2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse Preview

To be more concise, the Eclipse will offer slightly more interior versatility than its competitors, with the most dramatic increases

The Eclipse will offer slightly more interior versatility than its competitors. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

in the vehicle's interior width. Leg, hip and shoulder room is as follows: legroom up front measures 1,088 mm (42.8 inches) and in back allows 741 mm (29.2 inches), hip room up front totals 1,363 mm (53.7 inches) and in the rear boasts 1,127 mm (44.4 inches), plus shoulder room stretches 1,377 mm (54.2 inches) wide for front occupants and 1,300 mm (51.2 inches) for those in back. Headroom, by the way, is set to 952 mm (37.5 inches) without the optional glass sunroof, and 878 mm (34.6 inches) with it in place. Overall interior volume reaches 2,755 litres (97.3 cubic feet) with the sunroof, while passenger volume is 2,311 litres (81.6 cubic feet), again with the sunroof. Cargo capacity is maximized to 455 litres (15.7 cubic feet).

To put this into perspective, the Eclipse offers about the same amount of front and rear legroom and headroom as the RSX, the

The materials Mitsubishi uses to build the interior are better than average, and fit and finish looks good, at least with the preproduction example. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

advantage of a couple inches extra hip and shoulder room in front and rear (actually rear shoulder room is about the same), and an overall interior volume boost of 462 litres (16.3 cubic feet). Cargo capacity is about the same.

While the numbers show a nominal difference between the Eclipse and the RSX, other than interior width, I've sat inside the car and it looks and feels larger. Also, the materials Mitsubishi uses to build it are better than average, and fit and finish looks good, at least with the preproduction example available to us in Detroit, Toronto and Vancouver - preproduction examples are usually not as good as production, which bodes well for the Eclipse.