Along comes a Spyder

The last time I got behind the wheel of a 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder was in October 2008, when a glorious stretch of weather allowed me to spend much of that time enjoying the scenery with the top down.

I’m a sucker for this car, which I still think is one of the prettiest on the planet. So when the opportunity came to drive one again during the last week of spring, I jumped at the chance and eagerly anticipated seven days of driving with the wind in my hair.

Alas, this time the weather didn’t cooperate. Rainy, cold and blustery conditions persisted for my entire week with the Spyder, severely limiting the opportunities for open-air motoring. I did learn one thing, though: with the top up, the Spyder has a severe blind spot to the right rear when you’re backing out of a parking space. If you’ve got a passenger, he can keep an eye out for cross traffic. Otherwise, the manoeuvre is a bit of a leap of faith.

While the four-cylinder Spyder GS starts at $32,298, our test car was the V6-powered GT-P at a still reasonable $37,798. For 2009 the GT-P gets a new dual exhaust, which not only produces a great sound but unleashes a few more horses from the 3.8-litre V6. Peak horsepower is now 265 at 5,750 rpm and 262 lb.-ft. of torque is available at 4,500.

Most roadsters, whether two-seaters, or a 2+2 like the Eclipse, are either front engine/rear-wheel drive (Mazda MX5) or front engine/all-wheel drive (Audi TT). Mitsubishi, however, places both engine and drive wheels up front. Hammer the throttle, especially on curves, and there’s some noticeable torque steer – a common occurrence with powerful FWD cars.

In dynamic testing by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) for its 2009 Car of the Year competition, Eclipse Spyder sprinted from 0-100 km/h in 6.8 seconds. Stopping power was equally impressive, taking 40.1 metres for the four-wheel disc brakes to haul the Eclipse down from 100 km/h.

My ride was equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. For an extra $1,200 a five-speed automatic is available – which I think is sacrilege in a sporty open car. Besides, the six-speed stick is too slick to delete.

Convertibles are not the quietest cars, and a certain amount of road and traffic noise does find its way into the cabin. Who cares? Just crank up the volume on the 650-watt Rockford-Fosgate sound system and let its nine speakers belt out your fave tunes. In the back seat – if you’re small enough to fit – the sound system can probably be felt as well as heard because of the monster subwoofer mounted in the middle.

Although the Spyder has a power top, you still have to pop a couple latches (make sure they’ve completely released) on the top of the windshield frame before it will retract. Side windows automatically go down, along with the lined cloth top, when you press a console-mounted switch. But when you reverse the process they don’t go back up again.

That’s about as close to roughing it as it gets in this sophisticated 2+2.

The top folds down into its own dedicated compartment, hidden from sight by a hard tonneau cover. That means the top and its mechanism don’t intrude into the trunk, which is a useful 147 litres – a bonus in a car this type.

All Spyders are equipped with a long list of standard equipment including air conditioning, cruise, remote keyless entry, fog lights, heated front seats, ABS and six airbags. Included in the $5,500 GT-P package are leather seating surfaces for the big front buckets, automatic climate control, 18-inch alloy wheels with 235/45R18 tires, active stability control and traction control.