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Review
2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Aspire PHEV
Bruce Newton
November 21, 2024
Mitsubishi's cheapest PHEV might offer drivers benefits to performance and fuel economy, but not without creating weight issues and raising costs.
The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is a compact five-door five-seat SUV that is utterly orthodox apart from the plug-in hybrid powertrain offered at the top of the range. Replacing a small petrol engine with a larger one and adding two e-motors and a small (but not tiny) battery pack delivers performance advantages in terms of both response and fuel savings.
However, building two powertrains into the one car creates costs and weight issues that mar the package and make it that bit less desirable in the competitive small SUV segment. For this test we’re driving the Eclipse Cross Aspire variant, which is a priced well over $50,000 by the time you get it on the road.
The Eclipse Cross Aspire delivers performance and fuel advantages, but they come at a cost
How much does the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross cost?
The 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is a five-door five-seat compact SUV available in a comprehensive line-up of models that starts with petrol front-wheel drive, rises in cost through petrol all-wheel drive, and tops out with three plug-in hybrid all-wheel drives.
It’s the fuel-saving PHEV we’re focussed on here, specifically the mid-grade $51,740 (plus on-road costs) Eclipse Cross Aspire.
Sitting below this variant is the $47,790 ES, and above it the $56,490 Exceed.
If you’re wondering what a plug-in hybrid is, good question. Basically, it sits between a plugless hybrid like a Toyota RAV4 and a battery electric car like a Tesal Model Y or Kia EV9.
It has a battery that can be charged up off the grid via a cable so it can run as an electric car, but the internal combustion engine also recharges the battery, drives the wheels and extends the range. It’s pretty clever.
The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross range starts all the way down at $31,990 for the ES petrol front-driver, illustrating how much technology cost there is in adding two electric motors and a battery pack to the powertrain.
Technically identical, the three Eclipse Cross PHEVs are differentiated based on equipment. The Aspire is the sensible compromise in the middle.
For instance, it misses out on the Exceed’s head up display, satellite navigation, power tailgate, power sunroof, leather trimmed seats and heated rear seats.
But features it adds above and beyond the ES includes LED headlights (versus halogen), an eight-speaker audio system (up from four speakers), privacy glass, seats trimmed in micro-suede and artificial leather rather than fabric, a powered driver’s seat, heated front seats and a slew of driver assist safety features that are detailed below.
The Exceed and Aspire also share innovative charging tech called V2L (Vehicle to Load) and V2G (Vehicle to Grid). The former simply means tapping in to the high-voltage traction battery to charge simple items like laptops.
Meanwhile, V2G can integrate your Eclipse Cross into your home’s electricity network and is far more complex, expensive to make happen and not really up and running in Australia yet.
Features all three Eclipse Cross PHEVs share include a smart key with keyless entry and push button start, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connection, AM/FM and digital radio, dual-zone climate control and a leather bound steering wheel with multifunction controls.
No Eclipse Cross PHEV comes with a spare tyre - which considering its theoretical off-road capability, is deeply disappointing.
Mitsubishi offers a five-year/100,000km warranty for the Eclipse Cross, extendable to 10 years and 200,000km if all scheduled services are performed at an authorised dealer.
The battery pack is warrantied for eight years/160,000km and Mitsubishi guarantees it will retain 66 per cent of its useable energy capacity.
The Eclipse Cross opts for analogue dials and a modest infotainment display.
The interior of the Eclipse Cross is busy, with lots of intersecting trims throughout.
Inside the Eclipse Cross there are sizeable front seats, plus rear seats with backrests that recline.
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What is the design of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross like?
Measuring up at 4545mm long, 1805mm wide and 1685mm tall, the 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is 85mm longer than the Toyota Corolla Cross hybrid, 20mm narrower and 65mm taller.
Compared to Mitsubishi’s own ASX compact SUV, it is 180mm longer, 5mm narrower and 45mm taller.
So, if you’re getting the impression the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is tall and narrow, you’re on the right track.
It’s certainly a busy exterior and nowhere moreso than around the front end, where the Mitsubishi Dynamic Shield design language is present. Signature styling touches include chrome boomerangs either side of the blacked out grille and separated driving and headlights.
All three Eclipse Cross PHEVs come with 18-inch alloy wheels, but the ES misses out on roof rails.
What is the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross like inside?
The 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Aspire PHEV is looking a little aged inside. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
In fact, if you like good old fashioned analogue dials in the instrument panel, a modestly-sized infotainment touchscreen and hard buttons to control audio and air-conditioning, then you are going to be very happy.
The sizable and plush front seats are also a positive, as are outboard rear seats with backrests that recline. There’s also enough space back here for a taller (plus 180cm) passenger and enough space under the front seats to comfortably fit toes.
