2025 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

The 2025 Eclipse Cross uses a single 1.5L direct-injection turbo four rated at 152 hp on all six trims (ES, LE, SE, Ralliart, Black Edition, SEL). That puts it at the very bottom of the SUV band.

Peak torque of 184 lb-ft arrives early and holds across a broad 2,000–3,500 rpm plateau. That helps around town, but the figure is low for the SUV band.

Car and Driver ran a post-facelift Eclipse Cross SEL S-AWC from 0 to 60 in 8.4 s. The 2025 car uses the same engine, CVT and curb weight, so that result carries over. It is slow-to-adequate for the class.

The early torque plateau gives decent part-throttle response. However, there is turbo lag from a stop, and the engine gets coarse and loud when worked hard. Reviewers repeatedly name acceleration as a weakness.

The CVT has eight simulated ratios and paddle shifters, which hide some of the rubber-band feel. It still drones under sustained load, and the stepped shift logic can feel artificial. Mid-pack CVT behavior for the segment.

Every trim is rated to tow 1,500 lbs, enough for a small utility trailer and little else. That is near the floor of the SUV band.

S-AWC all-wheel drive is standard on every 2025 retail trim. It adds Active Yaw Control brake-based torque vectoring and Auto/Snow/Gravel drive modes, which is real sophistication at this price. It has no low range. EPA also lists a 2WD certification, but Mitsubishi's retail lineup is all-AWD.

It has 8.5 in of ground clearance and a Gravel mode, which is fine for dirt roads. It is still a unibody crossover on street tires, with no skid plates, lockers, low range or off-road trim. The Ralliart is an appearance package.

One engine, one CVT and one drivetrain across all six trims. No hybrid, PHEV or larger engine is offered in the US. The overseas Eclipse Cross PHEV never came to the US, and the second-generation EV is sold only in Europe.

The volume S-AWC trims are EPA-rated at 25 MPG combined. The base ES gets 26 MPG on smaller wheels. With standard AWD and no hybrid assist, it sits in the lower-middle of the gas SUV pool.

Every 2025 configuration is rated 25 MPG city. The trims differ only on the highway cycle.

26 MPG on the highway is weak for a small crossover. Full-time S-AWC and the tall body both hurt cruising economy.

A 15.8-gallon tank at 25 MPG combined gives about 395 miles per fill-up, an ordinary figure for the band.

EPA's current annual fuel-cost estimate for the volume trims is $2,700 on regular fuel, which is below average for a small SUV. The ES saves about $100 a year.

The 1.5L turbo runs on 87-octane regular, with no premium requirement or recommendation.

NHTSA rates the 2025 Eclipse Cross 5 stars overall — 4 stars frontal, 5 stars side and 4 stars rollover — the best result in Mitsubishi's US SUV lineup.

The first-generation Eclipse Cross still scores Good in the small overlap front test and won a 2019 Top Safety Pick under the old protocol. But both updated tests come back Poor for 2025, moderate overlap front (which checks the rear passenger) and side, and it holds no current award.

Standard on the $27,345 ES: Forward Collision Mitigation with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning and a backup camera. It has no adaptive cruise, no blind-spot monitoring and no automatic high beams. BSW/LCA, RCTA and ACC wait until the $30,145 SE, and no US trim offers lane-keeping assist.

The vehicle-to-vehicle system earned Superior under the original IIHS protocol, avoiding collisions at both 12 and 25 mph, and FCM with pedestrian detection is now standard rather than a Touring-package option. But the pedestrian system was rated only Basic for daytime, and nothing has been run through the current higher-speed pedestrian or night protocols; the SE's higher-speed FCM upgrade also leaves the base ES on the weaker calibration.

Blind Spot Warning with Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross Traffic Alert are standard from the SE up, but the ES and LE, where most of the volume sits, go without. The system only warns; it never steers or brakes.

Every 2025 US trim gets lane departure warning only: an alert with no steering input. There is no lane keep assist or lane centering. Mitsubishi reserves MI-PILOT Assist for the Outlander.

Radar-based adaptive cruise is genuinely available — a meaningful advantage over the Outlander Sport, which offers none — but it is locked behind the SE and above, and with no lane keeping or centering to pair with it there is no combined highway-assist mode. The hardware and calibration date to the 2022 refresh of a 2018 platform.

