COUNTRY PHILE
The new mitsubishi shogan has got it all going on and the price is right
Few vehicles are more dedicatedly designed for off-road use than the Mitsubishi Shogun. As soon as we swapped the inimical environment of kerbed streets and Tarmac roads for rough tracks, the Shogun seems to let out a sigh of relief as if to say, ‘At last! That’s behind me and I am home!’
The combination of a built-in frame monocoque chassis, optimised all-wheel-drive transmission, and front wishbone and multilink rear suspension remains the ideal set-up for cross-country driving. A few other cars – Range Rover, Land Cruiser, Discovery – might manage to match the Shogun in the rugged outdoors, but they would cost two or three times as much to buy. Apart from a few cosmetic additions, this latest Shogun (also available with three doors) is essentially the same as it has been for the eight years since it first appeared. During that period, all types and classes of 4x4s have improved so much that, in terms of refinement and driver satisfaction, the Shogun has lost its early pre-eminence.
Yet rather t han load on endless expensive gadgets, Mitsubishi’s strategy has been to turn the car into an irresistible bargain. To that end, it has progressively cut the purchase price and increased the value of the equipment and accessories. The one we borrowed would cost £40,299 all-in to buy; and that ‘all-in’ includes a lengthy list of extras that would cost at least an arm and probably a leg on some competitors.
Daytime running lights and xenon headlights, sunroof, leather seats, DVD screens in the headrests, Bluetooth, reversing camera, upgraded infotainment system – the multifunction display even includes a barometer and an altitude meter. To buy a competitor with a comparable level of kit would cost 50%-100% more. That also could be called an outstanding advantage.
The Shogun is proudly built for country, not town, but at least in urban areas the latest Shogun has a major advantage over other large, luxury 4x4s: you’re probably not going to lose it in a car park. Rising to a height of 1,890mm, with roof rails on top, the Shogun is so tall that a low bridge warning might make you wonder whether you’ve got enough clearance.
Given an outline that most resembles a double-decker bus, with 0-62mph acceleration in 11.2 seconds, the seven-seater long-wheelbase Shogun we borrowed is unlikely to be a contender for drag races. Driving it on the road is an exercise in judicious restraint rather than an outpouring of exuberant joie de vivre. Pushing this car hard into a corner is rather like trying to steer soft butter round a plate with the back of a spoon: you can never be completely sure where it’ll end up. This sensation is augmented by vague steering, fidgety ride and body lean so steep it sometimes feels like a dinghy heeling over in a high wind.
The case for being slow and steady on the road is enforced by a thonky old 3.2-litre diesel engine (with reduced NOx emissions, but overall fuel consumption less than 30mpg) that generates only 140 bhp, but supplies a hearty 441 Nm of torque or pulling power. That figure alone might suggest that the Shogun is best equipped for hauling itself out of a quagmire while pulling a trailer full of logs (towing capacity is 3,500kg) , rather than smoothing into town for a night at the
opera.
‘To buy a competitor with a comparable level of kit would cost 50-100% more than the Shogun’