2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse Embodies a Youthful Image

The 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse, based on the Galant sedan platform, was redesigned inside and out in 2000, and embodies a youthful image and providing a sporty drive. The New Year for the car sees a standard spoiler, tether anchors for child seats and meets LEV emissions standards.

If you don’t recognize at a glance what makes the Mitsubishi Eclipse attractive, then no words will suffice to explain it. Typical of current Mitsubishi products, the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse styling is bold, extremely individualized and, to our eye, simply smashing. Though more grown up and better equipped than the previous generation car, the car problems is lacks the spunky personality of its predecessor.

Mitsubishi calls the Mitsubishi Eclipse styling “geo-mechanical,” with an unbroken roof arch, a swell in the hood that rolls across the upper fenders, a lateral accent line and ribbed contours in its doors and front fascia. Inside, the car styling is one part futuristic and two parts sporty with a dash of luxury sprinkled in.

Featuring a twin-cockpit design, the interior is symmetrical and functional, with some car accessories appearing melded into the dash while others protrude aggressively. Materials include soft-touch appointments with titanium-finish details that look rather cheap.

The Mitsubishi Eclipse also incorporates a front suspension with large-diameter front struts and a multi-link rear suspension with tubular steel arms. A stiff sub-frame and a longer wheelbase also add to ride quality of this 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

The 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse is offered in three trim levels — RS, GS and GT. The base four-cylinder engine found in the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS and GS models displaces 2.4 liters and produces 155 horsepower. The 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT parts comes equipped with a 3.0-liter V6 engine making 205 horsepower that offers increased responsiveness to throttle input.

The turbo engine has been dropped in favor of the more refined V6, regardless of engine selection, a five-speed manual transmission is standard fare on the car. For those desiring an automatic tranny, Mitsubishi offers the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse four-speed automatic with “learned control” that tailors its shifting characteristics to the driver’s style, or a Sportronic auto manual transmission that allows drivers to change gears without using a clutch.

The Spyder 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse

The 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse was engineered as a coupe and convertible, so the Spyder’s droptop conversion is a rather minor procedure. Unlike the previous generation, whose top was added after the car left the assembly line, the new car Spyder Convertible is cobbled together alongside the coupe.

As a nod to enthusiasts, the coupe’s excellent five-speed manual transmission is standard on both Mitsubishi Eclipse GS and GT Spyder models, both can also be had with the company’s four-speed automatic with adaptive logic. Additionally, this transmission can be mated with the Sportronic sequential shift gate.

On the line, reinforcing steel is added around the cabin, and strut-tower braces are added to the front and rear, making the new Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Convertible 60 percent stiffer in bending rigidity and 10 percent stiffer in torsional rigidity than the previous edition.

The weight penalty for the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Convertible is between 130 and 190 pounds, depending on the model, not enough to drastically reduce performance, at least not in the GT model, powered by the 200-hp six that puts out 205 pound-feet of torque.