Mitsubishi Shogun LWB Review & Road Test (2010) Part 2

The Mitsubishi Shogun Review Part 2

Part 2 of our road test and review of the 2010 Mitsubishi Shogun LWB Elegance. And our verdict. Can it match up to the Discoveries and X5s of this world.

But only until you get used to it. Once you are, you genuinely don’t hear it as you sink your foot to the floor for a rather leisurely sprint to 60mph (11 seconds); it just feels part of the character of the car. Once you do get to 60mph – or even 80mph – the Shogun is actually fairly quiet and refined.

Not refined in the way a Discovery or X5 is, but refined for an old-fashioned SUV. Yet its solidity and old-school manners are overwhelming reassuring. It feels very well bolted together- which it is – and it feels capable of towing Ayers Rock to the Queensland coast. Which actually, it almost is.

The 2010 Shogun has a very useful 325lb/ft of torque from its rather vocal 4-pot diesel. Surprisingly, it emits 224g/km of CO2 when it feels like it should emit 224 kg. The official figures say it averages 33.2mpg (although we never bettered 25mpg). All perfectly respectable figures; almost eco-friendly figures compared to the Shogun of old.

But the star figure you’ll find in the Shogun’s spec sheet is the towing capacity – 3,300kgs. Which means it can pull just about anything from anywhere. As we said, Ayers Rock to the coast – before breakfast. Jumbo Jets from Peat Bogs – no problem. Soft-roading SAVs from boot sale car parks – by the container load.

But however hard you try to wish the Shogun to be great on road, it isn’t. It has old-fashioned, vague 4×4 steering, it wallows a bit (not as much as it used to) and it’s rather slow and prone to being vocal. But you need to accept that the Shogun really isn’t trying to compete against the Discovery and others, and certainly not against SAVs like the X5. It’s ploughing its own furrow as a classy off-roader with acceptable – if not exactly dynamic – on-road manners.

“…the Shogun…can pull just about anything from anywhere. As we said, Ayers Rock to the coast – before breakfast. Jumbo Jets from Peat Bogs – no problem. Soft-roading SAVs from boot sale car parks – by the container load.”

The Shogun has a loyal following with 70% of buyers trading in their old Shogun for a new Shogun. It finds willing buyers in farming and business who need a real workhorse, but one that offers a modern degree of civility. The Shogun offers all that. You can’t compare it with the Discoveries and X5s of this world. It is a different breed altogether.

And it’s rather appealing.

Which is where we would normally end our review and road test of the Mitsubishi Shogun Elegance. But as regular readers know, we have on staff our very own 20-something girl about town who we let loose on cars which suit her demographic. Who wants to hear the point of view of an old man petrolhead when they’re twenty something? Not many.

So Claire takes out stuff like the Fiat 500 or the 207 CC and sometimes we throw her a curved ball to see what she makes of it. But we didn’t consider sending her off in the Shogun; too much an old-fashioned workhorse, different to drive and with the aerodynamics of a shed. Until she asked if she could.

So Claire had a day or two Shogun driving. Did she enjoy driving it? ‘Bit odd at first, but soon got used to it and it was great fun’. Hmm. What about the performance? ‘Good enough for what it is and you do feel in control sat up high in a bullet proof box’. Interesting. What’s your verdict, Claire? ‘It’s a very cool car’.

So there you have it. The Shogun is brilliant off-road, liveable with on road, can tow anything, feels like it’s built to last forever and is well equipped.

And it’s cool. Very cool.