No 2025 Eclipse Cross trim offers hands-free highway driving, and it lacks the lane centering such a system would be built on.

IIHS has rated two headlight variants on this generation and neither reaches Good — low beams show inadequate visibility on curves in all four curve tests plus some glare, and high beams are inadequate on both straightaways and curves. Automatic high beams help but skip the base ES entirely.

The 2022 refresh deleted the split rear window and enlarged the backlight, and reviewers now call the sightlines a strength — upright glass, a high seating position and slim front pillars. Camera compensation is thin below the top trim, though: the Multi-View 360-degree system is confined to the SEL, leaving volume trims with the mandated backup camera alone.

IIHS rates the LATCH hardware Good, with two complete sets in the outboard rear positions, and the sliding, reclining rear bench helps fit a rear-facing seat. Three-across is impractical on a 105.1-inch wheelbase, and the Poor updated moderate overlap result shows weak rear-occupant protection.

Two-row, five-passenger layout on every 2025 trim (ES, LE, SE, Ralliart, Black Edition, SEL); no three-row configuration exists.

Mid-pack front headroom for a subcompact crossover; the panoramic roof in the SEL Touring package costs about an inch and a half.

40.9 in is near the bottom of the SUV band — a function of the short 105.1-in wheelbase.

The sloping, coupe-like tailgate trims rear headroom below the segment midpoint.

Genuinely good for the class, and the 60/40 bench slides and reclines so rear room can be traded against cargo depth.

No third row on any 2025 Eclipse Cross trim — strictly a two-row, five-seat crossover; the Outlander is Mitsubishi's three-row option.

Below the 25 cu ft floor of the SUV band and smaller than most subcompact rivals (HR-V 24.4, Trailblazer 25.3, Seltos 26.6); sliding the bench forward buys depth at the cost of legroom.

Also under the 55 cu ft SUV band floor; the tapered roof and high load floor cap folded capacity.

The sliding/reclining rear bench is the one genuinely useful flexibility feature and a hands-free power liftgate is available on upper trims, but console, door pockets and cubbies are small and conventional, with no underfloor tricks or onboard power.

Well-padded, supportive front buckets with good adjustment (power driver's seat on upper trims, 8-way power passenger seat on SEL), but a flat, thinly padded rear bench on long stints.

The softer post-2022 tune soaks up rough pavement reasonably, but the body rocks and bounces over undulating surfaces with noticeable roll. Fine for commuting, short of the better-damped rivals.

Steady cruising is acceptable, but the 1.5T sounds gritty under load and the CVT holds revs, so the cabin gets loud whenever you ask for acceleration.

Automatic climate is standard; heated front seats arrive on mid trims, dual-zone climate from SE, heated steering wheel and leather on SEL, and heated rear seats plus panoramic roof only in the SEL Touring package. No ventilated seats or rear vents at any price.

S-AWC all-wheel drive is standard on every 2025 trim, so the entry ES S-AWC is the base price; one of the cheapest AWD crossovers on sale.

SE S-AWC is taken as the volume trim (mid-range, adds the larger touchscreen and ADAS content); the trim spread is only ~$4,250, so the choice moves the figure little.

Simple 1.5T/CVT drivetrain with modest projected upkeep; CarEdge's figure is lower still.

Sources disagree widely but all place the Eclipse Cross in the bottom third of the market for resale; a mid estimate of ~45% is used.

Class-leading basic coverage, matched only by Hyundai/Kia.

Top-of-segment powertrain coverage, though it drops to 5 yr/60k for subsequent owners.

Two years of included scheduled maintenance plus 5 years of unlimited-mile roadside assistance and a 7-yr anti-perforation warranty — better than most mainstream rivals, short of multi-year luxury programs.

$30,145 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (45% retained, or about $13,565) leaves about $16,580 in depreciation. Add the projected $4,416 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $20,996 in total.

