Compare the2023 Subaru ImprezaVS 2023 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
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 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.

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, all wheel drive, 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
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	198	248
Neck Stress	247 lbs.	424 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	117	215
Chest Compression	.7 inches	.7 inches
Neck Injury Risk	34%	39.7%
Leg Forces (l/r)	76/57 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 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 175 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Eclipse Cross has not been fully tested, yet.

Warranty

The Impreza’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Eclipse Cross’ (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are almost 2 times as many Subaru dealers as there are Mitsubishi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Impreza’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Impreza has a standard 530-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 Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Mitsubishi vehicles. With 35 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Subaru higher than Mitsubishi.

Engine

As tested in Consumer Reports the Subaru Impreza is faster than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (automatics tested):

	Impreza	Eclipse Cross
Zero to 60 MPH	9.5 sec	9.9 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	5.7 sec	6.1 sec
Quarter Mile	17.3 sec	17.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	84 MPH	80 MPH

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Impreza lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Impreza 5-door gets better mileage than the Eclipse Cross:

			MPG
Impreza 5-door
	Manual	2.0 DOHC flat-4	24 city/31 hwy
		Sport 2.0 DOHC flat-4	22 city/30 hwy
	Auto	2.0 DOHC flat-4	28 city/36 hwy
		Sport 2.0 DOHC flat-4	27 city/35 hwy
Eclipse Cross
	Auto	ES 1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	25 city/28 hwy
		1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	25 city/26 hwy

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Subaru Impreza higher (7 out of 10) than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (5). This means the Impreza produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Eclipse Cross every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Impreza stops shorter than the Eclipse Cross:

	Impreza	Eclipse Cross
60 to 0 MPH	124 feet	132 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Impreza’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Eclipse Cross ES’ standard 70 series tires. The Impreza Sport’s tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Eclipse Cross LE/SE/SEL’s 55 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Impreza 2.0i Limited 5-door handles at .80 G’s, while the Eclipse Cross SEL pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Impreza 2.0i Limited 5-door executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Eclipse Cross SEL (27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s vs. 29 seconds @ .56 average G’s).

Chassis

The Subaru Impreza may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 450 pounds less than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross.

The Impreza is 9.2 inches shorter in height than the Eclipse Cross, making the Impreza much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

The front grille of the Impreza Sport/Limited uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Impreza 5-door has 4.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Eclipse Cross (100.9 vs. 96.7).

Cargo Capacity

The Impreza has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Eclipse Cross with its rear seat folded (55.3 vs. 50.1 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Impreza. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Impreza is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Eclipse Cross. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The Impreza’s front power windows open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Eclipse Cross’ standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

The Impreza’s power locks have a lockout prevention feature. When the key is in the ignition or smart 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. In case you still lock your keys in, or lose them, you can let yourself in using the Impreza’s available exterior PIN entry system (not available on Impreza Base). The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Mitsubishi Connect can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception.

The Eclipse Cross’ standard power locks don’t automatically lock the doors. The Impreza’s standard doors lock when a certain speed is reached. 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 Impreza 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.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Impreza Premium offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Impreza Limited also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The Impreza’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Eclipse Cross offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Model Availability

The Subaru Impreza comes in sedan and station wagon bodystyles; the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross isn’t available as a sedan.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Impreza owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Impreza will cost $360 to $2255 less than the Eclipse Cross over a five-year period.

The Impreza will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Impreza will retain 53.58% to 57.04% of its original price after five years, while the Eclipse Cross only retains 44.85% to 45.54%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Subaru Impreza will be $6823 to $8087 less than for the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Subaru Impreza, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross isn't recommended.

The Subaru Impreza outsold the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross by almost three to one during 2022.

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