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in today's comparison video we have our
2019 long-term rav4 hybrid over here and
this very red vehicle is the mid CB XI
Eclipse cross for 2020 now on the
surface of things that may seem a little
bit odd to compare an Eclipse cross to a
Toyota rav4 because some folks out there
have been describing the Eclipse cross
as a subcompact crossover but this is
about the same size overall as a Hyundai
Tucson so that means it definitely is in
the compact crossover segment Mitsubishi
cheese lineup is full of tweener
vehicles we have the Outlander which is
a two row or 300 vehicle longer than
this right here then we have the Eclipse
cross which is a little bit shorter than
the rav4 and then we have the Outlander
Sport which is definitely the chr
competitor in addition to that the two
vehicles right in front of us in red and
in blue are almost exactly the same
priced at around $33,000 in addition to
the Eclipse cross being a little bit
shorter in terms of overall length it's
also a little bit narrower in width
this is 71 inches wide versus 73 point
for over here for the rav4 that does
mean that we have a little bit less
space on the inside up front both of
these models have LED headlamps they're
optional on the mid CBC standard over
here in the rav4
but again the mid CB she is a little bit
less expensive so in comparably priced
vehicles you will likely find similar
features over here in the mid cebiche
when it comes to overall looks I have to
say that I like the front and look of
the mid CBC overall the Eclipse cross is
definitely trying to be a very style
forward crossover you'll really see that
when we move to the back meanwhile the
rav4 over here is not my favorite in
this segment but this is significantly
better looking than the last generation
rav4 these two models are pretty
similarly equipped when it comes to
active safety they both have adaptive
cruise control they both have pedestrian
detection autonomous braking lane
keeping assistance etc but all the
systems are optional on the mid CBC and
they're standard on the tota for 2019
and 2020 Toyota has been very aggressive
lately at bringing all of their latest
active safety technologies to just about
every vehicle in their lineup including
base trims but remember that the rav4 is
going to be more expensive than a
basement Sabae XI so by the time you've
equipped them as we see here about 32 to
33 thousand dollars for either
of these options you're gonna get
essentially the same safety systems and
we'll get a little bit more actually on
the mid CBC because this does have the
360-degree camera on this model and a
heads-up display the 360-degree camera
is available on the rav4 but not for the
price that we're looking at here and a
heads-up display is not available at all
at one hundred seventy five point five
inches long the Eclipse cross is on the
very smallest end of the compact
crossover segment but this is only 7/10
of an inch shorter than a Hyundai Tucson
on the other hand is a significant five
inches shorter than the rav4 and that
really is obvious on the inside where
the rav4 has more room between the
dashboard and the rear cargo area from
the side profile you can see the other
big difference between the rav4 and the
Eclipse cross back here we have a
slightly squarer rear end design whereas
the Eclipse cross was designed to be a
very style forward crossover Mitsubishi
was pretty upfront with that when they
were releasing this vehicle that they
decided to try and make this have a
little bit of coop like styling perhaps
something like a mainstream BMW X 4 or X
6 and that's why the roofline really
starts to plunge right around here now
the downside to that is that we get less
rear seat Headroom and less cargo room
as a result in the Eclipse cross an
example of the styling in the mid
cebiche are these more attractive wheels
up front and the fact that we have a lot
of chrome going on on the front end as
well I have to say I'm a little bit of a
sucker for chrome ground clearance is
pretty similar between these two models
we have seven point nine inches of
clearance in the Eclipse cross eight
point one inches of clearance in the
rav4 hybrid that bumps up to eight point
four inches maximum if you get the rav4
adventurer
when it comes to rear-end style these
two vehicles strike me as pretty similar
in fact I think that the same person
could almost have designed both of them
we have taillight modules that
definitely stick out from the body quite
a lot the Eclipse cross has this
dramatic piece of plastic that runs all
the way across the rear hatch
no visible exhaust tips over here in the
mid cebiche well we have twin exhaust
tips that are visible in all models of
the rav4 including the hybrid both these
vehicles have combination tale app
modules so elements are LEDs and some of
the elements are halogen as well both
have amber turn signals right there as
you can see under these hoods the engine
lineups couldn't be any different we
have a 1.5 liter turbocharged engine
over here in the eclipse cross it is the
only engine available in America it
produces notably
horsepower than we find in something
