Our long-term '06 Eclipse will be leaving the fleet this week, having completed its year-long test. I spent one last weekend with the car, and my feelings toward this front-drive coupe are as conflicted as ever. On the one hand, I like the driving position (which feels natural and familiar every time I get in), the low-end torque of the 3.8L V6 (and the deep exhaust note), the gearing and precision of the six-speed manual transmission, the generally comfortable highway ride, and the accurate steering. On the other, I'm annoyed by the car's huge turning radius, nose-heavy feel, lousy rear visibility and surprising amount of road noise (prompting me to crank the Rockford-Fosgate's volume and equalizer settings to deafness-inducing levels)...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
Here's the one thing about our Sunset Pearlescent Eclipse GT's interior that I simply can't get past: The leather/faux suede Terra Cotta treatment doesn't extend to the backseat. It's not that I care if the occasional rear-seat passenger in this car has to sit on dark gray vinyl. It's the everyday eyesore that I have to see whenever I turn my head. Couldn't Mitsu have at least used off-white vinyl so the front and rear seats would at least sort of match?
The obvious solution is to keep the 50/50 rear seats folded down, but the problem is that there's considerably more road noise without the "insulation" of the upright rear seat backs...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
I used our 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT over the weekend for a trip to Bodega Bay, Calif. (Bodega is about 70 miles north of San Francisco and is somewhat famous for being the location used for Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds.") I drove there with my wife to stay overnight and attend a friend's on-the-beach wedding. As it was just a two-day trip, the Eclipse's cargo capacity was more than adequate for holding a small suitcase, a garment bag and a few other assorted items.
Overall, the Eclipse was a pretty fun car to have for the trip...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
I had a 15,000-mile service performed on our 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT yesterday. There were no major surprises. (Followers of our Eclipse's progress might notice, however, that the Eclipse was about 2,500 miles past due.) I arrived at the Mitsubishi dealership at a scheduled time of 8 a.m. and Adam, a service advisor, greeted me promptly and courteously...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
Over the past few months, I've had plenty of seat time in our long-term 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. Overall, I still find it to be a reasonably enjoyable car when driven around town. But after taking it on a five-hour highway drive last week, I'm finding myself less willing to tolerate its elevated amount of wind and road noise. The Eclipse's constant road noise during this most recent long-distance drive reminded me of the similar droning sounds one encounters while being on an airplane. As was written in our May update, I'm hesitant to gripe too much...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
Putting aside the dynamic challenges that come with our long-term Eclipse GT's nose-heavy layout, I get a lot of pleasure shifting its six-speed manual transmission. The shifter feels firm and precise through the gates, and clutch engagement and takeup are progressive. It makes the Eclipse more fun than you'd expect to drive around the city... in many ways, this gearbox is just as satisfying as the ones in our long-term BMW 330i and Mazda MX-5...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
This morning the 3.8-liter V6 in our Eclipse GT drank a quart and a half of oil. Each quart, which we bought at a Shell gasoline station, cost $3.24, but sadly the the Shell station was out of those little paper funnels which are usually crucial to a successful and mess free pour.
Mitsubishi must have anticipated my plight. Its engineers placed the dipstick and the oil filler hole perfectly for the task. Both are easily reached, clearly marked and the filler hole is so large a funnel wasn't even needed...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
There's not a whole lot to say about the Eclipse that hasn't been said. Every time I get in, it's surprising how much power it has and how ugly the interior is. You get the double shock every time.
One minor, puzzling note: on the drive in today with the windows up and door double-checked tight, the air inside the cabin began to resonate during a moment of low wind sheer...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
I've always appreciated how fast the Eclipse can go but it wasn't until yesterday when I learned to really appreciate how quickly it can stop. Following a line of cars turning left, the car in front had barely crossed the crosswalk when the driver suddenly decided that he wanted to make another left across the double yellow lines into some strip mall parking lot on the left-hand side -- traffic laws and other drivers be damned!
