Very good in the rough stuff, but very crude on the road. And it's not cheap, either.

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 On-road the Shogun feels at least a decade out of date.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.

Mike Duff

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