Jumping straight into the Shogun from the Volvo XC90 we tested recently provided a stark demonstration of just how big a gap has developed in the large 4x4 market. The Volvo is a fine example of what have become known as "soft-roaders", cars with a certain amount of ability on unsealed surfaces but which are intended to be thought of more as luxury vehicles with lots of space and good visibility.The Shogun, by contrast, is a real old-school off-roader. It may be comfortable to sit in - no complaints there from your notoriously picky correspondent - but it feels every bit as large as it actually is, it handles like something whose true area of expertise is a muddy slope miles away from civilisation, and there is no part of any journey in which it sounds as if there is anything other than a large diesel engine under the bonnet. (Well, there is if you've bought the one with the 3.5-litre petrol V6, but that accounts for a very small percentage of the Shogun population.)As a so-called soft-roader, then, it's a complete non-starter. Whether or not this is a problem for you depends on what floats your personal boat. Personally, while seeing the appeal of the XC90, the X5, the M-Class and so on, I quite like the Shogun's lack of pretention. Gives the car a certain butchness, if you see what I mean.In its present form the Shogun has been around since the beginning of this year. It's not hugely different from the previous version except that it has more equipment and costs less, and is stylistically a cautious half-step back from the aggressive design which Mitsubishi admits cost it an uncomfortably large number of sales.Having driven several versions on the new model's launch I quickly decided that I liked the short-wheelbase models best. The ride wasn't terrific, but both on tarmac and on a particularly three-dimensional off-road course the Shogunette was considerably more fun to drive.There was therefore a certain amount of ho-humming when the example that arrived at the CARkeys office turned out to be a long-wheelbase version. Still, I can see plenty of reasons for choosing this one. The SWB car may be fine for the one or two people sitting in the front, but there isn't much room for anyone - or anything - else.The longer Shogun has no such problems. Despite the high floor which is inevitable on anything with so much hefty transmission gear clanking away underneath, there's still plenty of space for rear-seat passengers (theoretically three of them, realistically only two if they are both adults) and for a lot of luggage. There's also a seven-seat option, realised by the fitment of two more seats in the extreme rear.The 3.2-litre DI-D turbo diesel engine - the one you can't miss from the moment you switch it on - performs very strongly at low speeds, which is of course ideal for an off-roader. Characteristically, it's not so clever at higher speeds, so you have to be prepared to keep your right leg extended for a long time if you want to try any ambitious overtaking moves.On the test car the engine was mated to a five-speed automatic rather than a manual gearbox. Automatic diesel off-roaders are still a relatively new concept, but the Shogun makes it seem perfectly sensible, not least because this is a good unit with a reasonably smooth shift quality.Experienced Shogun-watchers may be wondering about the word "Field" in the test car's title. The reason it's there is that this is in fact a special edition model. Normally CARkeys doesn't bother much about special editions, apart from mentioning their existence on the news pages, because they tend simply to be cars with a bit of extra equipment thrown in.The Shogun Field is different. Available since early April, and only in long-wheelbase diesel form, it is the first car in the range to use something called MASTC (Mitsubishi Active Stability and Traction Control). This is a combination of three systems, as follows: Active Stability Control, which brings everything back in order if the car begins to slide on tarmac; Active Traction Control, which applies the brakes to a spinning wheel on low-grip surfaces; and Engine Brake Assist Control, which works only in very specialised circumstances (four-wheel drive, low ratio, centre diff locked, brakes off, first gear) and is designed to maintain engine braking when you're inching nervously down a steep and slippy or unevenly surfaced slope.I didn't get the chance to do any off-roading in the Field before it was whisked away from me by other parties, and either the safety systems had no occasion to come into play when I was driving on real roads or they did so very subtly. I like to think it was the former. Still, good to know everything was ready to catch me if I did anything stupid. Engine 3200cc Power 158bhp Transmission 5-speed automatic Fuel/CO2 26.9mpg / 278g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 13.8 seconds Top speed 106mph Price £30,499 Details correct at publication date
Our Rating