The car behind him stopped in time but I didn't see her until the last second and therefore had to slam on the brakes. The Eclipse hauled to a standstill mere inches away from the other car, leaving me to wipe my sweaty brow and give the clueless driver a dirty look...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
With a heat wave sweeping over SoCal, I was extremely grateful for getting the Mitsubishi Eclipse this weekend. My real car is an old Corolla with an A/C that emits a funny smell every time I use it and even then it doesn't do a thorough job of keeping me cool. But with the Eclipse, I found that if you twist the temperature knob all the way to blue (forget about setting it to 60 degrees) and the fan to full blast, even if the car has been sitting in the sun, the cabin cools down in a jiffy. I had some trouble trying to adjust the vents to blow on me though...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
There's nothing like that new-car look, especially when it comes to the cabin. You know what I'm talking about. An unblemished dash. Pristine floor mats. Seats that haven't been worn by the stress of a daily commute...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
My father in-law was admiring the Eclipse as I pulled into his driveway this past weekend. OK, so our long termer is red-orange, but this photo lifted from our Full Test of the car makes the same point.
"Who makes this?" he asked, scanning back and forth across the thing for an answer. He obviously liked what he was seeing, or he wouldn't have asked.
"Mitsubishi," I replied with a faint hint of "duh" in my voice.
Following his gaze, I noticed for the first time that nowhere on the exterior does that word appear. Oh sure, the pile of diamonds logo is prominent, appearing 6 or 7 times, but perhaps that symbol is not as universally recognized by the non-enthusiast as I had assumed.
If someone saw this car zip by them in traffic, liked it, and wanted to know what dealership to go to, would they have the same question?
Dan Edmunds, Director of Automotive Testing @ 15,917 miles
Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
Have you ever seen an object ahead of you and lowered your head to miss it, but it wasn't quite far enough? BONK. Have you ever stood up and misjudged how close that inanimate object overhead really was? BONK. I'm sure we can all relate. Now, imagine this. You are driving your car around town - - in a permanent state of bonk. This is my experience with our long-term Eclipse.
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
I've had occasion to parallel-park our long-term Mitsubishi Eclipse GT three times in the last 24 hours. Suffice to say, it's not all that much fun with the car's rising beltline and broad C-pillars. The question is does the Eclipse look good enough to justify the sacrifice?..
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
Once again behind the wheel of the Eclipse GT, I noticed something minor, but annoying that I didn't notice a few nights ago. In the harsh sunlight, the indicators on the climate control knobs are essentialy invisible. Small, clear lines (that light up at night) on the edges of the knobs serve to indicate where you're at as far as temp selection, fan speed and mode. In order to see what the status was at a glance, I would flick the exterior lights on for a moment. As the photos show, at night it's easy to see what the settings are, but during the day it's trial and error.
On a different note, literally, I love the Rockford Fosgate audio system. I already raved about the intuitive remote controls, now I'm talking about how it performs...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
While dealing with my grueling, all-of-six-miles commute, rather than dwell on the fact that on really bad days I could get home faster by running, I turn to the stereo for comfort. Such are the realities of driving a performance car in L.A.
In addition to its strong sound, the Eclipse's system has remote controls that are mounted behind the steering wheel spokes. Borrowed from Chrysler (you'll find the same controls in various Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models) I can say without hesitation that this is the best setup around -- just by sense of touch, it's possible to surf station presets / CD tracks, seek stations, adjust volume and even change modes. Perfect for someone like me who is always looking for the right song. "Welcome to the Jungle" seems appropriate most times...
John DiPietro, Automotive Editor
Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
Although I do get tired of our Eclipse GT's front tires continually breaking loose when easing away from stoplights and the torque steer when merging onto the freeway, I can't deny the fact that this hatchback is a good fit for my lifestyle.
The driving position is perfect for me -- I like the way the steering wheel and shifter feel in my hands; I like the spacing/resistance of the pedals and I like the quasi-Recaro seats' cushioning and support.
I listen to harder rock and metal, and the subwoofer-equipped Rockford-Fosgate has been optimized for that kind of music.
And try as I might I just can't travel light, and with the Eclipse's roomy rear hatch and flat-folding rear seats, I haven't run out of room yet...
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Categories: 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT
