Christian Wardlaw’s opinion of the 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder’s Design:
The 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder does not appeal to me. The wheels are too small and plain, the fenders too large and exaggerated, the side sills too high and confining. The top takes its merry time raising and lowering, wind buffeting is severe enough that an empty drink cup will blow right out of the cupholders, and the front quarter windows remind me of driving a minivan. I did, however, like the Liquid Silver paint job on our test car, and this interior is much better decorated than the garish orange Eclipse coupe we drove last year. The color-matched dash pad looks better in gray than in orange. The Eclipse Spyder’s control layout is standard issue, except for the stereo display. The display sits up high on the dash, and the radio is in the center of the dash. I find myself looking in two different places rather than one, which adds distraction time when tuning a station or adjusting audio levels. Climate controls are large, simple knobs. I thought the roof latches required too much fiddling, adding time to stoplight roof raising and lowering. Thom Blackett’s opinion of the 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder’s Design:
Let’s start with the inside. The GT coupe we previously tested featured a two-tone, orange-and-cream front seat area and a plain black rear seat area. Not good. But our 2007 Eclipse Spyder GT test car had a nice, black and gray two-tone interior…front and back. A welcome concept, though there’s still room for improvement. Interior storage is woefully insufficient, consisting of a good-sized center armrest cubby, two front cupholders, an average-sized glove box, and two utterly useless door pockets (not even big enough to hold a wrinkled Snackwells wrapper with authority). That’s it – no other useful cubbies, and virtually nothing, not even a cupholder or seatback pocket, for rear seat passengers. The trunk is tight, but that’s typical of most convertibles. Exterior design mirrors that of the coupe, aside from the electric soft top. Within 19 seconds, the top can be raised or lowered with no impact on trunk space. Cutting off the roof causes some shaking of the windshield frame, but overall the structure feels solid. Ron Perry’s opinion of the 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder’s Design:
The 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder is one of a few cars that, in my opinion, actually look better as a convertible. The Eclipse’s distinctive bodylines sit below the beltline and are retained when the top is removed – unlike most cars that lose their design flair with the removal of the top and C-pillar. The removal of the top also reduces the heavy appearance of the Eclipse’s rather large rear end. Having the top stow below the hard cover continues the clean line, reducing weight at the back. Inside the Eclipse Spyder there aren’t any standout designs. The interior is plain and unimaginative. I also really disliked the combined information center and radio display on the screen at the top of the dash. It is hard to see and inconvenient. Designers also need to pay more attention to rear seat accommodations and overall trunk space. Both are minimal, limiting use of the car for anything other than a commuter to work.
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