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Page last updated at 16:29 GMT, Monday 12th July 2010
MITSUBISHI SHOGUN 3.2 DI-DC ELEGANCE FIVE-DOORCompared with some of the opposition out there, Mitsubishi’s Shogun is getting on in years. The first monocoque-designed model was launched way back in 2000, and the current line-up is closely related to that. Yes, it’s been updated and improved over the past decade, but it’s not exactly a spring chicken. And that has presented Mitsubishi with a few problems of late, with the Shogun being among the worst in its class when it comes to fuel economy and CO2 emissions.
It would be easy to criticise Mitsubishi for sticking with such a large-capacity four-cylinder engine when certain rivals – including Land Rover’s top-selling Discovery 4 – offer V6 oil-burners. But in reality, the Shogun’s DOHC turbo-diesel is an impressive powerplant. It might not be as refined as a V6, but this big old four-pot offers plenty of low-down grunt (325lb.ft. of torque at just 2000rpm in its latest guise) and is a sprightly performer out on the road. Output for 2010 is a lusty 197bhp at 3800rpm, enough to take the Shogun five-door automatic to a top speed of 111mph, hitting 60 from rest in just over 11 seconds. And for a large, seven-seater 4x4 with the aerodynamics of a house brick and a kerb weight of 2.3 tonnes, those figures are far from sloth-like. What really impresses about the latest-spec Shogun, though, is the way in which Mitsubishi has turned it a brighter shade of green. CO2 emissions for the five-door Elegance with automatic transmission (tested here) have dropped from a whopping 280g/km to a far more palatable 224g/km – a 20 per cent improvement that places the Shogun at the top of its class. It’s a figure that compares well with the Discovery 4’s 244g/km and the Grand Cherokee’s 270g/km. Economy-wise too, the latest Shogun is a marked improvement on what went before, with the five-door auto’s official ‘combined’ figure of 33.2mpg being well up on the 26.6mpg achieved up until last year. And, again, that compares very favourably with the 30.4mpg claimed for the Discovery 4. LOTS FOR YOUR MONEY The other advantage that the Shogun has over some rivals is that £35k will buy you a long-wheelbase version in Elegance trim – and in a five-door range that comprises Equippe, Elegance and Diamond, that means a well-equipped mid-range model for your money, comparing well with the similarly priced Defender 4 in entry-level GS guise (albeit with the latest 3.0-litre version of Land Rover’s TDV6). What does this mean in reality? Well, let’s just say that a Shogun Elegance is an opulent proposition, its extensive range of standard equipment including automatic air conditioning, heated front seats, a 12-speaker Rockford Fosgate sound system with MP3, 18-inch alloys, touch-screen sat-nav, leather upholstery, heated front seats, rear parking camera, hands-free Bluetooth, electric sunroof, automatically-levelling headlamps with washers, privacy glass, front fog lamps, colour-coded spare wheel cover – and more. And by any standards, that’s a lengthy list.
Handling-wise too, the latest Shogun is a tidy and well-sorted beast, despite its lack of permanent all-wheel drive. The latter point, though, is an aid to its latest economy and emissions figures, so we can’t complain too loudly. And at least Mitsubishi’s Super Select II drivetrain gives you choices to suit most eventualities. In fact, it offers no less than four different driving modes: 2H rear-wheel drive, 4H full-time four-wheel drive, 4HLc that locks the centre differential, and 4LLC for extreme low-ratio off-road work. And the latter truly is effective, powering the Shogun through inhospitable terrain with reassuring ease. We took ‘our’ Shogun off-road regularly during our test week, and at all times it performed admirably; and with a maximum towing weight of 3.5 tonnes for a braked trailer, the owners of even the largest caravans and boats will find reassurance in the Shogun’s ability. Most useful of all four settings is perhaps 4H, selectable at speeds of up to 60mph and delivering permanent all-wheel drive, with torque asymmetrically split 33:67 front to rear – making it the ideal setting for wet or low friction surfaces. And in this setting, the viscous coupling can send up to half the torque to the front axle for enhanced traction and stability – perfect for driving over packed snow and other low-traction surfaces. It might be summer now, but you’ll be glad of this choice of settings in six months’ times…
And when it comes to practicality, the Shogun is still up there with the best. When used as a five-seater, there’s an abundance of space, with enough head, leg and shoulder room to keep most families satisfied – plus, of course, a generous load area. But on those odd occasions when you need an extra couple of people on board, a third-row seat folds neatly from the flat floor of the boot area, transforming the Shogun into an effective and highly useful seven-seater – with far fewer compromises space-wise for those third-row passengers than you might expect. Yes, for today’s family buyer, the old Shogun can still show its young upstart rivals a few tricks… And perhaps that’s what best sums up the 2010-model Shogun. It’s not the most modern, most refined or trendiest family-size SUV in today’s £35k price bracket. But forget all that, because this old soldier still has plenty to offer. And with the improvements that Mitsubishi has made to its performance, economy and emissions figures for this year, it’s suddenly a serious contender all over again. Funny old world, isn’t it?
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But all that changed recently, when the 2010-spec Shogun range went on sale in the UK. Yes, it looks pretty much the same as its predecessor, with only minor aesthetic revisions to differentiate it. But it’s under the skin where the biggest improvements have been made, with revisions to its 3.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine – transforming the Shogun into an on-paper class leader.
In Elegance trim, you also get five-speed automatic transmission as standard – and it’s an impressive gearbox, with smooth changes in normal use, and an effective kickdown operation. Floor the Shogun’s accelerator and you’ll find yourself making good progress – and although the four-cylinder engine can get a little noisy when the revs rise, rarely does it sound intrusive. Those impressive gearchanges help to give more of an impression of refinement than perhaps the engine deserves in isolation.
Out on the road, the long-wheelbase Shogun feels far more nimble than its 4900mm overall length might suggest. Its power steering is nicely weighted, its all-round visibility is impressive (aided by that reversing camera, of course) and its handling is surprisingly sharp-feeling. Shoguns of old had a tendency to pitch and wallow when pushed hard into a corner, but this latest version feels far more composed and directional.| Email a friend | Français | Deutsch | Español | Italiano |
