4x4 Of Yesteryear
by Mike Grundon (09 Feb 07)

I've always had a sneaking fondness for Mitsubishi's flagship off-roader, the Shogun, even if it has probably been against my better judgement. The thing is that I've made second-, third- and now fourth-generation models do some rather impressive things out there in the world of mud and water, but when it comes to cost of ownership and on-road refinement they've always been a bit harsh.

I was hoping therefore that my head would join my heart after driving the new model line-up. That hope was in vain. True, I still love it, but I still can't justify it.

So what have we got? Well there's only one engine option for a start. Gone is the V6 petrol model, because of lack of buyer interest, so we're left with a 3.2-litre turbodiesel turning out 158bhp and 281lb/ft of torque when twinned with the manual gearbox, or 168bhp and 275lb/ft fed through the automatic.

You can get it with three or five doors and there are four levels of specification, even the most basic of which is fairly well kitted out. Prices begin at £22,949 for an Equippe manual three-door and rise to £34,999 for a five-door Diamond automatic.

The company talks about improved power, a reduction in noise, vibration and harshness, and less pollution than the outgoing model. However, if you compare performance figures the improvements are so small as to be virtually undetectable by the driver. On top of that there's still plenty of rattle from the engine whether it's cold or hot, stressed or not, and the CO2 output is down by a mere 2%.

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