FACT - the Mitsubishi Shogun is never going to win any friends in the green brigade. Fact - the Mitsubishi Shogun drinks fuel for fun. Fact - the Mitsubishi Shogun handles like a Panzer tank at times, but I can honestly say with hand on heart I loved it.
Sometimes it's just fun to ignore the constant stream of 'don't do this , don't do that' and 'oh, that's bad for you' and get on with enjoying life. And with that in mind the Shogun certainly delivers the goods.
Comfort levels are excellent, albeit you need a small stepladder to get into the rear seats! All-round visibility is class leading and the specification is second to none.
In fairness, the Shogun doesn't really shine in and around town, but hit the open road or the not-quite-finished trail and it comes into its own.
Unlike the numerous soft-roaders, you actually choose which drive you want and also like many soft-roaders, the Shogun is not scared to get its tread dirty.
The five-door Elegance model supplied for the test drive was fitted with an impressive array of features including a hi-tech 30GB hard disk drive navigation system with music server complete with colour touch screen and rear view camera. There is even a 12-speaker premium audio system as standard.
There were heated seats that could be adjusted every which way to find the perfect driving position and all the controls and dials are perfectly placed for comfort.
Obviously, the safety spec is pretty impressive too with active stability and traction control, twin front, side and curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and the Shogun's patented Rise safety programme which features numerous innovations to help protect passengers in the event of a crash.
All in all, the Shogun is not likely to feature predominantly on the regular school run - unless it's a very expensive private school and the owner has an unlimited reserve of fuel. But it is a vehicle that is fun, willing to work hard and a truly powerful beast.
FAST FACTS
Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 DI-DC Elegance 5dr
Price: £31,549
Mechanical: 158bhp, 3,200cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving four wheels via 5spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 110mph
0-62mph: 12.5 secs
Combined mpg: 26.7
Insurance group: 14
CO2 emissions: 246g/km
BiK rating: 35%
Warranty: 3yrs/ unlimited mileage, 6yrs paint, 12yrs anti-rust