than a couple of small children or some shopping bags. But, this car is all about the driving and with two decent choices of modern variable valve timing engines and that tight and lively chassis, the Eclipse should well deliver for most spirited drivers.

There’s a choice of either a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder engine making 162bhp and 219Nm of torque coupled to a five-speed manual or automatic gearbox, or a 3.8-litre, V6 unit making 265bhp and 355Nm of torque this time coupled to a six-speed manual or five-speed automatic gearbox. Either engine should provide a decent amount of fun on your favourite roads, but the speed demons out there will clearly go for the big V6.

Specification

 

Body type	Engines (litres)	Power (bhp)	Torque (Nm)	Transmission
Coupe	3.8	263	355	6M/5A
	2.4	162	217	5M/4A

 

Price Range (AED) 89,900-114,000

 

Tags: Mitsubishi Eclipse, new car review