CAR and Driver - March 2017

PRICE AS TESTED

BASE PRICE

DIMENSIONS

LENGTH

WIDTH

HEIGHT

WHEELBASE

FRONT TRACK

REAR TRACK

INTERIOR VOLUME

CARGO VOLUME

POWERTRAIN

ENGINE

POWER HP @ RPM

TORQUE LB-FT @ RPM

REDLINE/FUEL CUTOFF

LB PER HP

DRIVELINE

TRANSMISSION

DRIVEN WHEELS

GEAR RATIO:1/

MPH PER 1000 RPM/

MAX MPH

AXLE RATIO:1

CHASSIS

SUSPENSION

BRAKES

STABILITY CONTROL

TIRES

ACCELERATION

0–30 MPH

0–60 MPH

0–80 MPH

1/4-MILE @ MPH

ROLLING START,

5–60 MPH

TOP GEAR, 30–50 MPH

TOP GEAR, 50–70 MPH

TOP SPEED

CHASSIS

BRAKING, 70–0 MPH

ROADHOLDING,

300-FT-DIA SKIDPAD

WEIGHT

CURB

%FRONT/%REAR

FUEL

TANK

R ATING

EPA COMBINED/

CIT Y/ H W Y

SOUND LEVEL

IDLE

FULL THROTTLE

70-MPH CRUISE

2015

DOMINO’S DXP

$25,750*

$25,750*

144.7 in

62.9 in

72.5 in*

93.5 in

55.7 in

55.5 in

F: 24 cu ft

55 cu ft

DOHC 16-valve

inline-4

76 cu in (1249 cc)

84 @ 6400

83 @ 4200

N /A /6 8 5 0 r p m

2 7. 9

CVT

front

Lowest:

4.00/4.4/30

Highest:

0.55/32.0/85

3.75

F: struts, coil

springs, anti-roll bar

R: torsion beam, coil

springs

F: 10.1-inch vented

disc

R: 7.9-inch drum

fully defeatable,

traction off

Goodyear Integrity

185/55R-15 82T

M+S

3.5 sec

11.2 sec

25.5 sec

18.8 sec @ 73

11.8 sec

5.5 sec

9.5 sec

100 mph (drag ltd,

C/D est)

180 ft

0.78 g

2347 lb

6 3. 7/ 3 6. 3

9.2 gal

87 octane

33/30/37 mpg

42 dBA

78 dBA

76 dBA

2001

MITSUBISHI

ECLIPSE GT-R

$2560

$1300

175.4 in

68.9 in

51.6 in

100.8 in

59.4 in

59.4 in

F: 47 cu ft

R: 31 cu ft

17 cu ft

SOHC 16-valve

inline-4

143 cu in (2351 cc)

140 @ 5500

155 @ 4000

6000/6200 rpm

22.2

4-speed automatic

front 1

2.84/5.9/37

(^2) 1.53/11.0/68
(^3) 1.00/16.8/104
(^4) 0.71/23.7/120
4.04
F: struts, coil
springs, anti-roll bar
R: multilink, coil
springs, anti-roll bar
F: 10.1-inch vented
disc
R: 9.0-inch drum
none
Kumho Ecsta 4X II
225/40ZR-18 92W
M+S
3.3 sec
10.6 sec
20.3 sec
18.1 sec @ 76
10.8 sec
5.4 sec
8.1 sec
120 mph (drag ltd,
C/D est)
246 ft
0.79 g
3113 lb
62.0/38.0
16.4 gal
87 octane
20/18/25 mpg
57 dBA
89 dBA
83 dBA
Tested by ERIC TINGWALL in California City, CA 069
*C/D est.
CAR AND DRIVER TEST RESULTS
randomly and issue static at full volume.
The exhaust droned, the peeling win-
dow tint became a reality-distortion
field, and the battery died. And an OBD
II fault made it temporarily impossible
to pass California’s smog check and get
our Eclipse GT-R registered. Then some
moron broke into it, shattering the
right-side window and stealing the
worthless sound equipment, including
the massive subwoofer box filling the
rear cargo area. So we now have a $700
car, a hole in the dash, and two new
Santa Barbara cop friends.
For safety during delivery duty, we
bolted on a set of pretty Moda MD22
18-inch wheels inside 225/40ZR-18
Kumho Ecsta 4X II tires. That’s $953
through Tire Rack, and utterly trans-
formative in terms of the Eclipse’s driv-
ing dynamics. Suddenly it felt like a real
car that could, like, turn and stuff. We
also replaced the passenger’s-side win-
dow with $13 worth of plastic sheeting
and duct tape from Home Depot.
“There’s no way Domino’s would let you deliver pizza in that
thing,” declared Mark Talarico, the Domino’s franchise owner
in Isla Vista. “It’s way too dangerous. You can’t see out of it.”
He’s r ight.
In 2001, Mitsu rated the 2.4-liter four in this Eclipse at a
forgettable 140 horsepower and backed it with a four-speed
automatic transmission. Now, 16 years later, it reaches 60 mph
in 10.6 seconds and runs the quarter-mile in 18.1 seconds at 76
mph. That’s awful, and yet better than the DXP. But it took a
scandalous, fast-fading 246 feet to stop from 70 mph. And that’s
despite the rear drums and front brake calipers having been
painted performance-enhancing red.
It rained on the delivery night, and that kept the passenger
door taped shut. Meanwhile Domino’s
intrepid Hayes was practically guillo-
tined pulling a pizza out of the cargo
hold, because the rear hatch’s hydraulic
struts were blown. The 40-foot turning
circle made U-turns difficult, it was
nigh impossible to read addresses
You could say the
Eclipse GT-R has blown
hatch struts. But we
prefer to think of it as
having a self-closing
feature. It can be held
up with an “arm.”
2001
Mitsubishi
Eclipse GT-R
Cheap.
So very, very
cheap.
Tough
to register,
hole in dash,
broken glass
on passen-
ger’s side,
droning
exhaust,
embarrassing
paint.
Only
$1300 (or so)
and it can go
anywhere a
Ferrari can.