2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder – One of the Last of Its Breed

First Look

2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder is one of the last of its type. The era of inexpensive, front-drive coupes like Honda Prelude, Toyota Celica and Acura RSX is gone way back. The consumer taste has changed drastically in the recent times and so has the corporate priorities. The modern market has been experiencing a rebirth of reasonably priced fun cars, but majority of those fit in to the hot-hatch genre. But still there are some consumers who have their heart set on those good ol’ days of Sport coupe and are looking for one, then the 2011 Eclipse Spyder is a straight relic. The best thing about the 2011 Eclipse Spyder is that it also is one of only a few convertibles existing in market.

Ever since the Eclipse Spyder entered the market with its another variant the Eclipse coupe the two cars have stood out, because of their outrageous styling, tinted by a drastically raked windshield, an encircling, curvy rear end and a forward-sloping beltline.

What’s New for 2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder?

The 2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder comes with standard alloy wheels and gets some reduction in its price as well. The power driver seat and heated leather frontage seats for the car are standard now on the GS Sport. Also you can’t get the GT trim of Spyder with a manual transmission.

Body Styling and Features

The 2011 Eclipse Spyder comes in a single body style of Spyder convertible, though the 2011 Eclipse can be got with both coupe and the convertible body styles. The Spyder convertible is available in GS Sport and GT trim, while for the Coupe you get an additional base GS trim.

The base GS trim for the eclipse comes loaded with keyless entry, cruise control, 18-inch alloy wheels, air-conditioning, complete power accessories, driver lumbar adjustment, a tilt-only steering wheel, a 6 speaker sound system that has CD player and a 50/50 split rear seatback.

Stepping up to GS sport will get you xenon headlights, a sunroof, Foglights, heated leather frontage seats, heated power mirrors, Bluetooth, a 9 speaker Rockford Fosgate sound system having six-CD changer, a six-way power driver seat, auxiliary audio jack and steering mounted wheel controls and satellite radio.

The Eclipse Spyder gets a power convertible roof.

The last GT trim comes with a standard V6 engine, bigger rear brakes, large rear spoiler (for coupe only), automatic climate control and a better rear stabilizer bar. The Eclipse Spyder doesn’t have any significant factory alternatives, though there is an iPod adapter available as one of the dealer-installed accessories.

Under The Hood

The 2011 Eclipse Spyder has a 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine pumping under its hood and generates 162 horsepower of maximum power and 162 pound-feet of maximum torque. The power is transmitted to its front-wheels through its standard five-speed manual transmission, though there also is an option of getting a four-speed automatic transmission. The four-speed automatic transmission is typical on the GS Sport trim. The probable fuel economy for the car is 23 mpg combined for city and highways.

Safety Equipments

The 2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder’s standard safety equipments includes taller side airbags which covers occupants’ head and in addition it gets stability control, four-wheel antilock brakes and taller front seat side airbags,  which covers occupants’ heads. The rear head restraints are absent from the vehicle.

Verdict

The absence of correspondingly priced convertibles makes 2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder worth a look.

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