Mitsubishi Eclipse Matures For 2000

Fri., Feb. 11, 2000

2000 will be remembered as the year the Eclipse grew up. Always an entertaining, if somewhat eccentric, little sport-coupe, the Eclipse lost its bulbous styling and twitchy 210-hp turbocharged four this year, trading them in on a fluid, though somewhat edgy, shape and a simplified power train lineup.

The new silhouette borrows smartly from the striking 3000GT sports car and Mitsubishi’s SST concept car. Dynamic strikes rake the doors and the sloping windshield flows rearward onto a sleek roofline. Strong character lines give shape to the fender and hood assembly and a deep airdam and truncated decklid spell performance.

Base power is a 154-hp, 2.4-liter four and a 205-hp 3-liter V-6 provides the upscale motivation. A five-speed stick is standard and Sportronic auto-shifter is optional.

On-the-edge handling has been compromised this year in favor of a better straightahead feel and the splashy interior design themes have been toned down. The result is a car with a high level of entertainment value and a new maturity.

Accompanying the turbocharger on the delete list is the old all-wheel-drive option.

The midsize Galant gets a host of new features, including an AM/FM/CD audio system on all models. The LS and GTZ get traction control and the sport suspension on the GTZ has been refined for improved performance with no loss of comfort.

The standard equipment list keeps growing on the entry-level Mirage. This year, tilt steering, remote mirrors, intermittent wipers and larger brakes lead the list of standard gear on even the base DE.

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