What is it?
Our first UK drive in the recently revamped Mitsubishi Shogun, here sampled in full-on “Diamond” spec.
That means massive equipment levels, loads of bodykit bling and a hefty £34,599 pricetag in long-wheelbase five-door form.
Performance, such as it is, comes courtesy of a 3.2 litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine with drive delivered by a five-speed automatic gearbox, clever off-road biased traction control and a battery of lockable diffs.
What’s it like?
Crude. Actually, make that very crude. On-road the Shogun feels at least a decade out of date.
The engine is loud, acceleration feels even more leisurely than the 12.9 second 0-62 mph time suggests and the suspension crashes its way over every ridge and undulation.
Okay, so there is a bit of a plus side. The quality of the cabin materials has been dramatically improved over the previous-generation version's, and this Shogun is far more spacious inside than some of its equally Jurassic rivals.
It’s predictably good off-road, too – effortlessly ploughing its way through the sort of terrain that would leave a soft-roader grounded and impotent.
But on proper roads, the Shogun feels needlessly unpleasant compared to more civilised rivals.
Should I buy one?
The lower reaches of the Shogun range still have plenty of utilitarian appeal for those looking for a proper off-roader.
But we’re really struggling to see the point of the fully-laden Diamond, which is priced well inside Discovery TDV6 territory.
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