As a Millennial, I can’t help but have a soft spot for the Mitsubishi Eclipse. It was never a great car, but it was affordable, looked cool, and could be tuned to the point of being fun. Having grown up with the Eclipse in “The Fast and The Furious” and Need for Speed Underground, seeing its name slapped on a rebranded Nissan Leaf cuts me pretty deep, I won’t lie. But having more cheap electric options around in this country is a good thing, and now we know a bit more about it.
Mitsubishi just released battery and charging specs for the 2027 Eclipse Sportback EV and, unsurprisingly, they’re just as good as the Leaf’s. The company also has given us our best look at what the budget EV looks like in real life, sharing real-world photos of it at a charging station.
The Eclipse Sportback is very clearly a slightly re-bodied Nissan Leaf. Mitsubishi tweaked the front and rear bumpers, gave it new wheels, some slightly different taillights, and called it a day. Even the ducktail spoiler is the same. The Eclipse has a bit more of an aggressive look, but it’s going to be a real struggle to differentiate the two once both cars are on sale and on the road. Maybe the interior will be different but Mitsubishi didn’t reveal it yet.
Photo by: Mitsubishi
At the plug, the Eclipse will be able to charge from 10-80% state-of-charge (SoC) in about 35 minutes, the manufacturer said. Not exactly record-breaking but not too shabby, either. Its 75 kWh battery pack is the same as the Leaf’s and that car’s max range is 303 miles. So while 35 minutes isn’t exactly quick by most modern standards, 80% SoC should provide enough range to make the time spent charging worthwhile.
Nissan was originally supposed to roll out a smaller-battery, even lower cost Leaf S, but it indefinitely delayed those plans. Given that Mitsubishi says the 75 kWh battery will be equipped across the board, it looks like that hasn’t changed here.
Just like the Leaf, the Eclipse Sportback will have twin charging ports. The passenger side fender houses a NACS charging port, so it can charge up at Tesla Superchargers at up to 150 kW. Or, with an NACS-to-CCS adapter, at any other major charging station. On the driver’s side, the Eclipse has a J1772 port, for Level 1 or Level 2 AC charging at a home charger or some slower charging stations.
There’s no word on price just yet but don’t be surprised if it starts at around the same $31,535 as the Leaf. Perhaps it’ll be cheaper, though, to incentivize customers to go with Mitsubishi rather than Nissan. We do know that the Eclipse Sportback will be coming this fall.