2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse User Reviews

Pros

Great all round car

Cons

None that I see

Purchased As Used

This car is great all round
handles great,love the performance this car delivers.
Looks great outside and inside.
Really like the automatic with manual option
Love how dependable Mitsubishi motors is

Pros

Good fuel economy, peppy V6, smooth 5 speed manual, great stereo, very dependable, sharp looking

Cons

Plastic headlight enclosures tend to show scratches, clear coat paint paint issues/door handles

Purchased As New

I bought my 02 Eclipse GT in Dec.01. It has taken me on trips, gotten me through snow (one was a surprise snowstorm on I-95 in Virginia and North Carolina), been dependable, and still gets me good gas mileage. Its ability to handle the snow has enabled me to keep a nice RWD sport coupe in my garage during the winter.

The V6 with 200 hp seems a bit tame by today's standards of horsepower, but the engine delivers the power quickly with a very pleasing British sports car like exhaust note. The car feels fast for its 200 horses (a lot of horsepower 20-25 years ago, but not today) Getting up to speed or merging on a major interstate is effortless. And with all of this, it still gets me around 20 mpg in city type driving and up to 31 mpg on trips.

The power seats are comfortable for short drives or long drives. The 4 CD player (with a cassette, which I never use) delivers great sound and has been very dependable. The view from the driver's seat is excellent with little worry about large blind spots. There is a nice upper display on the center dash for the stereo, which also displays a compass direction and outside temperature.

The 5 speed manual shifter is the smoothest and most precise shifter I've ever used. The clutch is a bit on the lightweight side and hasn't got a lot of play before the gear engages. Once I got used to this, I found this car to be extremely easy to shift.

Though a FWD car (my first), there is basically no torque steer. Other than an occasional chirping of the front tires, I'd hardly know I was driving a FWD car.

This car handles snow very well. I've driven it through snowstorms and the car has plowed through the snow with little difficulty. I've used all-season tires and the Eclipse has handled all the weather changes perfectly.

I've owned my Eclipse GT for nearly 8 years and it has been a very dependable car. No complaints at all in this department.

Over time, the large enclosed headlights tend to show scratches and look a bit ragged. This seems pretty common with any plastic type headlight enclosures. I had clearcoat issues on the door handles. One was repainted this year.

I've enjoyed the relatively small size of this car, which makes it easy to navigate though parking garages, tight traffic, and also makes for easy parking almost anywhere.

I wish Mitsubishi had stayed with the AWD configuration of my old 91 Eagle Talon TSi AWD, but this car has been a great car and has done everything and anything I've asked of it....read morehide