Recently I rented a car. When I got to the rental desk I asked for something, anything that wasn't a Hyundai. For as much play Hyundai has gotten in the last year I have not been converted. When it comes to fleet cars they have been shown no love. The woman assured me that she had reserved something fun, sleek and sporty for me. I would love it. She almost squealed. I breathed in deeply, knowing I'm hard to please when it comes to vehicles and took the keys.
When I got to the garage I let out a laugh. There amidst a host of empty spots was a black 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse. Shiny and with less than 500 miles on it. I circled it and chuckled. I placed my luggage into the trunk and slunk inside. The engine roared to life with an audible growl and I was off.
Starting at just under $20k the 2012 Eclipse has a 162 horsepower and 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS and EBD. It gets 28-mpg and has six standard air bags. There is a rather sleek looking black-out roof and black grille. I did rather like the 18-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels too. The car has a nice look to it but I did not find it fun to drive. The loud, gruff sound of the engine sounds one way outside the car. It sounds cool, tough and like it wants to challenge you. Inside it actually makes a tinkering noise that is a tad alarming. The seats are low which is to be expected but they are not comfortable and neither is the ride. I drove all over the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut in this car and felt almost every bump and pothole along the way. I nicknamed the Eclipse the "teeth-banger" while I had it.
The 2012 Eclipse has dual exhaust outlets with polished exhaust tips, ice-blue LED illumination on the instruments and controls and a chrome rear spoiler. It's all looks and noise but not a lot of substance. I'm hoping that the 2013 has a bit more of the latter while keeping up appearances as well.
MPR Rating: Two Stars (out of five).
Disclaimer: MPR was not paid for this post. Opinions are MPR's only.
0 comments:
Post a Comment