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When I purchased my Talon, I drove as many varieties as I could get my hands on. I was coming from a 305 V8 Camaro Z-28 ('87 model), and what I was looking for was a bit less power with slightly better gas mileage. I chose the Talon over the Eclipse simply because the Eagle dealer was really nice to me and the Mitsubishi dealer was downright hostile when I told them I wanted to special-order my vehicle. In all iterations, I did not drive an Automatic transmission.
The base engine is a 140-hp 4-cylinder that is a really efficient design: not very gas-guzzling (23/33), and still with a bit of "oomph" to it in the stickshift model thanks to a light frame. However, I decided I wanted just a bit more power. The turbocharged 4-cylinder (21/28 mpg) is 210-hp (205 in Automatic form), and also has a very nice feel. You lose some of the off-the-line takeoff power with AWD, but the engine's efficient power plant really makes good use of the turbo boost when running both axles (21/26 mpg). Interesting to note is that the intercooled engine never gets close to the danger zone for me; I've been stuck in Chicago rush-hour traffic on a Friday in the summer and never had to worry about the engine overheating.
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