Consumer Reports predicts about-average reliability for the 2025 Eclipse Cross, but that prediction is extrapolated from brand history and similar models rather than deep model-specific survey data. The 2025 car is a carry-over year of the first-generation GK platform (in production since late 2017, facelifted for MY2022), so it is mature, though the 1.5T/CVT pairing carries more wear-item risk than a naturally aspirated rival.

Mitsubishi sits near the bottom of J.D. Power's dependability rankings and Consumer Reports cannot rank the brand at all because its lineup is too small to meet the data minimum. RepairPal's repair-shop data is considerably kinder, which keeps the brand out of the bottom band but well below mid-pack.

The 2025 Eclipse Cross has no recalls on record, and the generation's recall history is light — its one notable campaign is the 2018–2019 forward-collision-mitigation software fix. Complaint volume across the whole 2018–2025 run is low in absolute terms and not concentrated on any systemic powertrain or fire issue.

The 4B40 1.5-liter turbo with the INVECS-III CVT is a moderate-risk pairing: service literature puts realistic engine life around 140k–150k miles with timing-chain stretch and turbo wear as the limiters, and the CVT near 100k–150k with maintenance. In its favor, the Eclipse Cross's NHTSA complaint mix is led by electrical faults rather than a transmission cluster.

Reviewers place the cabin below the subcompact-SUV norm for materials — smudge-prone piano black and hard plastics, especially in the rear — and the 2018-vintage design concedes visibly to newer rivals. The 2022 facelift keeps it clear of the bottom band that the far older Outlander Sport occupies.

Assembly is solid: the car is built on a long-settled line at Mitsubishi's Okazaki plant in Japan, and there is no rattle, squeak or panel-alignment cluster in NHTSA complaint data. Owner reviews still name quality as a weaker attribute than reliability or styling, which keeps this mid-band.

The US footprint is thin — roughly 300 stores after a sustained network contraction, so a dealer can be a long drive away — but service satisfaction inside those stores is strong, with Mitsubishi having topped the mass-market segment of J.D. Power's Customer Service Index. Good service quality partly offsets sparse coverage.

Routine ownership costs are ordinary and the warranty is among the longest in the class, but the 1.5T's turbocharger and direct-injection hardware make major repairs expensive, and Mitsubishi's aftermarket is small next to a RAV4 or CR-V.

The volume SE uses the 8.0-in Smartphone-Link Display Audio; the base ES still carries a 7.0-in unit for 2025 (dropped for 2026). Nothing larger is offered.

The SDA touchscreen is simple and keeps physical volume and climate knobs, but graphics, resolution and menu logic are a generation behind subcompact rivals; usable rather than good.

Wired CarPlay/Android Auto come with the 8-in screen on LE and up and wireless projection only on the SEL; the base ES's 7-in unit has no smartphone projection for 2025 (added for 2026).

Built-in navigation is still available on the SEL for 2025 (it was dropped for 2026), but it is a basic system and onboard voice control is limited to steering-wheel voice recognition; most owners will rely on phone projection.

Four speakers on the ES, six from the SE, and the best available is the Mitsubishi Power Sound System bundled into the SEL Touring package — no branded premium audio.

Analog dials with a small color driver-information display on every trim; no configurable digital cluster.

No meaningful over-the-air updates: Mitsubishi Connect is a telematics/remote-services channel, and infotainment or nav updates are dealer or USB jobs.

My Mitsubishi Connect covers remote start/stop, lock/unlock, status, locate, SOS and roadside with a two-year trial on LE and up, then a paid subscription; no digital key.

One front USB on the ES, a second front port on LE, a rear USB from SE; no wireless charging and no household outlet — 12V sockets only.

FAST-Key proximity entry with push-button start from LE up, app remote start via Mitsubishi Connect, hands-free liftgate on upper trims; the ES keeps a plain remote fob and there is no phone-as-key.

Rearview camera standard, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic from SE, but the Multi-View 360 camera is SEL-only and there is no parking automation.

A head-up display exists — unusual for the class — but only in the Touring package on the top SEL, out of reach of volume buyers.

The sliding, reclining 60/40 bench lets a rear-facing seat claw back room and 37.1 in of rear legroom is good for a subcompact, but 23.4 cu ft of cargo is the class's smallest, and sliding the bench to fix that takes the legroom back. Two outboard LATCH sets; three-across is impractical.

