2008 Honda Accord Coupe vs 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse vs 2008 Nissan Altima Coupe - Verdict and Concept-RA - Comparison

THE WINNER VIDEO: Conclusion - Sport Coupes Comparison Fast FWD Video Series

So there you have it. With their balanced, blistering performance, the Honda Accord and Nissan Altima coupes have proven their street cred as real sport coupes. The Accord Coupe takes the overall title, and well it should-Honda has had the benefit of over 20 years experience in this realm.

1ST PLACE: HONDA ACCORD COUPE EX-L
Slick body, screaming engine, taut chassis, and room for five. This is what a real sport coupe looks like these days.

2ND PLACE: NISSAN ALTIMA COUPE 3.5 SE
Think of it as an Infiniti G37 on the cheap. Great lines, excellent steering, and robust engine. Better tires might have made it number one.

3RD PLACE: MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE GT
Crude in this company and showing its age. If Mitsubishi could find a way to trade torque steer for steering feel, this could be a real winner.

RA of Hope

The Eclipse finished third in our comparison and is clearly showing signs of age, but good news is rising from the east. Mitsubishi calls it Concept-RA and presented it at the Detroit show in January. From the looks of things, Mitsubishi is returning to the turbocharged four-cylinder, all-wheel-drive formula that established the original Eclipse's credibility.

But this isn't merely a retro redux; Mitsubishi has stuffed the RA's fierce, cab-forward chassis with legitimate high-tech hardware. Take the 2.2-liter engine: Though it's 200 cc smaller than the current Eclipse's four-cylinder, it uses the latest direction-injection, diesel technology and a new variable diffuser, variable geometry turbocharger to make 201 horsepower and a whopping 310 pound-feet of torque. Then there's the RA's Super All-Wheel Control system; though it's similar to the system on the current Lancer Evolution, the RA gets extras including Active Suspension and Active Steering.

So is the RA a look at the next Eclipse? It certainly seems feasible. With the trend toward smaller, alternative-fuel engines, the Eclipse's return to a turbo four-cylinder powered by clean diesel makes a lot of sense. As for the trick all-wheel-drive system, we know Mitsubishi's active steering and suspension systems are already in development because they were built for early prototypes of the current Evo.

Even the aggressive styling isn't too far-fetched, though you can expect this two-seater to become a 2+2. The big question is whether Mitsubishi can keep costs down while cramming all this new tech into the next-gen Eclipse.Our guess? Look for the production version of the RA-based Eclipse to bow at the Los Angeles or Detroit show in 2010, with the less fancy AWD system and gasoline turbo four-cylinder cribbed from the newly introduced Lancer Ralliart. The other goodies should appear on the 11th-generation Lancer Evolution.