7 PROBLEMS With Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross You MUST Know!

The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross has been hiding some serious problems behind that distinctive roofline, and most buyers only find out about them after the paperwork is signed. If you're considering one as your next compact SUV, the seven issues we're about to cover could completely change your decision. Most people assume that a turbocharged engine and standard all-wheel drive automatically make the Eclipse Cross a smart buy, but the real ownership experience tells a very different story. 7. SLOW ACCELERATION Let's start under the hood, because this is where the Eclipse Cross is going to disappoint performance-minded buyers right away. Power comes from a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder rated at 152 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. On paper, that doesn't look alarming. In the real world, it's a different story. Independent testing puts the Eclipse Cross at 8.6 to 8.7 seconds from 0 to 60 mph, firmly at the back of the compact SUV pack. A non-turbo Honda CR-V beats it to 60 mph despite having no forced induction advantage whatsoever. Think about what that means on a typical morning. You're pulling onto a busy highway on-ramp, traffic is moving fast, and you need the car to respond now. That's the exact moment where 8.7 seconds to 60 becomes a real problem, not just a number on a test sheet. The CVT keeps things smooth during relaxed driving, but aggressive throttle inputs don't produce an aggressive response. The engine revs, the transmission hangs, and progress arrives on its own schedule. Merging, overtaking, and pulling out of tight intersections expose this weakness every single day. And if you're thinking the engine at least compensates with strong fuel efficiency, that's where the next problem comes in. 6. Mediocre Fuel Economy You might be willing to live with sluggish acceleration if the Eclipse Cross rewarded you with exceptional fuel economy in return. That tradeoff isn't on the table here. EPA ratings for most trims sit at 25 miles per gallon city and 26 highway. Real-world testing has come back around 22 miles per gallon in mixed driving. Most buyers at this price point are thinking about the long game. Monthly fuel bills, annual running costs, the cumulative gap between a thirsty car and an efficient one. When you're filling up more often than expected, that initial sticker price saving evaporates quickly. The Subaru Crosstrek returns 27 city and 34 highway with a naturally aspirated engine. The RAV4 Hybrid clears 40 combined. The Eclipse Cross's turbocharger was supposed to deliver efficiency through downsizing. Instead, it's delivering neither the performance nor the savings the technology promises. So the drivetrain is letting buyers down on two fronts but step around to the back of the vehicle, and there's another frustration waiting. 5. Small Cargo Area The Eclipse Cross carries a coupe-inspired roofline that sweeps down sharply toward the rear. One of its most distinctive design choices, and also the direct reason cargo space is going to be a sticking point for practical buyers. Behind the rear seats, it's offering around 23 cubic feet. Folded, that grows to roughly 50. Both figures sit below most rivals. The Hyundai Kona offers 25.5 and 63.7 cubic feet, respectively. Picture loading up for a family weekend away, luggage, a stroller, sports gear, and everything else a household travels with. The Eclipse Cross fits six carry-on suitcases behind the rear seats, which sounds reasonable until three of those seats are occupied by actual people. At that point, the cargo hold is full before the trip has started. The swept roofline limits how tall items can stack, and the opening shape makes awkward loads genuinely awkward, the kind of tradeoff that reveals itself on the third grocery run, not in a showroom. And speaking of things that reveal themselves over time, the base model has a few surprises of its own. 4. Base Model Feels Too Basic The base ES trim starts at around $29,700, which looks competitive at first glance. Spend five minutes with a spec sheet, and the picture changes fast. The entry-level ES gets a 7-inch touchscreen, smaller than what most competitors bundle into their base trims. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not standard. They require a higher trim. Adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and dual-zone climate control are all waiting behind a price jump. The SE trim, where those features finally appear, is going to cost over $32,600. That's more than $3,000 above the advertised entry price. And even there, the Eclipse Cross isn't leading the segment on equipment. The base price creates an expectation the buying experience isn't going to match, and that gap is something shoppers flag consistently once they've been through the process. But even after paying for an upper trim, the technology inside the cabin is going to raise more questions. 