The yardstick for the up and coming sport coupe wanna-be's, The Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX is the gauge which all reasonably priced compact sports coupes' are adjudged, and most are left wanting. Noticing that the streets of USA are jam-packed with the most noticeable wings, the GSX is installed with a high rear wing for the race car look. The styling is otherwise untouched from its 1997 modification, in which a flatter front bumper fascia with a rectangular air intake swapped the older grin.

The Eclipse GSX is no bare-bones machine. It is more than a sports car; it's outfitted in the European grand touring tradition, a high-performance car with all of the luxury comforts. Leather upholstery, power windows, mirrors, and door locks with remote keyless entry, first-class climate control and AM/FM/cassette/CD stereo systems, and a power glass moon roof are all typical equipment. But the Eclipse is indisputably designed for the driver. The front sport seats are well-bolstered and sympathetic. The instrument panel aims all instruments and controls toward the driver, cockpit-style.

 

This year's new black-on-white instruments are evocative of archetypal European machinery. The shift knob and thick-rimmed, leather-covered, tilt-adjustable steering wheel are placed correctly for fast driving. The rear seat is useful if all occupants are short, otherwise it can serve as luggage space. But that may not be essential, as the trunk is advantageously large.The Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX's all-wheel-drive system disciplines the vicious torque steer of the front-wheel-drive GS-T. All-wheel drive and a firmly-sprung but acquiescent independent multilink suspension make for a great road car. Although hatchback coupes can be creaky and flexi due to the large hatch opening, such is not the case with the Eclipse.

 

The Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX's 210-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is everything but peaky, with plenty of flexibility and low-rpm torque for instantaneous acceleration without a need for downshifting. The torque crest of 214 lb.-ft. is at 3000 rpm, so the engine doesn't need to be wound to redline for quick acceleration. Over all, the Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX will continue to front this pack and leave all the others eating its dust.