Compare the2023 Hyundai KonaVS 2023 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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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 Kona 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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Kona’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Kona has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Eclipse Cross SE/SEL has a rear cross-path warning system.

The Kona’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 Kona and the Eclipse Cross have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and rear parking sensors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Kona is safer than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross:

	Kona	Eclipse Cross
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	205	248
Neck Injury Risk	20%	38.7%
Neck Stress	207 lbs.	424 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	29/232 lbs.	184/324 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.7 inches
Neck Injury Risk	37%	39.7%
Leg Forces (l/r)	59/27 lbs.	331/198 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 flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Kona is safer than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross:

	Kona	Eclipse Cross
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	109	145
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
HIC	196	358
Spine Acceleration	34 G’s	44 G’s

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 Kona is 4.4% to 4.9% less likely to roll over than the Eclipse Cross.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Kona the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 230 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Eclipse Cross has not been fully tested, yet.

Warranty

The Kona’s 7 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Eclipse Cross runs out after 100,000 miles.

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Kona for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Mitsubishi doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Eclipse Cross.

There are almost 3 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Mitsubishi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Kona’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Kona has a standard 640-amp battery. The Eclipse Cross’ 520-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Mitsubishi vehicles. With 41 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Hyundai higher than Mitsubishi.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Mitsubishi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 35 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mitsubishi is ranked 14th.

Engine

The Kona N Line/Limited’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder produces 43 more horsepower (195 vs. 152) and 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (195 vs. 184) than the Eclipse Cross’ 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Kona N Line/Limited 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross:

	Kona	Eclipse Cross
Zero to 60 MPH	7.3 sec	8.6 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	19.7 sec	30.2 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	7.6 sec	9.2 sec
Quarter Mile	15.7 sec	16.7 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	90 MPH	83 MPH
Top Speed	130 MPH	118 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Kona gets better mileage than the Eclipse Cross:

			MPG
Kona
	FWD	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	30 city/35 hwy
		1.6 turbo 4-cyl.	29 city/35 hwy
	AWD	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	28 city/33 hwy
		1.6 turbo 4-cyl.	27 city/32 hwy
Eclipse Cross
	AWD	ES 1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	25 city/28 hwy
		1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	25 city/26 hwy

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Kona’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Kona AWD/1.6T’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Eclipse Cross:

	Kona AWD/1.6T	Eclipse Cross
Front Rotors	12 inches	11.6 inches

The Kona stops much shorter than the Eclipse Cross:

	Kona	Eclipse Cross
70 to 0 MPH	171 feet	178 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	131 feet	134 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Kona N Line/Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Eclipse Cross (235/45R18 vs. 225/55R18).

The Kona SE’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Eclipse Cross ES’ standard 70 series tires. The Kona N Line/Limited’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Eclipse Cross LE/SE/SEL’s 55 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Kona has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Eclipse Cross’ suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Kona has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Kona is 1 inch wider in the front and 1.4 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Eclipse Cross.

The Kona SEL AWD handles at .88 G’s, while the Eclipse Cross SE pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Kona executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.1 seconds quicker than the Eclipse Cross SEL (26.9 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 29 seconds @ .56 average G’s).

Chassis

The Hyundai Kona may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 550 pounds less than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross.

The Kona is 1 foot, 1.4 inches shorter than the Eclipse Cross, making the Kona easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Kona has .1 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more front hip room, .5 inches more rear headroom and .2 inches more rear hip room than the Eclipse Cross.

Ergonomics

The power windows standard on both the Kona and the Eclipse Cross have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Kona is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Eclipse Cross prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Kona’s power locks have a lockout prevention feature. When the key is in the passenger compartment and the driver’s door is open, the locks unlock every time you lock them. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t provide lockout prevention.

The Eclipse Cross’ standard power locks don’t automatically lock the doors. The Kona’s standard doors lock when the transmission is engaged. This is an important feature for occupant safety. Locked doors are proven to open less often in collisions, and they are also effective in preventing crime at traffic lights.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Kona has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Eclipse Cross only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Kona has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Eclipse Cross has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the SE/SEL.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Kona (except SE) offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Model Availability

The Kona is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Kona owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Kona will cost $1215 less than the Eclipse Cross over a five-year period.

The Kona will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Kona will retain 47.55% to 51.42% of its original price after five years, while the Eclipse Cross only retains 44.85% to 45.54%.

Recommendations

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its January 2019 issue and they ranked the Hyundai Kona SE higher than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross SEL.

The Kona was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2019. The Eclipse Cross has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue, and the Eclipse Cross has only been chosen.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Kona as the 2019 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Eclipse Cross has never been chosen.

The Hyundai Kona outsold the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross by almost six to one during 2022.