In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Impreza are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Impreza has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Impreza Limited has standard Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Impreza. But it costs extra on the Eclipse Cross.
The Impreza Auto’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Impreza and the Eclipse Cross have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Impreza is safer than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross:
|
|
Impreza |
Eclipse Cross |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
| HIC |
198 |
290 |
| Neck Stress |
247 lbs. |
467 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
50 lbs. |
65 lbs. |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
117 |
244 |
| Neck Compression |
70 lbs. |
143 lbs. |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
76/57 lbs. |
314/170 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Subaru Impreza is safer than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross:
|
|
Impreza |
Eclipse Cross |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Max Damage Depth |
13 inches |
14 inches |
| HIC |
201 |
358 |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Impreza, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 9% less likely to roll over than the Eclipse Cross, which received a four-star rating.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, with its optional vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, with its optional vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Impreza the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 141 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Eclipse Cross has not been fully tested, yet.