like a Honda CRV with its 1.5 liter
turbo however 152 horsepower 184
pound-feet of torque power is routed to
the front wheels or all four wheels via
a continuously variable automatic
transmission and fuel economy ranges
from 25 to 27 miles per gallon over here
in the rav4 we have an all 2.5 liter
naturally aspirated engine lineup the
base engine produces 203 horsepower and
184 pound-feet of torque same amount of
torque refined under this hood but
notably more power it's also mated to an
8-speed automatic transmission not a CVT
so if you like the way a traditional
automatic transmission feels you're
definitely gonna want to go for the
Toyota the engine we have in this
particular model is the optional hybrid
system that pumps power up to 219
horsepower out of the same basic two and
a half liter design and bumps fuel
economy up to 40 miles per gallon the
least efficient version of the rav4 is
gonna be the all-wheel drive model that
gets 28 miles per gallon notably higher
than the all-wheel drive Eclipse cross
some of that has to do with Toyota's new
engine design which is very very
efficient and the 8-speed automatic
transmission but some of that also has
to do with the all-wheel-drive system
that we find in the Eclipse cross it
seems to be a little bit more eager to
connect the rear axle giving you
slightly better traction in some adverse
conditions when it comes to towing both
of these models start in a very similar
place 1,500 pounds but that's where the
eclipse cross ends all models tow 1500
pounds the rav4 over here will tow up to
3000 pounds depending on how you have it
equipped 1,750 pounds if you get the
hybrid model when it comes to front seat
comfort I found the seats in the Eclipse
cross to be a little bit more
comfortable than the ones that are in
our long-term rav4 mainly because the
seat bottom cushion is a little bit
longer in here and the seat cushion is a
little bit softer now you should keep in
mind that this power seat is not as
adjustable so that we find in the rav4
there's no adjustable lumbar support in
the Eclipse cross at all both vehicles
have tilt telescopic steering columns
but the rav4 steering column has a
little bit wider range of motion quite
logically since the Eclipse cross is one
of the smallest entries in this segment
we have less combined legroom than we
find in the rav4 but sitting right here
behind myself I still have about two to
three inches left over all combined
legroom is about one inch behind the
last generation Ford Escape and about
two inches behind the rav4 rear seat
header also Falls a little bit behind
the rest of the competition
this model does have the
pane moonroof right here and that does
reduce Headroom a little bit but I still
have about half an inch left so the
seventy three point two inches that we
find back here
although notably less than the rav4 is
still fairly comfortable for an adult
overall width is definitely gonna be a
little bit narrower than we see in the
rav4 so that means trying to combine
three children or three adults across
the backseat or especially adults and
child seats it's gonna be a little bit
trickier in the clips cross than the
rav4 as you'd expect out of a modern
crossover both vehicles feature 60/40
folding rear seats both vehicles feature
rear seat recline mechanisms we get a
little bit more motion in the Eclipse
cross than in the rav4 but if I move
this Eclipse cross rear seat all the way
back then my head is definitely touching
a portion of the ceiling because of the
way that the roofline is overall shaped
when it comes to cargo capacity we have
thirty seven point six cubic feet of
storage space back here in the rav4 and
a power tailgate hatch that was good for
six bags in our 24-inch roller bag score
over here in the Eclipse cross we find a
manual hatch and twenty two point six
cubic feet of storage space that storage
space is definitely due to this rakish
profile right there in the back
obviously the clips cross is a very
style forward cross over ice as I said
earlier and that means that we get less
cargo capacity on the inside just four
bags in our 24-inch roller bag score
meanwhile in the rav4 thanks to the
greater length of the vehicle we can fit
something that's five inches longer than
we could in that Mazda both vehicles
have temporary spare tire standard in
the rav4 however we have enough room to
put a full-size spare tire if we wanted
to and over here in the eclipse cross we
just don't in fact in the eclipse cross
it definitely looks like this was
designed in other world markets to not
have a spare tire at all because a load
floor is down you'll notice that we have
a little bit of extra storage space all
the way on each side and that load floor
could be a little bit lower that's
likely because in other markets it
doesn't have a spare tire at all on the
inside the Mitsubishi is definitely very
black heavy we have a lot of soft touch
materials going on in both cabins a soft
touch upper section of the dashboard we
have a somewhat small glove compartment
on both vehicles but the mid to me she
does give us a slot right there where we
can put the instruction manual separate