Storage is adequate front and rear, although only one map pocket in the rear seat seems penny-pinching. There are no rear air-con vents either, but there are USB ports.
Head for the boot and there’s some compromises there too, as the electric parts under the floor reduce luggage capacity from the petrol’s 405 litres to 359 litres. Folding the rear seat expands space.
Probably the most unsettling thing about the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross interior is the busy-ness of it all. There’s lots of different trims and materials intersecting here.
Boot space is reduced in the Eclipse Cross due to the electric gubbins, with a stated luggage capacity of 359 litres. Image: Supplied.
Is the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross good to drive?
The key asset of the 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV is its sophisticated powertrain.
While the standard petrol Eclipse Cross makes do with a modest 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine, the PHEV combines a naturally-aspirated 2.4-litre petrol engine with front and rear e-motors that are fed by a 13.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
The big brother Mitsubishi Outlander uses the same system with a bigger 20kWh battery.
The combination delivers a meaty driving response that outshines any orthodox compact SUV. That’s because the e-motors not only deliver added pulling power but do it right from the moment you press the throttle.
That’s good, but what’s potentially even better is the fuel consumption story.
The theoretical claim is 1.9L/100km, but you can ignore that as a laboratory figure.
Out in the real world, because of its battery pack, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross has the ability to run solely on electricity for up to 55km (claimed). But even when the petrol engine is running it is often recharging the battery rather than driving the wheels.
So we put the system to the test by selecting EV mode, which means the petrol engine is shut down. Driving a combination of urban and country roads with 60km/h and 80km/h marked speed limits, the Eclipse Cross exhausted its battery in 37km.
Across the remainder of a 140km driving loop the fuel consumption average chimed in at 6.5L/100km – much higher than claimed, which is normal for PHEVs.
Electricity consumption was reported at 21.4kWh/100km, which is also a lot higher than its 16.8kWh/100km claim.
The trip computer also informed us the Eclipse Cross drove on electricity alone for 55 per cent of the total journey. So even when the battery was depleted the powertrain was feeding regenerated energy to the e-motors.
The clear message here is you need to keep the battery topped off if you want to gain full benefit from the Eclipse Cross’ powertrain. Because it’s a small battery it won’t take that long to fill up – overnight on a 240V plug at home basically.
There are various ways to influence how the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross drives. There’s the aforementioned EV Mode that runs the car only on electricity without recharging for as long as possible, so you’re emitting zero emissions. There’s brake mode which maximises regeneration when you lift off and brakes, and there’s also orthodox eco, normal, tarmac (sport), snow and gravel modes.
But even though there are off-road drive modes and this vehicle is all-wheel drive, it’s not really much of an off-roader. It’s one for gravel roads.
On bitumen the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross feels a bit underdone in terms of ride and handling. There’s plenty of roll in corners and not much in the way of steering feel.
Road crags and corruptions can be telegraphed quite obviously into the cabin, making progress somewhat jiggly.
Keep your battery topped up if you want the full benefit of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross's powertrain
How safe is the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross?
The 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is unrated by ANCAP. It did have a five star rating based on 2017 testing protocols, but that has now lapsed.
The safety equipment basics include seven airbags, three child seat top tethers, two outboard ISOFIX mounts, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection and lane departure warning.
An important reason to prefer the Aspire over the cheaper ES is its added safety features including blind spot warning, lane change assist, rear cross traffic alert, a 360 degree camera view and front parking sensors.
Its notable that the Aspire’s active safety assistants are audible rather than intrusive, so it won't steer for you, just warn you when it thinks something is going wrong. These audible warnings can be switched off.
Compared to the cheaper ES model, the Eclipse Cross Aspire comes with blind spot warning, lane change assist and other additional safety features.
How does the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross compare?
More and more electrified vehicles are going on sale in Australia, although the focus is more on plug-less hybrids and battery electric vehicles, with PHEVs generating much less interest.
That means there are very few affordable compact/medium SUV PHEVs.
Potential rivals for the Eclipse Cross based on pricing include the (about to be replaced) MG HS, brand new BYD Sealion 6, Jeep Compass 4xe, Cupra Formentor VZe and Mitsubishi’s own Outlander.
Among that lot, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is among the lowest priced. But then it also has one of the lowest EV ranges.
Should I buy a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross?
The 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV is a hard-sell. The added cost is hard to claw back in terms of fuel savings - unless you spend a lot of time in EV mode with the petrol engine inert.
Its value really lies in giving cautious buyers a taste of battery electric vehicles backed up by an ICE safety net.
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