Compare the2024 Honda HR-VVS 2023 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda HR-V have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 HR-V 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 Honda HR-V has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The HR-V EX-L has a standard Low Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the HR-V’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The HR-V’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 HR-V and the Eclipse Cross have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Honda HR-V is much safer than the Eclipse Cross:

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the HR-V its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 30 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Eclipse Cross has not been fully tested, yet.

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

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the HR-V for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Mitsubishi doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Eclipse Cross.

There are over 3 times as many Honda dealers as there are Mitsubishi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the HR-V’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the HR-V’s reliability 20 points higher than the Eclipse Cross.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Mitsubishi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mitsubishi is rated below average.

The HR-V’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 6 more horsepower (158 vs. 152) than the Eclipse Cross’ 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the HR-V gets better mileage than the Eclipse Cross:

The HR-V has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

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

For better stopping power the HR-V’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Eclipse Cross:

The HR-V stops shorter than the Eclipse Cross:

The HR-V’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.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the HR-V has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Eclipse Cross ES.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the HR-V is 2 inches wider in the front and 2.6 inches wider in the rear than on the Eclipse Cross.

The HR-V EX-L AWD handles at .80 G’s, while the Eclipse Cross SE pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The HR-V EX-L AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Eclipse Cross SEL (28.5 seconds @ .56 average G’s vs. 29 seconds @ .56 average G’s).

The Honda HR-V may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 150 to 250 pounds less than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross.

The HR-V uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The HR-V has 1 inch more front legroom, 1 inch more front hip room, .4 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear legroom and .1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Eclipse Cross.

The HR-V has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Eclipse Cross with its rear seat up (24.4 vs. 23.4 cubic feet). The HR-V has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Eclipse Cross with its rear seat folded (55.1 vs. 50.1 cubic feet).

The HR-V’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Eclipse Cross has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

On a hot day the HR-V’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Eclipse Cross can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The HR-V’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.

The Eclipse Cross’ standard power locks don’t automatically lock the doors. The HR-V’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 HR-V 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 HR-V 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 Honda HR-V EX-L has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

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

Consumer Reports® recommends the Honda HR-V, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross isn't recommended.

The Honda HR-V outsold the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross by almost 11 to one during 2022.