ROAD TRIP: VIEWING A TOTAL ECLIPSE WITH A 2024 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE CROSS

There’s only one thing you can do about the weather, and that’s complain about it. And that’s pretty much what I did on the eighth of April, when the prior day’s empty skies clouded over in anticipation of the total eclipse. But the clouds eventually cleared enough for me to see much of it, and to bring it full circle, I’d driven to Ontario’s Niagara Region in a 2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross.

The Eclipse Cross is the middle child of Mitsubishi’s sport-utes, between the larger Outlander (and Outlander PHEV , for plug-in hybrid) and smaller RVR . Mitsubishi also used to make a car called the Eclipse that would have worked here, but it’s been gone since 2012. So, with luggage in the back and Husband in the passenger seat, we set off for the two-hour drive to Niagara Falls.

Although the eclipse was visible across Ontario, there was only a relatively narrow path where the moon completely blocked the sun, and Niagara was a prime spot. The plan was to arrive the day before, taking a leisurely drive through the region with the Eclipse Cross.

What’s new with the Eclipse Cross for 2024?

There’s a new Noir Edition, now available on all of Mitsubishi’s offerings – those three SUVs plus the Mirage subcompact hatchback. It’s based on the SEL trim on  the Eclipse Cross, one below the top GT, and adds black exterior and interior accents, upgraded steering wheel, and premium audio system. Other changes across the lineup include some front and rear styling tweaks, a hands-free liftgate on all but the base trim, a rear USB port, and on the SE trim, LED headlights.

The Eclipse Cross starts at $29,398 for the ES, and runs to $38,498 for the top-level GT. You may pay a bit more, though, as only silver paint is included in the price, and other shades run from $150 to $450. The Noir is $37,998, but it doesn’t have any freebie paint colours. Titanium Grey is an extra $150, while my Tarmac Black added $300.

What powers the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross?

All trims use a turbocharged 1.5L four-cylinder that makes 152 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque, mated to an automatic continuously-variable transmission (CVT). All-wheel drive is standard, which Mitsubishi calls S-AWC, for Super All-Wheel Control. Super might be a bit of hyperbole, but it’s still a pretty slick system. It primarily drives the front wheels but there’s always some power to the rear tires, and more can be sent to the back as needed for traction. The system also uses yaw-control sensors and selective braking as torque vectoring, to tuck the vehicle in tight around corners as well as to better control any skidding in nastier conditions. Its drive mode settings can handle snow or gravel, as well as normal pavement conditions.

En route to Niagara

We live east of Toronto, and so Niagara involves getting around Lake Ontario – driving west on its northern side, curling around its western tip, and then east along the lake’s south shore. Traffic was surprisingly light, given that Niagara Falls had issued emergency measures to deal with the one million visitors expected, but it was the day prior to the eclipse. The other shoe would drop on the way home, but for now it was smooth sailing.

I exited the highway east of St. Catharines and stayed on secondary roads. I used to drive through Niagara a lot, but mostly on the way to Buffalo, New York – initially with my family, since my mother loved shopping in the stores there; and then with my best friend Lola, when we’d drive down almost every weekend for chicken wings or beef-on-a-weck sandwiches, two treats for which the city is known. (We need to do that again one of these days…)

While I went through the Niagara region all the time, I didn’t explore it all that much, and I now do that whenever I can. We meandered to Niagara-on-the-Lake, visited the Floral Clock in Queenston – a little dull without its colourful flowers this early in the season – and as one does in Niagara, stopped in at a winery, where an eclipse-themed bottle of cabernet came home as a souvenir.

We wove our way along numerous rural roads until I got to the Niagara Parkway, one of the loveliest driving routes in the province. On one side is the Niagara River, which eventually falls to become the Falls. On the other are gorgeous historic homes – along with more than a few infill monstrosities that prove wealth and architectural taste don’t always go hand-in-hand.

We finally worked our way into Niagara Falls, home of tacky wax museums and tourist traps, as well as that incredible natural wonder at the centre of it all. I’ve seen the Falls a million times, and still have to stop and marvel at them each time.

What’s the Eclipse Cross like to drive?

Earlier this year, our own David Booth and Nadine Filion drove this same vehicle and compared notes – and while he was mostly impressed with it and she was not so much, we were the opposite. I thought it did a good job overall, while Husband wasn’t quite as forthcoming with praise. He thought it was underpowered while I thought it was fine, whether working its way through traffic or zipping along the highway, and the CVT always kept it in its sweet spot.

We agreed on the ride: firm and noisy over bumps, but not enough to be a dealbreaker. Husband found the steering dull; but while I agreed it wasn’t a sports machine – and isn’t intended to be – I thought it handled well for a mainstream crossover. People approach every vehicle differently, which is why it’s important to read the reviews to get the background, but then test-drive it thoroughly, by all who will get behind the wheel, before you make a decision.

The interior looks dated, with its ample use of hard plastic and a glossy centre-stack bezel that gave off a blinding glare when the sun hit it. But we also liked the simplicity of the controls, with buttons and toggles for the climate and other functions. The infotainment screen looks prehistoric compared to what some automakers are offering, and the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto aren’t wireless, but it connected easily to a phone that we used for navigation. Husband said the passenger seat got hard, while I found the driver’s seat more supportive and comfortable than expected.

The Eclipse Cross and the Eclipse

We checked into our hotel under clear skies on Sunday; we woke Monday to clouds. Some people had come great distances to this total-eclipse spot, and while most stuck it out, one man from Connecticut who’d planned this trip a year in advance said some of his friends had left earlier that morning to drive to Vermont for the cloudless view promised there. We decided to go 30 kilometres south to Fort Erie – that town would experience the province’s longest period of total eclipse, plus we wouldn’t be among a million people trying to get out of downtown Niagara Falls all at once.

We ended up at the town’s municipal centre, which had portable toilets that seemed like a good idea after the free-refill coffee at breakfast. Municipal employees cruised through the parking lot, handing out eclipse glasses as needed. We struck up a conversation with the people beside us, who’d driven in from Toronto but were originally from Venezuela, and were on their second total eclipse after watching one years ago in their home country.

The sky never cleared completely, but the clouds got wispy enough for us to watch the moon gradually take an increasingly bigger bite out of the sun. It became a bright sliver, and then it was gone.

You can read about a total eclipse all you want, but it still doesn’t prepare you for the actual experience. One moment the sky was fairly light, and the next, it went black. Chirping birds gave a couple of confused squawks and then went silent. Prompted by their sensors, the streetlights came on. At quarter past three, it looked like ten at night. It was too cloudy to see the corona around the sun, but that didn’t diminish the sense of awe at the blackout.

A few minutes later, the sky quickly lightened. The streetlights turned off, and all at once, flocks of birds started flying. The no-longer-wispy clouds prevented us seeing the sun come back completely, so we got in the Eclipse Cross right away, figuring we’d beat the crowd home.

Heading home…

We weren’t the only ones who tried that. Traffic was sparse out of Fort Erie, but once we reached the Niagara Falls on-ramps, everything ground to a halt. The Eclipse Cross’ adaptive cruise control has stop-and-go ability, but only if you stop for a few seconds. Longer than that, and you must tap the throttle again to start up – and then, in that bumper-to-bumper traffic, come to a halt again. Still, it was helpful just using one pedal, especially since the volume of cars added two extra hours to our trip home.

The day after the eclipse was as bright and shiny as the day before, but while it would have been nice to see it cloud-free, it was still the experience of a lifetime. And taking an Eclipse Cross to see the eclipse brought it all together.

2024-04-15T18:40:56Z dg43tfdfdgfd