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| 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE |
No penny was spared on the outside of this Eclipse SE, as it pretty much got the royal treatment from Mitsubishi. The body was meticulously inspected for any defects or flaws and any findings were immediately rectified. The body panels were inspected for absolute perfection, so that the body lines line up smoothly. The exterior is draped in Kalapana Black paint, which is essentially just a very deep, non-metallic black paint. The paint is beautifully buffed to a smoothness not typically seen on an Eclipse.
The apparent theme of this final Eclipse was obviously an attempt to black it out, as there are only six pieces of chrome amongst the sea of black, two are the Mitsubishi emblems on the nose and tail, then there’s the “ECLIPSE” logo on the back end, the “GT V6” emblem, the upper lip on the rear spoiler, and the dual exhaust tips.
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| 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE |
We know that you are wondering why the "GT V6” emblem when this is an SE model. Well, the fact of the matter is that this car is really neither a GT nor an SE, as it is a hybrid combining the best from both models, but is titled as an SE due to the VIN. The engine happens to be from the GT, so it wears the appropriate badging.
Just like the exterior of the 2012 Eclipse, the interior is gorgeous too. Mitsubishi used the same care on the inside that it used on the outside in making this car unique while retaining the Eclipse’s natural beauty. All Eclipse SE models come standard with leather interior, so seeing the gorgeous black leather interior on this car is no shock. What is a shocker are the beautiful French seams on the leather seats and white thread to contrast the black cow’s hide.
You also get “Eclipse” labeled scuff plates, which remind you of what car you’re driving, just in case you forget. The steering wheel is your run-of-the-mill four-post Mitsubishi wheel and lacks any audio or HVAC controls to get in the way of driving enjoyment.
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| 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE |
Mitsubishi did a wonderful job on the Eclipse’s center stack, adding in the necessary technology without making it look like you are about to launch a space shuttle. In this center stack is a powerful 650-watt Rockford-Fosgate that features SiriusXM capabilities and Bluetooth hands-free capabilities. This audio system connects to a total of nine speakers, one of which is a 10-inch subwoofer that is easily visible in the hatch area. The 2012 Eclipse also features a rearview camera, which shows up on the information screen near the center of the dashboard.
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| 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE |
Overall, we like what Mitsubishi did with the interior of the 2012 Eclipse, though some people find it a little bland. When it comes to interiors, we actually prefer the simple to use and clutter-free look, not 200 different buttons to push and knobs to turn. The black interior with silver accents really fits nicely with the black exterior, but could lead to some rather heat soaked summer days.
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| 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE |
The engine is where this Eclipse SE really becomes unique. There were no SE models offered with the 3.8-liter V-6 engine, only the GT came with this engine. Well, to make this vehicle special, Mitsubishi scrapped its usual SE blueprints and dropped the 3.8-liter V-6 engine from the GT, which cranks out 265 horsepower at 5,750 rpm and 262 pound-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm, into the SE’s engine compartment. Short of an Eclipse SE with an engine swap, this is the only 2012 Eclipse SE with the 3.8-liter MiVEC engine.
Special care was taken during the assembly process of this car not to leave any tool marks on any of the engine components, making it look like this engine just appeared in the compartment without any human intervention. The valve covers are painted red to help set off the otherwise bland-looking engine compartment.
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| 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE |
In odd fashion, Mitsubishi chose to link the 3.8-liter V-6 to the SE model’s four-speed Sportronic automatic transmission, which features a manual gear-selection mode. You would assume that given the fact that it has the GT engine, that this Eclipse would also inherit the GT’s five-speed automatic transmission, but for some reason Mitsubishi chose to leave the SE’s four-speed. This leads us to believe that this SE/GT hybrid still has the SE’s more aggressive 4.21-to-1 axle ratio. This would mean that this special edition is slightly quicker than its GT counterpart. If only Mitsubishi could marry this 4.21 axle ratio to the five-speed automatic, we would have a win-win situation!
There are no performance specs available for this final edition Eclipse, but we can reasonably deduce the specs using existing information. Given the GT has a 0 to 60 time of 6.47 seconds, we can reasonably assume that the taller gear ratio in the SE would allow this powerful V-6 to more effectively accelerate the Eclipse, dropping the 0 to 60 time to about 6.43 seconds. The GTs quarter-mile time is 14.99 seconds at 94.53 mph, but with the lower gear ratio we should see a slight decrease to 14.96 seconds at about 95 mph.
We definitely have to commend Mitsubishi for thinking outside of its blueprints and using a V-6 to power this special car.