NHTSA 5 stars overall, standard AEB with pedestrian detection and a new-for-2025 rear-seat reminder on every trim — but IIHS rates the updated moderate-overlap (rear-occupant) and side tests Poor, there is no lane keeping at any price, and blind-spot/RCTA skip the ES and LE.

Rear legroom and recline are there, but the bench is flat, there are no rear vents, rear USB starts at SE and heated rear seats are Touring-package only; 23.4 cu ft runs out with four aboard.

Torque from 2,000 rpm and a smooth CVT make stop-and-go easy, and the post-2022 single rear window and high seat help placement; turbo lag, a gritty engine note and soft, bouncy damping detract, and adaptive cruise is SE-and-up only.

25 MPG combined and ~$2,700/yr in fuel are poor for the class, with no hybrid option, but it runs on regular, maintenance for 2 yr/30k is included and the 5yr/60k warranty limits repair exposure.

A 179-in footprint and a tight 34.8-ft turning circle make it easy in town, and the refreshed single rear window improved sightlines; 360 camera is SEL-only and there is no parking automation.

1,500-lb tow rating, 152 hp through a CVT and 23.4 cu ft of cargo — fine for a small utility trailer, not meaningful work duty.

The 10yr/100k powertrain warranty and a clean 2025 recall record help, but the 4B40 turbo and CVT are not duty-cycle hardware, there is no fleet presence, and the dealer network is under 300 stores.

No AC power, no wireless charging, carpeted cargo floor, basic tie-down hooks and a dealer accessory catalog (hitch, crossbars, tray) — nothing aimed at work.

~395 miles per tank is fine, but adaptive cruise without lane centering, a flat rear bench, bouncy damping and a coarse engine on grades make it tiring on a long day.

S-AWC with Active Yaw Control is standard on every volume trim with Snow/Gravel modes and 8.5 in of ground clearance — good for trailheads and ski roads — but street tires, no skid plates, no low range and a 1,500-lb tow limit.

The sliding/reclining bench and available hitch and crossbars help, but 23.4 / 50.1 cu ft both fall below the SUV band floors, with a tapered roof, high load floor and no underfloor storage.

Secure but soft: pronounced body lean and an unsettled ride on broken pavement; S-AWC adds foul-weather traction more than cornering bite.

Light and numb — tuned for parking-lot ease, with little feedback on a back road.

Its clearest dynamic strength: a short 122-ft 60-0 stop with an easily modulated pedal, marked down for front-end wiggle under hard braking.

Smooth part-throttle delivery and torque from 2,000 rpm, but 152 hp through a CVT is always working, and the simulated shift steps can jolt.

Wind and road isolation is respectable, but the engine drones gritty whenever the CVT holds revs, which is often.

Tight end of the SUV band — the car's standout everyday trait.

Well-shaped, adjustable front seats and a high seating position, with physical climate knobs, but the rakish roof and thick rear pillars still leave blind spots.

Appliance-like: 8.4–9 s to 60, numb steering, body roll and CVT drone. The Ralliart trim is appearance-only.

Standard S-AWC all-wheel drive, forward collision mitigation, CarPlay/Android Auto and LED headlights at ~$27k is generous; rivals typically charge $1,500+ for AWD alone.

Cheap AWD and a strong warranty are offset by a 152-hp powertrain, 26 mpg combined, a dated cabin and weak resale, so net value is fair rather than a bargain.

Six trims (ES, LE, SE, Ralliart, Black Edition, SEL) but one engine, one transmission and one drivetrain, packed into a ~$4,250 price spread.

About 12,700 US sales in 2024 — up year on year but a small fraction of segment leaders selling 150k+.

Mitsubishi is a value brand with a thin US dealer network and weak resale reputation; the image drags on the model more than it helps.

Routine 0% APR financing and $1,750–$2,750 cash back, plus high inventory, make it very negotiable.

First generation launched for MY2018 with its only facelift for MY2022; by 2025 it is an aging design, and the second-generation nameplate is a Europe-only EV, leaving no clear US successor.

Reviewers credit the styling, AWD and warranty but consistently rank it near the bottom of the class on refinement, ride and cargo; no major awards.