The Shogun is a beast of a car. And I mean that in a good way. It is a huge and capable beast.
The Mitsubishi Shogun takes Bill Dent to Norfolk and on to Nottingham Uni and proves its worth.
Parked in the drive, newly arrived, it presented itself as a handsome chariot, flared wheel-arches and all, ready and eager to take us on our way…
With the confident, upright, air that nothing - but nothing - would stop us.
This journey, wherever it was going, was only going to go one way… Mine and the Shogun’s way
Climbing into the Shogun's driver’s seat, was a pleasure. The command driving position was indeed a good place to be.
Unlike rivals who mask their off-road capabilities behind a screen of electronic skulduggery - there's always that tiny seed of doubt – ‘This SHOULD all work, but will it really - when I need most it?’. Here was a welcome stubby gear lever, giving no-nonsense direct access to the transfer box directly through trusty levers and cogs. “You ask me - I’ll get on and do it. No messing,” it seemed to say.
The drivers seat adjusted every which way imaginable. The height adjustment was especially useful, as the floor is high; but we had room to spare. All round vision was excellent, especially rearward, through the oversize door mirrors.
The drive from home was quite a few hours and we arrived in Norfolk – which NEVER gets any closer, but at least seemed marginally easier to get to, this time, in the Shogun, with easy cruise control helping to eat up the motorway miles and ensure better economy.
(At least before we crossed the border into Nelson’s wonderful, but highway-free, county…)
The Shogun fitted in perfectly at the party car park, both literally, as the wet grass was surprisingly slippery, and sartorially too, sitting well amongst the shiny (landowner arable grant-enabled?) German machinery on show on every side.
Later from Norfolk, we headed cross country to Nottingham. My family all felt safe and secure in the large Mitsubushi as we made good progress towards my daughter’s University Digs.
And here the Shogun came into its own.
In my day, all our University possessions were transportable almost by bike, if not by bus. And in a single journey, at that. Nowadays, it seems everything but the kitchen sink is required in Halls of Residence, and so is required to be transported forward and back, at the start and finish of every term.
Faced with a towering pile of student wherewithal, the Shogun took a breath, folded down its seats, and swallowed the lot. A truly impressive feat. With 663 litres seats up and a massive 1790 litres seats down we crammed the SUV to the gunwales, there was no shortage of space.
(And I felt there was so much in reserve - if I had wanted to pick up and tow the Halls of Residence themselves, in a trailer behind - the Shogun would surely have taken that too in its stride…)
This was the Shogun at its best. Safe, secure, go-anywhere and take-anything.
Only, ironically, at idle, did a small flaw appear. The large, well proven 3.3-litre diesel engine appears slightly unrefined, more agricultural, at standstill and at slow speeds; a little bit removed, I have to say, from the smoother & more muffled tones of the latest SUVs and crossovers.
The ride and handling - as mentioned to me by my peers; though possibly I never tested these to the full, to me these appeared more than adequate, and more than acceptable, in a car of this size and capability. The drive was completely comfortable and enjoyable, helped out by the Rockford sound system.
The Mitsubishi Shogun LWB is a capable and trusty workhorse, an inspirer of huge Confidence, with some quirky hints to its revered past, the Shogun ‘did it’ for me; and did it well…Long may you run!
Car reviewed: Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 DI-DC SG3 Auto On the road £38,675 - Shogun prices start at £33,015 0-62mph 11.1 secs Top speed 112mph Fuel Economy combined 30.4mpg CO2 emissions 245g/km Engine 3200cc Diesel 4-cylinder EU6 Max Power 190bhp@3500rpm Torque 441Nm@2000rpm Transmission 5-speed automatic with manual mode
Supplied main images are of a Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 DI-DC SG5 Auto
Uncomplicated and capable
Huge and well equipped
Excellent visibility
Popular but slightly ordinary with more models to come
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