2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse

Today's Mitsubishi is a tale of two companies, one with a lineup suffering plummeting sales of also-ran cars and SUVs at fire-sale prices, and another that proudly offers the highly sought rally-cultish Lancer Evolution. Problem is, the Evo is a niche car, selling in relatively small numbers. The new Eclipse, due out this spring, is meant to rekindle some of the old Mitsubishi cool factor and help regain the standing the brand once had in the sport-compact market. As recently as a year or two ago, according to J.D. Power and Associates, Mitsubishi owned the market with the youngest buyers among all car companies. Then Toyota's youth division, Scion, came along, offering Toyota durability and value, with hipper-than-Mitsubishi design and Kia prices. In November 2004, fledgling Scion outsold Mitsubishi cars and trucks combined.

The new Eclipse takes its design cues from last year's Concept-E hybrid show car, minus the hokey plasma lights and second power source (a 200-horse electric motor powering the rear wheels). The primary powerplant, a 3.8-liter V-6, survives the transition from show car to production coupe. The platform and most mechanicals are still cribbed from the front-drive Galant sedan as before.

Some observers see an Audi TT-like rortiness to the new car, particularly from the back end. Others note that the coupe's rear-quarter panel kickup and sharply sloped rear window recall the successful second-gen Eclipse models of 1995 to 1999. Interesting details are the low-cut doors with a beltline so plunging that the front portion of the side glass is fixed--otherwise, the glass wouldn't lower all the way down. Partial fixed slide glass was a feature of the unappreciated Subaru SVX coupe from a decade ago, and, in the new Eclipse, the feature helps reduce wind buffeting inside the car.

Climb on board, and the first thing you'll notice is a motorcycle-inspired hooded gauge binnacle floating on a clean, flowing, soft-touch dash (although it doesn't move up and down like the Nissan 350Z's). The best seats in the house are up front--bolstered high backs. The center stack segues into a handsome console with a short-throw shifter. Unfortunately, rear-seat occupants get the short straw as room back there is even tighter than that in the previous-gen Eclipse.

You wouldn't know it from the outside, as the new car gains nearly three inches in length, more than three inches in width, and nearly two inches in height. What isn't a surprise is that the 2006 Eclipse gains mass--300 to 350 pounds, model for model, over its predecessor.