The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross was the world’s first plug-in hybrid electric SUV and made its debut in Australia back in 2021. This Eclipse Cross combines the ability for full EV driving with a petrol engine for longer drives in a crossover SUV style.
The Plug-in Hybrid EV (PHEV) system is equipped with small and lightweight high-powered motors in the front and rear wheels, creating all-wheel drive, powered by a 13.8Wh lithium-ion battery. When fully charged the Eclipse Cross indicated that I would get around 50km of pure EV range and this can be used as soon as you drive the vehicle or can be saved for later use.
Charging at home using a standard plug takes approximately seven hours and if you are on the road and would like to top up the battery at a fast-charging station it will take approximately 25 minutes according to Mitsubishi. The charge plug is located at the rear of the vehicle on the driver’s side and a Mode Two and Mode Three charging cable are included when you purchase the Eclipse Cross. There is a variable mode regenerative braking system, but this appears to do little to recharge the battery while driving?
The twin electric motors are combined with 2.4 litre petrol engine that produces a maximum of 94kW power and maximum torque of 199Nm paired with a Single Fixed transmission. The official combined fuel consumption is as unrealistic as most PHEVs, being 1.9L/100km, and for my week I used 4.6L/100km. To achieve this, I ensured that the battery was charged before I got into the Eclipse Cross, but we did do some longer road trips as well. The Eclipse Cross drove nicely with a smooth transmission and delivered seamless switching between the battery and petrol power units.
The Eclipse Cross requires 91RON petrol as a minimum, but one small bugbear I have is there is no sticker inside the fuel cap to indicate the fuel type to use. Obviously if this is your car you will know what fuel to use, but when you have a different car each week, I like to see a clear indication of the fuel type I should be putting in to reassure me at the petrol bowser.
This Lightning Blue Eclipse Cross PHEV is the top of the line EXCEED grade and features new design 18″ alloy wheels, one touch keyless open/keyless start, heated front and rear seats with a heated steering wheel, head-up display, double sunroof, leather appointed seats, and an electric tailgate with handsfree operation. The maximum braked towing capacity of the PHEV is 1,500kg.
The cabin of the Eclipse Cross is looking dated with plenty of hard plastic on the door trims and dash and my least favourite centre console finish, gloss black. In addition to the usual dust accumulation this centre console was also very scratched after just 6,000km on the odometer. There are two cup holders in this centre console with grippy sides, a removable base for easy cleaning, and one is higher than the other and the drink bottle storage in front door cubbies are a good size.
The digital head-up display is the older style that folds up and down above the driver’s dash, which has an analogue taco and speedo with a small digital screen between them. One small thing that annoyed me was the the digital speed readout on the head-up display did not match the speed on the analogue taco.
The Eclipse Cross features an 8” touchscreen with old style graphics on the infotainment menu and when you select the sat nav on the screen the digital clock does not display. The Eclipse Cross has wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto using a USB-A port and this connected quickly for me using the Android Auto and there’s also Bluetooth phone connectivity and audio streaming. There are two USB-A ports and one 12V socket at front of the console and the cubby here where you can place your phone is not large enough for a modern smart phone either length or width ways. The voice control button has a masculine-looking silhouette on it and when you press it to engage the voice assistant it can only has basic commands such as changing the radio band or displaying call history and there is no sat nav input controls.
Both front seats have power adjustment for recline, forward/back and seat height front and rear with no memory positions for the driver’s seat and the front heated seat controls are the old-style Hi/Lo control switches. One feature I did like on the dual zone climate control was that the Eclipse’s air vents move in the correct direction. Because in some cars when you want to direct the air on to yourself, they close when you move the vents towards you, and in the Eclipse Cross, they work correctly and closed when they move away from you. I did also like the nice thick carpet mats ($171 option), but there are so many lumps and bumps in the floor’s design that the mats do not fit nice and plenty of dirt and crumbs still reach the carpet below.
The rear seats are firm and have very hard headrests (a pet hate of my son) and I found the leg room in the rear seats was adequate for me, but head room was tight and my knees felt up a little high. The outer seats are heated, but there are no rear air vents, and there’s one USB-A port and one USB-C port below the heated seat buttons.
For younger passengers there are two ISOfix/three rear tether child seat restraint points and when not in use the centre seat can be folded down as an arm rest with two rigid cup holders in it. The drink bottle storage in the rear door cubbies is a good size, but on a 45-degree angle. Similar to the front floor mats, the rear mats do cover the entire rear floor, including the transmission tunnel, but the actual floor is uneven so plenty of crumbs and dirt still get on the floor carpet making vacuuming more time consuming.
The gesture open/close boot works well or you can open/close the boot from the button on tailgate and in cabin, the button on the key fob didn’t work. The boot space is a good size, easily accommodating the weekly shop, and has four plastic tie down points, one hook, one light, and a three-pronged 240V 1500W power socket, which has an on/off button at the front of the cabin. This Eclipse Cross has the optional Boot Flap Scuff Guard ($109). There is some under floor storage for the second charge cable and tyre repair kit and if more space is required the rear seats have a 60:40 split fold with the release on the seat shoulders, but when you lower them they do not lay completely flat.
The Eclipse Cross bongs at you as soon as you get in the vehicle even before you press the start button, I don’t need that kind of stress in my life, but thankfully once you start the vehicle it does quieten down. Active driver safety aids include Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Mitigation, and Lane Departure Warning. Passive safety includes a driver and front passenger airbags, driver and front passenger side airbags, curtain airbags, and a driver knee airbag, but the Eclipse Cross is Unrated by ANCAP. To make parking easier the Eclipse Cross EXCEED comes with a standard rear view camera with a 360-degree view camera and front and rear parking sensors. For convenience there’s also automatic dusk sensing headlights and automatic rain sensing wipers.
All new Mitsubishi vehicles have a 10 Year/200,000km warranty, whichever occurs first, and when all scheduled services are completed at a Mitsubishi Dealership, plus the drive battery is covered for 8 years or 160,000kms (whichever occurs first). Capped Price Servicing is included for 10 Years/150,000km (whichever occurs first) for the first 10 regular services (at 15,000km/12 month scheduled intervals). Twelve months Roadside Assist is included with your new vehicle and continues for a full 12 months each time the vehicle is presented to an authorised Mitsubishi dealer for an eligible Capped Price Service for a maximum of up to four years.
Pricing for the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV EXCEED starts at $56,490 plus on-road costs and as tested with the Lighting Blue premium paint ($740), carpet mats ($171), chrome bonnet emblem ($191), and the boot flap scuff guard ($109) this Eclipse Cross was $57,701 plus on-roads. You can Build and Price your Eclipse Cross online or visit your preferred Mitsubishi dealer for more information and some of whom are offering a $1,000 cash bonus for Eclipse Cross PHEVs purchased before 31 March 2025.
| Pros | Cons |
| Seamless transition between battery and petrol engine | The Eclipse Cross bongs at you as soon as you get in the car |
| Gesture open/close boot | Old style technology |
| Thick carpet mats | The uneven floor |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.