Sporty GT 6cyl

Overall this car is great for straight out acceleration. It has a nice sporty ride that will not test your endurance, seats are comfortable, and ride is smooth but stiff, with good road communication. You will feel bumps that might not be visible due to the large tires and stiffer suspension. Another thing to keep in mind this car can be loud at freeway speeds you will hear the swooshing of the air around you further enhancing the sporty sense of speed.

Handling the car takes some getting use too especially if your used to a more docile car. For example if you accelerate too hard out of a turn you will find yourself fighting torque steer to the right, then once you have countered the torque steer the Traction control system steps in and then you find yourself jerking to the left. However if you get into this situation you can confidently turn off the Traction Control System (which I do for spirited driving). I find the turning radius appalling for this car if you want to do a U turn you need to make sure you do it slowly, and leave yourself enough room. This is a larger than normal sports sedan (used to drive a focus with a much tighter turn radius). General handling has good feedback, and is forgiving, only fault here is accelerating hard out of turns tends to cause tires to loose grip. It might just be me but I'm not used to a Traction Control System, yes it does keep you out of trouble, but at the expense of predictability, it's hard to know when the wheels will start to slip therefore it's hard to tell when exactly the TCS will kick in. If Mitsubishi is truly committed to this car they will add All Wheel Drive as an option, this would correct every short coming of this car's handling. This car would be a true monster that would eat mustang's V8 on windy roads. I have yet to drive in the snow, which is the only reason why a car company would put such a powerful engine on a front wheel drive platform. However I will this weekend so I will let you know how that works out.

Now onto the engine, this engine is a monster, and it will let you know when you step on the gas by giving very strong acceleration (cars tend to get small in the rear view mirror quickly). I have managed 0 to 60 times of 7.5, I'm still learning how to drive the car so I think I will be able to go even faster. Under the hood the engine is a tight but attractive arrangement with a nice red valve cover that looks sporty. The variable valve timing is very smooth, and there is tons of torque from idle to redline, with a nice predictable torque spike at about 4,000 rpm's. The engine sounds nice and meaty, from start to redline. It's not as meaty as a V8 but it is very close, and it let's you know your driving a sports sedan. In my opinion the engine is the star of the show.

Rounding out this review is the exterior, and interior. The exterior, body style is sexy, and sleek. I get noticed driving this car, and have never received a bad complement on the car. The lines are curvaceous, and the wheels look nice. It's hard to believe the platform for the car is a galant. My wife owns a 2005 galant, and side by side my car does look smaller but it really isn't. Love it or hate it the eclipse exterior is unique, and that is nice. I don't feel like I'm driving a cookie cutter car that every one else has (think focus). The interiors are Spartan, but functional, cup holders could be in a better place, but I don't know where. The front seats are spacious, and the rear seats are cramped. If you’re thinking that you will fit a kid comfortably back there you’re wrong. Even a baby car seat is cramped, however it's workable. I like the hatch back, it has electric release with hydraulic assist to help open, but it takes some force to close the hatchback. The rear seats fold down, which is a positive, and really frees up some room for placing luggage, and other things in the back of the car. The seats are nice, I tried the GTS (Sun & Sound Package). I would have liked that but I just couldn't see the justification for the larger payment. The sun & sound adds heated seats, 650w 9 speaker sound system with 6 disk changer, sun roof, electric driver seat, and larger wheels. However some of the items on the Sun & Sound package actually turn out to work against the car, a large 10" sub is in the trunk which eats precious cargo room, plus who needs 650 watts of stereo. I don't recommend the sun & sound just for practicality reasons. Unless you’re a 30 something trying to relive your teenager desires. One thing to note visibility is appalling in this vehicle, and it takes psychic perception to know if you’re going to hit something, especially when in reverse.

Note: This car is expensive to drive, and maintain it requires the use of premium unleaded, and the use of synthetic oils. Also I have a feeling I will be buying tires, at an alarming rate due to the raw power of the engine, and lack of AWD.

Final Take, I love this car even with its handling shortcomings, I look forward to driving it because it's fun. I think this is the best car I have ever owned. I recommend it to anyone that is looking for a sports car but doesn’t want a car that becomes uncomfortable after driving more than 200 miles.