from that storage bin in the center of
the dash both vehicles have touchscreen
infotainment systems the screen here in
the mid Sabae she is a little bit
smaller than in the rav4 but this does
feature Android auto integration for
2019 and we don't see that until 2020 in
the raft
or we have touch buttons only in the
eclipse cross more physical buttons
going on in the Toyota and the overall
software interface that is native to the
vehicle is perhaps a little bit more
basic here in the midst of Ishii than in
the Toyota continuing down the console
we have two air vents right here we then
have a two zone automatic climate
control in both vehicles the controls
are a little bit more traditional here
in the Eclipse cross because the Eclipse
is a little bit narrower in terms of
overall vehicle size things are a little
bit more crowded so the start/stop
button positioned right there behind the
steering wheel is a little bit more
awkward to use than in the Toyota and
the buttons are a little bit harder to
get to right here in the center console
we have a heated steering wheel button
an eco mode button pretty traditional
console shifter right there a button to
lock the center coupling in the Alba
Drive system the controls for the heated
seats and then a touch screen controller
for the infotainment system needs to be
she allows you to choose which input
method you prefer you can use this
touchpad very much like we see in modern
Lexus vehicles to interact with the
infotainment system or you can just
touch the screen then behind that we
have two decently sized cupholders and
the controls for the electric parking
brake and the auto brake hold system and
then continuing even further back from
that we have a center console with a
reasonable amount of storage it has a
softly padded armrest topper both
vehicles feature analog instrument
clusters with a small color LCD right in
the middle when we move out from there
we find shift paddles on the mid Sabae
she's steering column they don't move
with a steering wheel that's definitely
the preference of some professionals out
there and these are absolutely gorgeous
metal shift paddles these are some of
the best shift pedals you'll find in any
vehicle out there moving out from there
even further the steering wheel is not
quite as attractive as the steering
wheel that we find in the Toyota however
both vehicles feature adaptive cruise
control and controls for the
infotainment system on the steering
wheel a feature that we don't see
available in the toda is this pop-up
heads-up display this is very similar to
what we see in certain modern mini
models as well as some Hyundai models
the image is projected on this sheet of
plastic that is right there between the
driver and the windshield itself
heads-up displays done this way are not
quite as useful as the ones that project
on the windshield but they are an awful
lot less expensive as you'd expect with
less power under the hood the wind and
acceleration goes to the rav4 hybrid 7.5
seconds 0 to 60 in our tests versus
eight point
in this eclipse cross but I have to say
that I really like the turbocharged and
CVT combination and the Eclipse if
you're gonna have a vehicle with
relatively little horsepower and about
160 horsepower is not a great deal for a
compact crossover these days then the
CVT and the turbocharger are relatively
good combination because this engine
doesn't have to rev as high to give you
the acceleration that we see in
alternatives like an HRV the next
category town with even smaller engines
those really have to rev an awful lot to
climb hills like this and the 1.5 liter
turbo allows this vehicle to climb the
hill bluffing at around 1,800 2,000 rpm
or so so even though this is certainly
not as quick as the rav4 hybrid
in daily driving this is still perfectly
livable it feels a little bit punchier
than it really is when it comes to the
braking scorp the lighter curb weight
definitely pays dividends for the
eclipse cross this stopped in 123 feet
versus 131 feet for the rav4 hybrid even
the regular rav4 is a little on the long
side in terms of overall braking
distance 8 feet may not sound like a
great deal but remember that that is
half a car length so depending on what
you're doing that could be the
difference between rear-ending the car
in front of you and completely avoiding
it one thing worth noting when comparing
a non hybrid to a hybrid is that the
rav4s brake pedal is a little bit
unusual versus a non hybrid vehicle
attractions between friction braking and
regenerative braking or going the
reverse direction just are not as smooth
than the rav4 hybrid as we see in some
competitive hybrids or of course
non-hybrid cyclists Eclipse cross when
it comes to overall handling ability
Toyotas done a really good job with the
new rav4 and I give that an a-minus
still over here in the Eclipse cross I
have given this a b-minus but I'm going
to raise that up to a B because back to
back the Eclipse cross definitely feel
smaller it feels a little bit more
nimble on the other hand the steering is
pretty numb so it's a little bit more
difficult to tell exactly what the front
tires are doing and it's worth noting
that even though the Eclipse cross is a
little bit smaller and a little bit
lighter it's not really going to grip
the road any better than the rav4 hybrid
the last time I drove the Eclipse cross
I gave it a C+ when it came to the
overall ride score but I have to revise
that a little bit and give this now a
b-minus when it comes to the ride
because the rav4 is about as firm as
this vehicle is the
order wheelbase that we see in the
Eclipse cross definitely means that we
get a little bit more of a bobblehead
feeling in here than we see in some of
the larger crossovers in this segment
but overall this handles a rougher road
like the gravel road that we're on
pretty well if you're planning on taking
your compact crossover off the beaten
path a little bit again we have very
similar ground clearance in the rav4 and
the Eclipse cross and overall off-road
ability is pretty similar as well we
have the ability to put this into either
auto snow or gravel mode the gravel mode
appears to effectively lock the center
coupling those drive modes are pretty
similar to what we see in the rest of
the competition including the regular
non hybrid versions of the rav4 remember
that we're talking about the hybrid rav4
however that we do not have a mechanical
all-wheel drive system we have an
electric motor in the rear and that can
send up to about 90 pound feet of torque
or so about 50 horsepower or so so there
were axle so that means that depending
on the situation that you're in if
you're driving at low speeds out on a
gravel road it can more or less balance
power front to rear depending on the
state of the battery charge but at
higher speeds the rear axle is not
really going to be doing much for you
that's going to be more noticeable out
on regular road surfaces in the snow or
if you do plan on taking your vehicle
into deep sand or something along those
lines the hybrid system is not going to
be quite as capable as a traditional
mechanical all-wheel drive system back
out here on the paved road we definitely
feel a little bit more tossed around in
the bumps in the corners in the Eclipse
cross and the suspension does get a
little bit more upset than the rav4 us
on uneven pavement if I were going to
choose one of these vehicles for a long
road trip my money would definitely be
on the rav4 but on the other hand there
definite advantages for the smaller size
of the Eclipse cross this is definitely
gonna fit in places but the rav4 simply
wouldn't fit a little bit shorter
overall and it's a little bit narrower
overall also so it means it's gonna fit
a little bit more easily in some of
those tight parking spots in cabin noise
we got 72 decibels in the rav4 73
decibels here in the Eclipse cross
they're honestly pretty even both
vehicles have a decent amount of engine
noise in the cabin if you're
accelerating hard but out on the open
highway they're relatively similar the
eclipse cross gives us a little bit more
wind noise a little bit less road noise
whereas the rav4 gives us a little bit
more road noise in a little bit less
wind noise both the Eclipse and the rav4
exceeded their EPA fuel economy
estimates we've been getting just over
40 miles per gallon in the rav4 hybrid
in
our long-term driving cycle where we've
had seven different people driving the
vehicle for about 2100 miles total now
that fuel economy average has dropped
down to just below the EPA average right
around thirty eight point eight thirty
nine miles per gallon meanwhile in the
eclipse cross on the same driving cycle
that got us over forty miles per gallon
in the rav4 we've been getting about
twenty-eight point five miles per gallon
which is notably better than the EPA
score for the all-wheel drive model so
as far as over or under performing EPA
cycles go both of these vehicles get a
pluses but clearly the fuel economy is
going to be better in the rav4 out on
the open highway on longer road trips
there's not going to be a huge
difference between the toda and the
Mitsubishi but in and around town in
your average daily driving cycle the mid
cebiche is definitely going to fall
behind the rav4 because it's not a
hybrid that real-world efficiency is
definitely due to the 1.5 liter turbo
and the CVT we see something very
similar going on in the Honda CRV which
also uses a CVT and a 1.5 liter turbo
overall out on the road the rav4
definitely comes across as the more
grown-up alternative here but there's
still some solid reasons that you might
want to consider the mid Sabae sheet
this does feel a little bit smaller a
little bit tidier even though it doesn't
necessarily handle better than the rav4
we also again get some of those features
that we don't see in the rav4 like that
heads-up display right in front of me
both vehicles definitely fall into the
easy to live with category and this
Eclipse cross here is significantly more
modern feeling than the Mitsubishi
Outlander as I said at the beginning of
the video the Eclipse cross is priced
very similarly to other compact
crossovers so this is solidly in the
same category as the rav4 what do we
mean by that well this starts at twenty
two thousand eight hundred forty five
dollars that is notably less than the
rav4 about three thousand dollars less
but if you add all-wheel drive to this
it ends up just fifty dollars less than
a Subaru Forester unquestionably a
direct rav4 competitor at twenty four
thousand four hundred forty five dollars
again the Forester just fifty dollars
more than this the Mitsubishi does come
with a long powertrain warranty ten
years a hundred thousand miles on a long
warranty generally compared to the
average in this segment but again most
notably considerably less expensive in
the toda here three thousand dollars
less than the base rav4 six thousand
dollars less if you're gonna try and
take
a look at something like this hybrid
model right here so well the hybrid will
unquestionably save you money in the
long run in terms of overall fuel
economy it's gonna take you a very long
time to save six thousand dollars worth
of gasoline and of course if you want to
add all-wheel-drive to your base rav4
that's gonna bump that Delta up even
further the hybrid model is of course
standard with all-wheel-drive perhaps
it's because I always seem to have a
soft spot for the underdog but I like
the way the Eclipse Cross is styled
overall it definitely is a little bit
more adventurous more style forward than
the average compact crossover in America
something like the Toyota rav4 or the
Honda CRV the Tucson even the new Ford
Escape they just don't have adventurous
styling they're relatively safe
relatively sedate perhaps some might
even say boring even this new more
exciting looking rav4 comes across as a
relatively sedate vehicle in terms of
overall styling whereas the Mitsubishi
definitely has a few more controversial
styling cues and that's something that I
actually appreciate in the mid CBC in
addition to that the Mitsubishi for the
same price as this rav4 has a few more
features on the inside that we don't see
in this particular vehicle again the
360-degree camera the pop-up heads-up
display etc which vehicle is right for
you will really come down to how you
feel about the overall styling of each
vehicle and how much you care about
initial acquisition costs versus
long-term operation costs because the
eclipse cross isn't as efficient as this
rav4 hybrid over here or even as the
regular rav4 it will cost you a little
bit more to keep around however if
you're comparing it against the non
hybrid rav4 then the Delta is going to
be fairly small and at that point in
time the Eclipse cross is probably going
to be less expensive overall even for a
10 year 100,000 mile ownership cycle we
also see something similar with the rav4
hybrid because the rav4 hybrid is so
much more expensive than the Eclipse
cross it could take you about 10 years
to start saving money versus the
Mitsubishi right over there now things
get a little bit trickier for the mid
subi XI if we start talking about
top-end models or mid price trips
because again these two vehicles are
pretty similarly priced $32,000 for this
model right here about 3334 thousand
dollars for this hybrid right over here
depending on the exact options that you
choose but we get more content on the
inside of the Mitsubishi we have that
heads-up display the 360-degree camera
leather upholstery etc things that we
don't see in this raffle
so the overall value proposition is
definitely in place for the mid Sabae
she now if my own money were on the line
I suspect I would still get this rav4
hybrid over the mid Sabae she I prefer
the way this drives out on the road it
is notably faster and more powerful and
we have that higher fuel economy and
depending on where you live that could
result in a yearly fuel savings of up to
about $800 a year versus the Eclipse
cross or the average compact crossover
in America when comparing these two
vehicles something really to keep in
mind is the fact that the rav4 is not
going to have as aggressive a deal at
the dealer as the mid Sabae she over
here so on the lot the Mitsubishi could
be well more than six thousand dollars
less expensive than a rav4 hybrid well
more than three thousand dollars less
expensive than the regular rav4 rav4s
have lately been transacting at MSRP or
above and the Eclipse Cross has been
transacting a little bit below and
Mitsubishi has a lot of really low
interest rate financing options as well
definitely thinks to keep in mind so the
Mitsubishi Eclipse cross definitely puts
up a good fight but again if I were to
use my own money in this segment I would
get the rav4 hybrid right here be sure
and let me know what you think about
that down there in the comment section
below
and what would you get if you were
shopping in this segment for around
$30,000 especially between the
twenty-five and thirty thousand dollar
mark would you get something like this
rav4 over here would you get the Eclipse
cross which version of each of these
would you get let me know down there in
the comments section below
be sure and find us over at facebook.com
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out there videos I'll see you all later
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you
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