To drive the manual Eclipse Cross is surprisingly good in some ways and surprisingly poor in others. Pulling away smoothly, for example, is more challenging than it needs to be on account of a dead spot at the top of the accelerator’s travel and a clutch that bites with the enthusiasm of a kitten. As a result it’s easy to stall and even easier to over-rev the engine and launch as though you were late for the birth of your first child, but finding something in between those extremes is more a matter of luck than judgement.
有好有壞?
On the good front, once on the move the 1.5-litre engine is impressive, pulling strongly from 2,000rpm all the way through its rev range and allowing you to gain pace at what always feels like a faster rate than the figures suggest. The gearbox itself has a sturdy but accurate shift, and in sixth gear causes the engine’s growl to fade into the background. Combined with a lack of wind noise, excellent straight-line stability and the sensible real-world economy, it makes the manual Eclipse Cross a good motorway runner.