By Mike Torpey on 2019-03-31 - Driving Force news editor and responsible for organising our daily output. He was staff motoring editor of the Liverpool Echo for 20 years.
Mitsubishi Shogun
Sport 4
MITSUBISHI makes no bones about its versatile Shogun Sport model being engineered for customers who need their 4x4 to have a real depth of abilities.
After all, it's the most advanced and capable full-size SUV the Japanese brand has ever produced.
But we need to take a realistic view of exactly what sort of environment a stylish, extensively equipped and comfortable seven-seater is likely to operate in.
And while it's satisfying to know that negotiating jagged rocks, fast-moving rivers and climbing up the side of a mountain are child's play to a Shogun Sport, everyday motoring is still certain to prove its principal habitat.
What we have with this new Sport, which bears little resemblance to the last model to carry the same name and which sold from 2000-2007, is a vehicle of immense capability - both on and off road.
It comes with a choice of two extensively-equipped trim levels called Shogun Sport 3 and Shogun Sport 4, both of which have been kept below the £40,000 threshold.
Convinced that, for large 4x4s at least, diesel remains the only sensible engine choice, Mitsubishi offers just a single option, a proven 2.4-litre turbocharged unit.
It is allied to a new eight-speed automatic transmission, develops 181bhp with 430Nm of torque from 2,500rpm, can hit 62mph in 11.0 seconds and reach a potential 112mph.
Enjoyable, lively and surprisingly agile to drive, you aren't certain to squeeze much more than 25 miles per gallon - the official combined figure is 32.8mpg - out of the Sport, but then this is a vehicle of size and scope.
That said, it's an easy car to live with thanks to high quality refinement, effective noise insulation, a roomy interior and raised driving position.
Feedback suggests that 90 per cent of Shogun owners tow caravans, boats or trailers, and to that end the Sport also has 3.1-tonne towing capacity.
And for those days when adventure - or even just muddy farm tracks - beckons, the Mitsubishi has a Terrain Control System with four off-road modes at the touch of a button - Gravel, Mud/Snow, Sand and Rock.
We took the Shogun Sport through the sort of terrain most owners might think twice about navigating - a hardcore mix of steep drops, gravelly inclines, mud ruts, sharp angles to get two wheels off the ground, boulders and a lake.
Mitsubishi's description of the Shogun Sport, ‘As Talented As It Is Tough' proved apt as the big SUV made light of the unforgiving conditions.
As for space, there's a carrying capacity of 502 litres in the boot extending to 1,488 litres total cargo volume with the appropriate seats folded.
The entry-level Shogun Sport 3 includes the likes of leather upholstery, electrically-adjustable front seats, power folding mirrors, LED headlamps, climate control, reversing camera with rear parking sensors; keyless entry with push-button start and privacy glass.
Specifying the 4 variant adds heated front seats, the Mitsubishi Power Sound System with additional tweeters and a 510W amp, headlamp washers and extra safety and driver assistance systems.
Mitsubishi Shogun Sport 4
Price: £39,775
Mechanical: 181bhp, 2,442cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving four wheels via 8-speed automatic gearbox
Max Speed: 112mph
0-62mph: 11.0 seconds
Combined MPG: 32.8
Insurance Group: 12
C02 emissions: 227g/km
Bik rating: 37%
Warranty: 5yrs/52,500 miles
MITSUBISH 4x4s sold in their thousands all over the world, and were the rugged...
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