Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross review: The SUV is entering a packed market but strikes a winning balance of smart, practical and affordable

AS marketing coups go, getting the moon to perform a total eclipse of the sun behind America’s first exposure to the Eclipse Cross leaves others firmly in the shade.

On a dusty farm, high in the hills of Salem, Oregon, Mitsubishi’s new, mid-sized SUV had its global stage well and truly set.

But as the world clapped its eyes, for two spine-tingling minutes during the first total eclipse of the sun in 100-odd years, no one was looking at the Mitsubishi.

Normality resumed, and moon-gazing done, it was time to make tracks and that’s where this patient SUV turned on its charm — both off and on-road.

Starting at £21,275 it’s available in either 2WD or 4WD and manual six-speed or paddle-shifting CVT automatic transmissions.

But there is less flexibility in the engine department. There is just one. And it’s not a diesel.

It’s a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol. And it’s surprisingly keen — most notably in the lower revs.

But if it’s greener you want, don’t be hanging on for the plug-in hybrid tech just yet — even though the car has been engineered to take the pricey PHEV plumbing.

A mild hybrid version is as green as the Eclipse Cross is going to get — and that’s not until 2019 either.

The ride is pleasingly comfortable without suffering from too much body roll.

And when push comes to shove, either off-road or hurling it round a convenient race track as I did, Mitsubishi’s well-proven Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) system born of its World Rally adventures delivers to keep you looking well in control.

Representing the first production car produced by ex-Nissan design guru Tsunehiro Kunimoto — it confidently fuses the funk of Mitsubishi’s eX-Concept and the familiar, family face of the current SUV line-up.

But it’s deceiving too...in a good way. The tapered rear end suggests if you’re in for a long journey you should run to the car to be sure to bag a front seat.

But that’s not the case. The Eclipse Cross is genuinely roomy in the back for leg and headroom.

A sliding rear bench allowing 200mm of play means you can boost the boot capacity should you end up with more bargains than you bargained for in the sales.

The smart, cockpit-style dash is a real step up in interior aesthetics for Mitsubishi but it comes at the expense of switchgear cropping up where you wouldn’t be looking for it.

True to the Japanese brand’s form, the equipment you get, even from the entry-level 2 model, is generous. It includes touch-pad controller (also touchscreen), Apple CarPlay, rear view camera, DAB and climate control.

Higher up the trims you’ll find leathery luxury, active stability control and all the pre-sensing safety tech you’ll never want to actually use.

Top of the pack is the £29,750 ‘First Edition’. Limited to a run of 250, it gets the full kit and caboodle plus some external-based bling to boot.

While there is no shortage of rivals in the crossover and mid-size SUV market, the Eclipse Cross makes a fashionably late arrival.

Smart, practical and affordable — but will it eclipse the opposition in the showrooms? Watch the roads, not the skies, to find out.