Driving Impressions Those looking for a car with acceleration to back up the Eclipse’s racy looks will undoubtedly want to opt for the GT. The V6 engine puts out a whopping 53 horsepower more than the previous model, a difference you can feel when you stand on the accelerator.

As with all vehicles, your opinion of a sport coupe like the Eclipse will have as much to do with your expectations as it does with the car itself.

From an ordinary driver’s perspective, for example, a gain of 15 additional horsepower over the outgoing four-cylinder engine gives the GS model an acceptable level of performance. Despite a somewhat coarse sound under full throttle and the fact that it’s not likely to win any races, we expect that all those buyers looking to cut a sporty image while still maintaining good fuel economy and easy drivability will find this four-cylinder version well suited to their needs.

Those looking for a car with acceleration to back up the Eclipse’s racy looks will undoubtedly want to opt for the GT. The V6 engine puts out a whopping 53 horsepower more than the previous model, and it’s a difference you can definitely feel when you stand on the accelerator. The only problem here – as with virtually all powerful front-wheel-drive cars – is massive amounts of torque steer that creates a strong tug on the steering wheel under hard acceleration.

Both manual and automatic transmissions are well matched to their assignments. The manual gearboxes shift smoothly, and the Sportronic automatic on the GT manages to pull off surprisingly crisp shifts when running through the gears manually, with none of the delay common in such auto-manual transmissions.

Crisp also characterizes the handling. One of the complaints most often heard about the previous generation car was that, in trying to make the Eclipse appealing to a wider audience, the engineers made its ride and handling a bit too civilized. This new version has, for good and bad, gotten a good measure of its edginess back.

The fully independent suspension delivers responsive handling, making this a car driving enthusiasts will enjoy flinging down a stretch of curvy two-lane road. The downside from an average driver’s point of view, of course, is that the ride quality suffers somewhat from the firmer suspension settings that make this good handling possible.

Along the same lines, we think most folks will agree the steering feels nicely weighted. Drive the Eclipse hard however, and you discover a slightly artificial quality that leads to a lack of just the kind of clear feedback enthusiasts look for. No matter which category you fall into, we’re pretty sure the car’s relatively wide 40-foot turning circle will have you choosing your U-turn locations carefully.

The standard four-wheel-disc brakes provide good pedal feel and decent stopping power that should make drivers of all stripes happy. As far as we’re concerned, Mitsubishi gets extra points for making an important safety feature like antilock brakes standard on both models.