It’s always great to have a vehicle with great reviews, but sometimes that’s just not how things work out. If you happen to own a 2020 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, can you at least be reassured that it’s a safe vehicle?

2020 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

In its review, U.S. News & World Report ranked the 2020 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross just 14 in compact SUVs, 56 in crossover SUVs, and 39 in SUVs with two rows. It falls short of its competitors in a number of areas, from engine power to cargo space to cabin materials quality.

The Eclipse Cross also has quite a bit of lean when going around corners. It does at least have comfortable seats, a low starting price of $22,995, and good fuel efficiency. U.S. News & World Report recommends considering the Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, or Honda CR-V instead.

The 2020 Eclipse Cross has one available engine, a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, producing 152 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. It’s paired with a continuously variable automatic transmission. U.S. News & World Report found the power to be sufficient for driving in the city but not enough for highway driving.

Front-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is available. The Eclipse Cross has a seven-inch touchscreen, but only three of the four trim levels include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Eclipse’s safety features

The 2020 Eclipse Cross doesn’t come with many standard safety features. All trims have a rearview camera, and rear parking sensors are available for all trim levels.

Additional safety features are available on the top two trims. The SE trim offers rain-sensing windshield wipers, forward collision mitigation with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, blind spot warning, lane change assist, rear cross traffic alert, and automatic high-beam headlights.

The SEL trim includes a multiview camera and a head-up display and it offers optional adaptive cruise control and forward collision mitigation with high-speed braking capability and pedestrian detection.

Ratings from the IIHS

With the exception of its headlights, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross received strong marks from the IIHS. The 2019 Eclipse Cross was named a Top Safety Pick. The 2020 Eclipse Cross received the top rating of ‘Good’ for all six crash tests.

It received a ‘Superior’ rating for front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle when equipped with the optional forward collision mitigation system with high-speed braking. However, it got just a ‘Basic’ rating for front crash prevention: vehicle-to-pedestrian when equipped with the forward collision mitigation system.

The headlight ratings were different depending on the trim, although none received the top rating. The ES and LE trims with halogen projector headlights earned a ‘Poor’ rating. The SE trim with halogen projector headlights earned a ‘Marginal’ rating. The SEL trim with LED projector headlights earned an ‘Acceptable’ rating.

Ratings from the NHTSA

The NHTSA examined both the front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive 2020 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and gave both strong ratings. Both received five out of five stars for overall safety, frontal crash, and side crash ratings. They received four out of five stars for rollover ratings.

For the frontal crash subcategories, the 2020 Eclipse Cross earned four out of five for front driver side and five out of five for front passenger side.

For side crash, it earned five stars in all the subcategories: combined side barrier and pole ratings (front and rear seats), side barrier (driver and rear passenger), and overall side pole star rating. Along with four out of five for the rollover star rating, the Eclipse Cross was given a rollover risk of 18.50%.

Of the four safety technologies that the NHTSA looks for, three are optional features on the Eclipse Cross and dynamic brake support is not available. The optional features are forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and crash imminent braking. The 2020 Eclipse Cross does not currently have any recalls.

While the 2020 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross isn’t rated as well as many of its competitors, it does have good safety ratings. However, to maximize the safety features, buyers should look at the SE and SEL trim levels.