Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

Eclipse Cross at a glance

Origins: a new SUV with an old name

The Eclipse Cross took its name from the Mitsubishi Eclipse sports coupé, which had ended in 2011, but it is not related to it. Mitsubishi previewed the idea with the XR-PHEV concept of 2013 and the XR-PHEV II of 2015, and showed the production car at the 87th Geneva Motor Show in March 2017. Production started in October 2017, and the car went on sale in Japan on 1 March 2018 and in Australia and North America at the start of 2018.

The car arrived at a turning point for the company. In 2016 Nissan had taken a 34 % stake in Mitsubishi Motors, so the Eclipse Cross was one of the last models developed before the alliance began. The old version of this page credited the design to Tsunehiro Kunimoto, who had previously worked on the Nissan Juke; we could not confirm this from a second source. The brand's background is in our history of Mitsubishi Motors.

Eclipse Cross engines and gearboxes, first generation

The 1.5 turbo was the core engine; North America had the middle output and Australia the 110 kW version. The diesel arrived in June 2019 and was never sold in North America. Its torque is quoted differently by different sources: the old version of this page gave 400 Nm and Wikipedia 380 Nm, so we leave it out of the table.

All-wheel-drive versions used Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC). The old version of this page described it accurately. An electronically controlled coupling sends up to half of the torque to the rear axle, and Active Yaw Control uses the brakes to steer power between the wheels. The basic layout is shared with the Outlander, with MacPherson struts at the front, a multi-link rear axle and electric power steering.

The 2020 facelift and the plug-in hybrid

Mitsubishi revealed the facelifted Eclipse Cross in October 2020, and it reached North America in February 2021 as a 2022 model. The divisive split rear window of the first version disappeared, the front and rear were redesigned, and the car grew by 140 mm to 4,545 mm, mostly at the rear.

The plug-in hybrid, launched in December 2020, borrowed its drivetrain from the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. A 2.4-litre petrol engine with 94 kW worked with electric motors and a multi-mode transmission, and the electric drive gave the PHEV four-wheel drive. With 1,900–1,920 kg, it was the heaviest Eclipse Cross; front-drive petrol cars weighed 1,425–1,480 kg.

Practicality and dimensions

The old version of this page noted that the rear seats slide and recline, and that the boot is small for the class because of the sloping rear. The boot figures above come from that page. Our size comparison tool sets these dimensions against rivals. By our calculation, the 120 kW petrol car in front-drive form carries about 12 kg per kW. The PHEV, at about 1,900 kg, carries about 20 kg for each kilowatt of its petrol engine alone.

Safety ratings

Euro NCAP gave the Eclipse Cross five stars in 2017. ANCAP's rating, based on the same tests, broke the scores down as follows: adult occupant 97 %, child occupant 78 %, vulnerable road users 80 % and safety assist 58 %. The car has seven airbags and offered forward collision mitigation, blind-spot warning, adaptive cruise control and a head-up display on higher trims.

Other bodies tested it too. ASEAN NCAP rated it in 2017. Latin NCAP tested a Japanese-built car with three airbags in 2019 and gave four stars for adults and three for children. The IIHS rated 2018–2023 models Good in its original moderate overlap and side tests, but Poor in the tougher updated versions of those tests in 2022–2023.

Sales by market

Europe was the biggest single market in the early years, and 2022 was its best year with 28,013 cars, by our calculation more than double the 2021 figure. In the United States sales reached 17,508 in 2025, the highest since 2019. The car was also built in China until 2023 and in Brazil, where 2025 sales reached 10,032.

The second-generation electric Eclipse Cross

On 18 September 2025 Mitsubishi unveiled a new Eclipse Cross for Europe. It is a battery-electric SUV that shares its engineering with the Renault Scénic E-Tech and is built by Renault at its Douai plant in northern France, with production from the last quarter of 2025. The launch version has an 87 kWh battery, a 160 kW (218 PS) motor with 300 Nm, and about 600 km of range. It charges at up to 150 kW DC, takes 8.4 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h and has a top speed of 170 km/h. A version with a smaller battery follows in 2026. More battery SUVs are listed in our electric cars section.

It is about 4.47 m long, with a boot of 478 to 1,670 litres. Mechanically, it is a close relative of the Renault Scénic, so buyers comparing the two should look mainly at price, equipment and warranty. The first-generation car remains in production in Japan for other markets.