New Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross vs Nissan Qashqai vs Skoda Karoq

Buying and owning

Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security

These are all range-topping models, but there’s a big difference in their brochure prices. The Eclipse Cross costs just shy of £25,000, making the Karoq look a bit pricey at some £2000 more and the Qashqai downright expensive at nearly £30,000. Pay cash and persist with some haggling at the dealerships and the gap closes. The Eclipse Cross remains cheapest, but the Qashqai and Karoq trade places.

The Eclipse Cross is the cheapest option in the long run, too. It’s predicted to hold its value surprisingly well and is fairly cheap to insure and service, making up for its so-so fuel economy.

The good news continues for the Eclipse Cross if you’re taking out finance. On a three-year PCP deal with a £2500 deposit and a 10,000- mile annual limit, it’ll cost you £334 a month. That’s £38 less a month than the Karoq and a whopping £78 less than the Qashqai.

Only company car drivers will think twice. The Eclipse Cross’s CO2 emissions are high by modern standards, so if you’re in the 40% tax bracket, you’ll have to sacrifice £774 more of your salary over three years than if you’d chosen the Karoq, though still £288 less than if you’d opted for the Qashqai.

No manufacturer has been stingy with equipment. The only notable differences are the Eclipse Cross’s standard head-up display and the fact that Skoda offers 13 free colour choices against Mitsubishi’s two (black and white) and Nissan’s one (red).

All three cars get automatic emergency braking as standard, as well as blindspot monitoring and a lane departure warning system. The trio all achieved five stars in their Euro NCAP crash tests, too, but the Eclipse Cross scored best for adult occupant and pedestrian safety, with the Qashqai proving safest for child occupants.

Meanwhile, security firm Thatcham found all three cars to be excellent at resisting being stolen, but the Eclipse Cross was only average at resisting a break-in, compared with the good scores awarded to the other two.

Neither Skoda nor Nissan could match Mitsubishi’s record in our latest reliability survey, where it came second out of 32 manufacturers. That compares with Skoda’s 13th place and Nissan’s woeful 29th, while the Qashqai itself finished last out of the 13 family SUVs included.