Stepping up the sports quotient

Mitsubishi’s Eclipse Coupe sports a new appearance for 2009 with new front and rear bumper fascias and the aggressive new face.

Mitsubishi Canada sent along a GT-P model test car (GS is the entry level) all dressed up in “solar yellow,” a hue that exudes warmth and vitality.

Looks good.

It’s low and sleek and capable looking. I don’t even mind the wing spoiler at the back. Usually these things live up to their name and spoil a smooth design. This one works.

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The car looks fast just sitting there, beckoning me to climb inside so we can get going and see if the performance lives up to the promise.

I slip into the supportive, highly-bolstered one-piece driver seat, and use the six-way power adjuster to find my optimum driving position. Time to buckle up and look around. Ahhhh. This feels real good. Looks good in here, too, although I wouldn’t want to be stuffed into the back seat. While the Eclipse qualifies as a four-seater, the two in back are for short people only.

Visibility is a little compromised, especially by that rear spoiler. Gauges are big and easily readable and all the switches fall readily to hand. Of course locks, windows and mirrors are power operated.

Drop your right hand down from the leather-wrapped steering wheel and the perfectly-placed shift lever for the six-speed manual transmission is right there.

The centre stack houses HVAC controls along with a standard 650-watt Rockford Fosgate audio system with eight speakers plus a 10-in. subwoofer and CD/MP3 player.

I turn it on and fiddle with the steering-wheel mounted controls. Sound quality is terrific, even people who recognize only two kinds of music (country and western) will notice some extra “twang” in the thang.

Enough of that. I turn it off because I’m about to start that 3.8-litre V6 and I want to listen to a different kind of music, the kind produced by the dual exhausts when 265 horses get to singing.

The engine growls to life. I push in the aluminum clutch pedal and drop the shifter into first gear. We’re off.

I take it easy at first, feeling my way through the gears, enjoying the slick shifting and linear clutch feel.

I get the impression that the Eclipse would really like to show me what it can do. Who am I to argue? Let’s go!

I’m not taking it easy, now. We’re putting all 265 ponies to work and urging them on with 262 ft.-lb. of whip. Acceleration is quick, shifts are fast, speed builds quickly and the exhaust music sings a new, happy, tune.

The road passes quickly under the 18-inch wheels while the suspension easily smoothes out rough surfaces. The car stays firmly planted to the pavement and the ride, while firm, never becomes jarring.

The rack-and-pinion steering provides a good feel for what’s happening under the tires and responds quickly when called upon. The car goes precisely where you want it to go precisely when you want it to.

Standard active stability control helps keep you on an even keel and when it comes time to stop, big ventilated disc brakes jump into action, aided by ABS and electronic brake force distribution.

Safety standards are high in the Eclipse and include dual-stage driver and front passenger airbags with driver seat position sensor and front passenger occupant weight sensor. Seat mounted side-impact airbags are also standard.

GT-P models get standard high intensity discharge headlamps which effectively light up the road at night.

Back at the ranch, I climb out with a satisfied grin. And that’s when I come across one of the nit-picking bits that still bother me days later. When I close the door, it doesn’t shut with a solid “thud” but more of a lightweight “bang.” Perhaps it’s because the car feels so solid on the road that the less-than-solid sound sticks with me.

That, the smallish rear seat and being able to see body colour metal along the bottom edge of one of the door panels are the only nits I have to pick.

A word of caution about the rear wing might be in order here. It effectively blocks out a vehicle following at about 20 meters or so. A police car can hide there in that blind spot, so be sure you know what’s behind you or you might meet a policeman with a ticket book if you get enthusiastic at the wrong time.

And you will get enthusiastic. It’s a sports car, after all.