Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Exceed 2019 Review

Mitsubishi needs its SUVs – like the Eclipse Cross – and workhorses.

Currently, about 62 per cent of the vehicles sold by the Japanese importer are SUVs and more than 29 per cent are Triton utes. This doesn’t leave much space for the Lancer small hatch or the light-class Mirage, so the addition of another small SUV to slip alongside the best-selling Mitsubishi ASX can’t be anything but good, right?

So far, the rakish Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross has indeed proved to be a good thing.

Introduced locally at the end of 2017, the new SUV fits, theoretically, between the ASX and the mid-size Outlander and has been all-but solely responsible for lifting Mitsubishi’s sales, on November 2018 year-to-date figures, by more than 6000 vehicles over its 2017 performance.

Not bad in a slowing market…

Currently the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is only available in two forms: The base front-drive LS, fixed at a high before on-roads price of $30,500, and two Exceed variants, a $36,000 front-driver and a $38,500 AWD version.

All Eclipse Cross models come with autonomous emergency braking, lane-departure warning and auto-dipping headlights, while Exceeds factor-in adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-change assist, rear cross-traffic alert, LED headlights and, on a little pop-up screen in front of the driver, a head-up display.

The primo models also get dual sunroofs (only the front one opens), leather trim, climate-control and, for the driver only, a power-adjusted seat. There’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but no sat-nav, anywhere in the range.

The new SUV gets Mitsubishi’s extended, five-year/100,000km warranty including 12-month/15,000km servicing intervals and one year of roadside assist.

The much-lauded reference to Australian conditions in developing the ride/handling of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross shouldn’t be ignored, even if the new SUV doesn’t stack up as a ready-to-go, outback adventure package. The ride quality is okay up to a point, but the suspension is a bit noisy and quickly becomes quite abrupt once the bumps get deeper.

The steering, for some, will feel a little over-assisted and Mitsubishi’s three-mode Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) electronically-controlled permanent all-wheel drive system will allow a little front-wheel slippage that occasionally results in a slight tugging at the steering wheel if steering lock and accelerator are applied simultaneously at low speed, on sealed or loose surfaces. It’s not the same three-differential system used on early-model Outlanders that also once powered Mitsubishi Lancer EVOs to WRC rallying successes.

The 1.4 turbo is smooth, quiet and responsive enough, although the auto transmission is not devoid of typical CVT characteristics and can be a bit slow to respond off the mark at times. Fuel economy on review never came close to the claimed 7.7L/100km with anything less than 10L/100km only seen in freeway driving conditions.

Pricewise, it would be nice to see the Eclipse Cross get down to a more-competitive entry-level price. Mitsubishi has said cheaper version is on the way.

The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross went on sale across Australia at the end of 2017 in front-drive LS and Exceed form, and as an AWD Exceed.

Mitsubishi expects it will compete against “upper compact” SUVs including the bigger, mid-size Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage. The company is aiming at an ongoing top-10 spot in the small SUV segment which includes Mazda CX-3, Subaru XV, Nissan Qashqai, Toyota C-HR, Hyundai Kona and Honda HR-V.

While the prevailing belief is that the Eclipse Cross fits between the Mitsubishi ASX and mid-size Outlander models, it’s physically not a lot different to the former – in fact the ASX is a whisker wider and is quoted with a bigger boot. It offers a minimum 393 litres (Eclipse Cross 341 litres) and a maximum 1143 litres as compared to 1122 litres for the newcomer.

The Eclipse Cross, ASX and Outlander (which is available as a seven-seater) all share the same 2670mm wheelbase, while the two smaller Mitsubishis also share identical 1545mm front/rear track dimensions.

While there’s a downside for the driver in that the varied control interfaces (touch-screen, touch-pad) almost always result in confusion, the newbie does offer a generous cab.

There’s ample rear-seat legroom even with tall passengers sitting up front, as well as good shoulder and headroom (demerit points for missing rear air vents). And the Eclipse Cross, despite its smaller quoted load capacity, will comfortably take a wheel-removed mountain bike.

The 1600kg braked-trailer towing capacity is better than the ASX (1300kg) and equal to the Outlander.

Mitsubishi has performed quite a feat creating three disparate SUVs from one, basically-identical platform. The smaller ASX and Eclipse Cross are the main beneficiaries in this, especially in terms of the passenger space gifted by the one-size-fits-all shared wheelbase.

Comparing the stats with the nominally-smaller ASX doesn’t help much other than tell you the Eclipse Cross is 40mm longer – although that doesn’t appear to help boot space – and 45mm taller. But with its knife-edge styling and split rear window it looks more contemporary and does benefit from having a torquier – though no more economical – turbo engine.

It’s visually aimed at a younger audience and does bring a better spread of safety tech than the aging ASX.

The best way to look at the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is probably to leave the ASX and Outlander out of the picture. In isolation it’s a thoroughly competitive small SUV with the styling panache that is not so evident elsewhere in the company’s SUV range.

The “Dynamic Shield” front-end styling and scissored profile help it stand out visually and there’s the upgraded safety to be considered too – even if you need to step up to Exceed level to be served with the full course.

How much does the 2019 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Exceed AWD cost?
Price: $38,500 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 110kW/250Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 7.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 174g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP