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Road Test: Comparison Test
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Ford Mustang GT Convertible vs. Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T Spyder
California Dreamin'
By
B. Grant Whitmore
Date posted: 10-25-2000
In my neck of the woods, people tend to blame many of their problems on California. Seems like everything in Colorado that is wrong, inconvenient, or just plain dumb, can be laid at the feet of California in general, and the Californians that have recently moved to the Rocky Mountain State in particular. I remember having a conversation with my oldest and dearest friend, Tim Nelson, when I first moved back to Colorado from Arizona. I was commenting on the seeming statewide prohibition against drivers using the right lane when traveling on freeways. "Those people hogging the left lane are from California, they're the same people who have driven up housing costs," my Colorado born-and-raised friend quickly informed me. The same people responsible for the decline of western culture, if you believe what certain right-leaning Christian groups and political organizations have to say. The same people that have made Los Angeles an urban nightmare more akin to the set of a Ridley Scott movie than any place where people could actually live and keep a family together, squawk various leftists. After listening to the arguments against Californians and the state they live in, it becomes difficult to believe that anyone would want to live in that state of mudslides, fires, riots, and sin. Despite these demerits, Edmund's editors decided to venture to the Golden State to stage a comparison of convertibles. Edmund's staffers don't mind mud or sin, and we are pretty good at keeping clear of riots and fires, so we packed our bags and headed west. Just in time for summer, the test was aimed at answering the constant stream of requests for those searching for information on how the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder compared to a topless American muscle car. We were curious as well. How would these cars, so similar in purpose, yet different in execution, stack up against one another when run back-to-back through Edmund's favorite West Coast road course?The similarity in purpose is obvious when comparing the Eclipse GS-T Spyder and the Mustang GT Convertible. Both are fast. Indeed, the Mustang's horsepower rating bests the Eclipse's by only 5 ponies. Torque is another story. The Mustang's big, American, V-8 engine produces an obscene 285 pound-feet of twist action, while the turbocharged 4-banger in the Eclipse makes an impressive, but not earth-shattering, 214 pound-feet of torque. Ironically, both cars get from a dead stop to 60 mph in about 6.5 seconds. The Mustang wins top speed honors, however, as a result of the Mitsu's 10-mph lower speed governor. Similarity beyond the cars' performance attributes can be found as well. Both the Eclipse Spyder and the Mustang Convertible are ostensibly designed to seat 4 people. Both, however, couldn't seat more than 2 people comfortably unless those stuck in the rear quarters were willing to sacrifice their legs below the knee for the experience. The trunks in the Mustang and Eclipse are what make these cars more than roadsters with vestigial rear seats; both of our test vehicles' cargo areas were able to swallow this editor's giant suitcase, laptop computer, and duffel bag without complaint. Try doing that in a Miata. Despite the similarities that we observed, the differences between these 2 cars are what we find intriguing. When the American public asked for recipes for powerful 4-seat convertibles, the design chefs at Mitsubishi and Ford consulted very different cookbooks. One peek under the hood of these respective cars will explain the main difference in philosophies immediately. The American entrant features a longitudinally-mounted SOHC V-8 engine that drives the rear wheels. The Japanese alternative has a transverse-mounted 4-cylinder engine that gets added power through a turbocharger; this high-tech horsepower is then directed to the front wheels. Those with a fear of engine compartments stuffed to the brim with technology will have an easy choice to make here: the innards of the Mitsubishi's engine compartment look like a bowl of pasta. The choice for us was not so easy. After flogging both cars up the coast, through the hills, and around town, we weren't certain what our choice would be if we were shopping for a new convertible. There is nothing like raw American power when lighting up a set of 16" tires, nor is there anything quite like the scream of a turbocharger during a quick downshift when entering a lightning-fast corner. We found that the Mustang was a little easier to handle on the twisty sections of the tarmac thanks to its rear-wheel drive power delivery, but its antiquated live-axle rear suspension was easy to upset on rutted portions of backcountry roads. Thanks to its smaller size, the Eclipse was easier to thread through traffic, but its overly sensitive clutch made smooth take-offs nearly impossible. Both cars scream "look at me" with their multitude of swoops, scoops, and spoilers, but we find ourselves more attracted to the Mustang's muscled flanks than to the Eclipse's blinding sheetmetal. Inside the cars, it is another story altogether. Although we have always liked the Mustang's double-bubble interior, it is not nearly as exciting as the Eclipse's. Where the Ford's dashboard and instrument panel sits at arm's length, the Mitsubishi's wraps in tight, almost like a second skin. The real test for both cars came on a stretch of highway outside of Ojai. What is little more than a 3.5-mile chunk of road seems to stretch on forever in an undulating ribbon of exciting hairpin corners and decreasing radius turns. It's one of those pieces of road that requires a conscious effort at respiration; so intoxicating and challenging that it is easy to forget to breathe. It was on this section of asphalt that the Mustang GT galloped away with top honors. The Mustang's big bursts of power were the perfect thing for pulling through a tight corner, and its lively tail was easy to swing around when it was time to tighten up the turning radius. It is during driving like this that you realize why most race cars are rear-wheel drive. The little Mitsubishi was a hoot to take down that hill, but just couldn't get through as quickly or gracefully because of the heavy front-end push that plagues most front-drive cars. The Mitsubishi also suffered in the braking category, its discs fading faster than the Mustang's, requiring longer stopping distances when setting up for a corner. The combination of a smoother power delivery, better stopping ability, more attractive sheetmetal and better at-the-limit handling, proved to be the determining factor when Edmund's fickle editors decided to give the Mustang the nod. For the record, it's not as if you could go wrong purchasing either of these convertibles. Cars like this are the reason that summer was invented. The next day I got up before my coworkers and headed to the beach for an early morning run on the sand. The crashing waves, salty air, and mist-shrouded sail boats were enough to compel me to skip my planned trip to the Petersen Museum and head up the coast in search of some prime California real estate. You'll probably think I'm crazy, but I've fallen in love with this place. Perhaps the fires, floods, and riots have made everyone on this side of the country a little more tuned-in to the fragility of life. Maybe everyone is just on serious doses of Prozac to deal with the disaster-of-the-week. Whatever the case, people in California sure seem to smile a lot and during my entire trip I never had to pass on the right. On my final day in California I found myself up near Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo, the place that God created and then hid from those who didn't deserve to see it. The prices seemed right, the weather was beautiful, and on my way out of town a pretty young gal in a Honda Prelude gave the Mustang I was driving a good race along a beautiful section of coastal freeway. I popped the Mighty Mighty Bosstones into the stereo, put the pedal to the floor and decided that California is the perfect place to live, if you've got the right car.
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