3. Outdated Infotainment System The infotainment situation is one of the clearest signs that this vehicle has been in production for a long time without a fundamental overhaul. Base models get a 7-inch screen. Upper trims move to 8 inches. In a segment where 10- and 12-inch displays are becoming standard, those sizes aren't going to feel behind the moment you sit down. Consider how much time drivers spend interacting with their infotainment. Navigation, music, phone calls, climate adjustments. A screen that feels slow and requires multiple taps to reach basic functions isn't a minor inconvenience. It's something you're dealing with every time you get in the car. Built-in navigation has been dropped from the options sheet entirely on this generation. Leaving drivers fully dependent on smartphone integration, adaptive cruise control carries an additional restriction as it only operates above 20 miles per hour, removing most of its value in the stop-and-go conditions where many Eclipse Cross owners spend the majority of their time. The tech package is falling short. But as dated as the technology feels, the design surrounding it is telling an even older story. 2. Aging Design The Eclipse Cross arrived for 2018. A refresh came in 2022, updating the exterior and retuning the suspension. But the core design language, the platform, and the fundamental architecture have remained unchanged. And in a segment that has seen sweeping reinvention, that age is getting harder to ignore. Rivals haven't been standing still. The Hyundai Tucson went through a full redesign with a dramatically improved interior. The Kia Sportage followed with angular, futuristic styling that resets segment expectations. Against that backdrop, the Eclipse Cross' familiar look is reading as conservative at best. Inside, the aging is even more apparent. Buyers spending over $30,000 are going to be sitting in that cabin for years. And when the dashboard design and material quality reflect priorities from the late 2010s, the sense of value erodes steadily. The suspension generates noticeable body roll in corners, and small road imperfections transmit vibrations through the wheel and seats that newer platforms handle with far greater composure. No refresh fixes what's fundamentally an aging architecture, and that same aging is quietly doing something else in the background that most buyers don't catch until it's already cost them money. 1. Low Resale Value The resale value issue is probably the one most buyers are underestimating when they walk into a Mitsubishi showroom. Industry data estimates the Eclipse Cross can lose between 45% and 50% or more of its original value within five years. That's a significantly steeper drop than what segment leaders are seeing. The reasons are straightforward. Mitsubishi holds a smaller share of the North American market, and brand perception drives used car demand directly. When buyers are searching the used market, the Eclipse Cross isn't the name at the top of the list. The HR-V, the Corolla Cross, and the Crosstrek are. Lower demand forces dealers to price used units more aggressively, and that flows straight back to what an owner receives at trade-in. You've owned the Eclipse Cross for three years, life changes, and you're ready to move on, only to find the trade-in offer is several thousand dollars lower than expected. A used Eclipse Cross is competing against fresher designs at similar price points, with better technology and stronger brand recognition pulling buyers elsewhere. The real cost isn't just the sticker price, it's the sticker price minus what you walk away with at trade-in time. And in this segment, that gap is wider than most buyers ever see coming. The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross isn't without merit. Standard all-wheel drive, a comfortable rear seat, and one of the better warranty packages in the class are genuine strengths. But slow acceleration, underwhelming fuel economy, a tight cargo hold, a base model that demands more money for basic features, an infotainment system rivals left behind years ago, a design that hasn't kept pace with the segment, and resale values that quietly punish owners at trade-in time. Taken together, these seven problems paint a clear picture of a vehicle that is running out of time to make its case in one of the most competitive classes in the automotive market. Buying a subcompact crossover usually means compromise, and the Eclipse Cross is far from the exception. The classmates come with limitations, too, including the Mazda CX-30, which you can check out in our next video. It may stand out with elegant design and impressive driving dynamics, but a stiff ride and practical limitations are serious deal-breakers.