I have a very close friend who is about to go out and buy one. I know very little abou the car and have had ZERO time to go to the dealer and take a test drive. How happy are you with your decision to buy a fourth Gen eclipse?

What do you like about it?

What do you dislike/hate about it?

If it got totaled tomorrow would you buy something else? Yes, what would it be?

She's looking at a GT 6spd so insight on those would be great as well.

Thanks guys!!

~Eric :57:

I have a 2007 Eclipse spyder GT and I love it. They have a lot more room up front than the previous generation. They are wider than before and a lot more powerful due to the MIVEC system. Everyone likes to ridicule them and say they are fat and slow, all I can say is they obviously have never driven one because mine will flat out fly. I have gotten nothing but compliments from everyone on the street. The seats are very comfortable with multiple settings and lumbar back support adjustments as well, the spyder's come with the 650W Rockford Fosgate stereo available as an option on the coupes. This car handles better than its given credit for. There are some "youtube" videos up now featuring 8 owners and assisted my 2X racing champ Dave Brown and he really shows what a stock 4g can really do.
There are only two things that I don't like. The turning radius in 40ft so U turns take a lot of room to pull off and second the rear visibility and blindspots are bad on both coupes and spyders, but you learn to use your mirrors etc to compensate.
I wish the mpg was better but its not terrible for a sports car. Test drive one and see for yourself. Even the 4 cyl GS versions are quick and torquey.

Yeah I totally agree 100%. The 4th generation is awesome in every way. I'm the proud owner of an '07 Spyder GS and it is the best car I've owned. And yes, the 2.4 engine will give plenty of punch, much more than other 4 cylinder cars I've personally driven. And I'm getting an average of 26-27mpg with it and still have plenty of power to boot. Braking is really good and brings the car to a quick halt with fantastic smoothness.

Lots of other great features include the super comfortable seats, the stereo system is to die for in a factory ride and the list goes on.

My only negatives would be the lack of rear seat room and the obstructed view when the top is up. But it is a small price to pay for such an awesome ride. And yeah, the comments never end with this car. Later!

Well as my info box says I have a 06 GT. I think its great. I personally think its comfortable inside but I have had Passengers who complain about the seats. It runs great and has no problem getting out of its own way. I am constantly getting compliments on the car. People complain a lot about torque steer in these cars but I really don't have an issue with it. I don't know if its because I am used to it driving FWD cars most of my life or if most people over react to the pull. I don't have an issue with blind spots. I have my mirrors setup so that they are basically non existent. I don't know if both the previous responses are that way because they are both spyders but I don't have the issue with the blind spots in the coupe.

My biggest complaint is the costs to repair. I spent $1500 to redo the clutch and that was doing the work myself. The dealer quoted me $1300 but that didn't take into consideration the dual friction flywheel needing to be replaced at $850.

If it got totaled tomorrow I wouldn't buy anything right away but that is more of a personal finance problem more then anything else. If I could I would wait and get a 09 GT to replace it with.

I am very happy with my purchase :460:

2006 GS sun and sound
Pros:
Love the color. Sunset Orange
Interior layout is perfect.
Body design is great.
Drives and handles well.
Sounds good.
Good MPG
Quick for a 4 cyl in such a large car.
Descent trunk room for what it is.


Cons:
A/C drags the engine more than i like.Seems like tourqe steer is only a prob when it is on.
I am 6' and my head hits the roof even wit the seat down and back.
Rear visibilty pretty bad,not an issue for me but i could see some people having a tough time with it.
No ipod jack....
Paint chips too easily.
Tiny back seat,i can't sit back there,but l doubt i will ever need to.Good for a car seat.

5 speed tops out really quick.Maybe a 6 speed would cure that????

Maybe when it is old i will drop a V8 rwd into it.

Love the car and extremely happy with the purchase.But when all is said and done i would go for a RWD mustang,Camaro,Challenger next time.But that is just my prefernce,love the feel of RWD cars.

well i love my '06 GT hardtop... seats are comfy to me..... my wife hates them though, so take that for what it's worth. it's a pretty quick car, lots of torque... caught me off guard when it was brand new, torque steer almost took me off the road a couple times when i was pretty hard into the gas. but i hardly notice it now... just have to get used to it. i got some minor paint chips on the door handle within the first few times i washed it, so be careful in that area. stock sound system is pretty decent, but i replaced mine with a touchscreen aftermarket head unit for the built in ipod capability. i have a 6 speed with about 45k miles, and no clutch problems yet.

my only real problem with the car is the rear view... it's TERRIBLE. i added a rear view camera when i put my aftermarket stereo in, so when i shift to "R" the camera view comes up on the screen, so that helps a lot. otherwise it's a pretty fun car to drive... mine tends to take bumps a little hard, but i think that is probably just a stiffer suspension setup.

oh yeah, the turn radius is not so great... took me a while to get used to that. you won't be able to zip into tight parking spots without backing up halfway, or swinging way wide before turning in.

both of my big gripes, however, are not such a big deal. you'll get used to it pretty quickly.

hope it helps.

2008 GT 6-speed Eclipse. Love the car, if it got totaled, I'd buy another (because I cannot afford and Aston Martin....yet). I have the liquid silver with the sight and sound package. I also put some Falken's on her the day I drove her off the lot.

My real only grip, horrible spot for cup holders with a manual trans, tough to shift with a Venti Starbucks in the holder.

So there are true Charbux fans out there. That's funny.......... Seriously, you can get a nice home espresso setup for a little money that'll blow Charbux out of the water and you'll save money in the long run. I'm a true espresso fan and wouldn't even think of spending $4+ per cup of joe. I can make the same thing at home (much better tasting) for about $.50 per double shot and if you want milk or syrup, figure another 25-50 cents. Just a thought.... Later!