I'VE been lucky enough to put the Mitsubishi Shogun through some seriously challenging country off-road and it's pretty well unstoppable.

I really tried to give it a hard time through what regular off-road drivers call a "black run", with almost unbelievable ruts, dips, holes, hills and deep water.

The tough old Shogun took the lot in its stride and felt as though it would happily do worse tomorrow.

That's the kind of faith these big off-roaders instil in their owners, but despite many up-dates the most recent model basically hit the road in 2007.

That means it's quite agricultural compared to most of the competition, with a 3.2-litre four cylinder diesel engine that's pretty noisy.

For the last couple of years, it has only been available with a five speed automatic, but earlier, many models had a manual.

Being a serious off-roader, it also has a low ratio transfer gearbox for use in very tough conditions off-road.

The engine produces 187 bhp latterly, but earlier models had about 150 or 200.

Acceleration is not what most people buy such a car for, but the long wheelbase seven seat version reaches 60 from rest in a shade over 11 seconds and goes on to a maximum of 112 miles an hour, so it's quite capable of keeping up on the motorway.

Of course, Mitsubishi's reliability is second to none and the Shogun has always been well-built.

On the downside, it was always a fairly crude vehicle to drive on the road even in 2007, with at best adequate refinement, so it now falls way behind the best.

It weaves over bumps and lumps but the ride generally is acceptable. The most recent Shogun leans much less than its earlier forbears in the corners, but is still pretty roly-poly if taken too fast.

There are both three and more family friendly five door models, and despite its imposing bulk, it is reasonably easy to manoeuvre thanks to good power steering.

The high driving position gives an excellent view all round, and of course, it's a top towcar, able to pull the biggest caravan or horse trailer.

Equipment in the lowliest SG2 includes height adjustable column and driver's seat, remote locking, six airbags, electric windows, stability and traction control and climate.

It also has an alarm, and electric windows and mirrors, but the CD stereo only has an FM/AM radio.

The inside is vast in the five door with a side opening tailgate for the huge boot that also houses the third row of seats.

Pay about £16,200 for a '13 13-reg SG3 seven seater, or £18,300 for a '16 16-reg SG2 three door.