Mitsubishi Shogun Sport review

There are things I suspect the Shogun Sport does very well. Towing for instance. And maintaining progress when it’s a long way away from a paved road. It has the right hardware to cope with those demands, a four-wheel-drive system controlled by a rotary knob on the centre console which includes a locking centre differential (torque split 40:60) and a low-ratio gearbox. Just the thing for pulling your horsebox up a muddy bank.

If this is a situation you often find yourself in, then I suspect you’ll get on just fine with the Shogun Sport. It’s probably going to replace an older workhorse. Something that’s more animal hair than upholstery, where compacted mud is the only thing holding the chassis together.

And you won’t care about the rough, lethargic engine, the lazy gearbox, the wobbly ride, vague handling and elastic steering, because it’ll still be an improvement on your battered Daihatsu Fourtrak. But Mitsubishi’s literature promises the Shogun Sport is “a car that delivers as well in the city as it does in the wilderness”. This, I’m afraid, is utter codswallop.

If you’re currently driving a Honda CR-V, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Ford Kuga, Mazda CX-5, Skoda Kodiaq or any other of the myriad family SUVs available out there, you need to know that they’re all smoother, quieter, swifter, easier, lighter and cheaper than the Mitsubishi. All of them. Even the SsangYong Rexton.

They’ve been designed with that audience in mind. The Mitsubishi hasn’t. Mitsubishi hasn’t designed a car for a UK or European audience here, it’s imported a car aimed at a South East Asian and Australian market.

Those faults, then. Basically, and despite the more sophisticated rear suspension, it drives like an L200 pick-up. It weighs substantially over two tonnes, and you approach corners with a trepidation borne of the fact you never know quite how much steering you’ll need to swing at it, so you basically throw some at it, and then adjust accordingly. Several times in every corner.

It has no poise and little body control, so it lurches along no matter how gently and calmly you go. And I’m talking about general driving here, not trying to cover ground at pace. Because that’s impossible.

The engine churns and roars in a manner that makes you quite glad diesel is suffering a sales downturn and while the gearbox has many ratios and paddles to play with, it’s just too lethargic. The powertrain feels 20 years old.

It’s crude, that’s the word. Sluggish, ponderous, rowdy and unsettling. Those are other words that fit. Sorry Mitsubishi, but on the road this one’s a stinker.