The Mitsubishi Shogun has long been a popular member of the UK 4x4 scene, and its image has been carefully nurtured through the UK importer’s sponsorship of horse races and the Badminton Horse Trials, a very classy sort of do.
Stephanie and Mervyn, owners of a farm B and B in Cornwall we use frequently and who have become firm friends, know the abilities and usefulness of the Shogun, with which they pull a livestock trailer for their prize South Devon cattle to agricultural shows. We’ve had many a discussion about what might replace it but there’s little around that’s better and has seven seats.
Lately, the image of the Shogun has been downvalued a bit by the arrival of plentiful grey imports from Japan which should wear Pajero badges, the name the Shogun has in the rest of the world.
Some enterprising importers, though, have switched the Pajero badges for Shogun ones, so it’s not a bad idea to check the provenance of any potential Shogun purchase before you part with your cash. And if you are buying a Pajero, make sure it has been converted to comply with UK regulations and that all the import duties have been paid.
I like the Shogun, always have since it first came here in the mid-80s. There has been a good mix of short and long wheelbase models offering three or five doors and up to seven seats.
The long wheelbase Shogun I drove a few weeks ago had a very clever third row of seats which stowed under the load bay floor - a much better arrangement than the old side hinged ones similar to those offered on some rivals which flip up against the side windows. They are cumbersome to operate compared to the latest Shogun set-up.
Mitsubishi has never shied away from offering expensive Shoguns in the range so the car could compete with the Range Rover and these very well equipped cars make for some luxury motoring at good prices.
The Shogun is now in its third generation of body styles, the latest cars arriving in 2000 and heavily revised earlier this year. They are very distinctive with their bulging wheelarches, which at the front have a corresponding hump in the bonnet, too.
Mechanically, the Shogun seems to go on forever and there’s a wide choice of diesel and petrol engines. The latest 3.2 DI-D diesel is particularly attractive, offering good economy and excellent performance. Earlier 2.8 and 2.5 diesels were also good - the 2.8 is best - but the petrol engines, which range up to a 3.5 litre V6, can be thirsty.
When viewing a used Shogun, it’s important to check for underbody damage, as you would with any 4x4, especially one that’s as good off-road as this one. The transmission is a selectable 4x4, with shift on the fly selection on later models. As so many Shoguns have been used for towing, it’s also vital to check out the state of the transmission and rear suspension. They will pull a lot of weight - up to 2.8 tonnes with ease.
Shoguns are not hard to find, and most of what you see should be fairly good although a service history is important. Service intervals on the latest models are 9,000 miles, earlier cars were 6,000 and 12,000 miles. Insurance starts at a competitive Group 13.
With prices now down to sensible levels for the 2000 model year cars, there’s little point in buying older. An 00X 3.2 five doors Classic retails for £7,400 but the better Equippe on an 01X is preferable at £8,225, around £175 more than the three door. Even on a 06/55 plate, an Equippe five door is only £18,000, £10,000 back from its new price after just two years.
Maurice Hardy
SHOGUN SHOWS ITS METTLE
