New Car Review of the 2004 Mitsubishi Eclipse Mid-Size Coupe.

Description: Coupe
Base MSRP Range: $18,399 - $25,799
Invoice Price Range: $17,162 - $24,065

The racy hatchback coupe from Mitsubishi seems substantial and strong, but also gracefully sleek like a compressed bullet with sides squared and prow honed to a hard point.

Eclipse for 2004 appears in trims of base RS, GS and GT plus GTS, with 17-inchers optional on GT and GTS. The 2+2 cockpit has flashy fabrics on sport seats for RS, GS and GT, while GTS gets leather. Two different engines drop into Eclipse.

Mitsubishi's 2.4-liter four works in the RS and upgraded GS, reaching 147 hp with a manual transmission, or 140 hp with the automatic. Eclipse GT stocks a single-cam 3.0-liter V6. For GTS the plant runs up ten more points to 210 hp. A shifter stick on the console connects to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic.