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The year was 1990, the market was crowded with all sorts of sports coupe such as Toyota Celica, Nissan 240SX, Ford Probe. Then, Mitsubishi introduced a small 2 door hatchback with edgy styling and a powerful turbo charged engine. It was the only car on the market that had 200 HP and was selling under $20k. Street racing crowd quickly noticed this car, and the Eclipse legend was born.

Unfortunately, Mitsubishi took a detour from the formula of success with the 3rd generation Eclipse. It was made bigger, softer, and rounder. The edgy styling was replaced with plain vanilla ovals; turbo power was replaced by V6 engine. The weight went up. Instead of a pocket rocket, the 3rd generation Eclipse became a boulevard cruiser.

Now, with this 4th generation Eclipse, Mitsubishi seem to be on the right track. The styling is modern and aggressive, took many designing cues from the popular 2nd generation Eclipse. Interior is filled with “bling bling”: 4 pod instrument panel back lit with blue LCD illumination, sports buckets, and the extra large sub-woofer. Power from a MIVEC 3.8-liter V6 engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, lifted directly from the Evolution MR.

The new 3.8-liter V6 engine provides ample power for this car; however, it needs to be reved to get out most of the power. The 6-speed manual provides good, crisp shifting action. Unfortunately this new Eclipse is still plagued by the front heaviness; it is not as nimble as the earlier versions. Mountains and race tracks may not be the best environment for it.

Sharp styling, strong engine, base model starts at below $20k, this new Eclipse will cause some concerns for its main competitors such as RSX, Tiburon, Accord Coupe, and Solara. This might be the rainmaker Mitsubishi USA has been waiting for.