Author: carcoutureblog

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The ageing looks of the Mitsubishi Shogun give it a bit of kudos in an era of off-the-shelf SUVs

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You don’t have to be a petrolhead to realise that a lot of cars look pretty much the same these days. And I don’t just meet the corporate ‘branding’ either.

The worst offenders are in the SUV sector. There’s only so much you can do to a five-seater with four-wheel drive and boot space to make it style differently.

Which is probably why the ageing looks of the Shogun actually give it a bit of kudos these days. All those curves and muscle-bound wheel arch extensions – it’s a throwback to the turn of the century.

I’ve surprised myself with a growing liking for the Mitsubishi parked outside this week. It’s not an angular beast like many utility vehicles. I like it because it does stand out from the crowd and stay true to Shogun roots.

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The Mitsubishi Shogun was never designed to be a lifestyle SUV…

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Expect a flood of new SUVs in 2016 as manufacturers from Jaguar to Rolls-Royce launch four-wheel drive models to tap into our yearning for multi purpose vehicles.

I’m starting to wonder what the next fad will be – or have we exhausted all possible configurations for new types of car?

For those of us without a family, it’s sometimes difficult to get your head around the need for an SUV – who needs seven seats when a rasping two-seater is more than enough.

Fortunately, the Shogun was never designed to be a ‘lifestyle’ machine. It was always a serious off-road machine for people who don’t mind getting the floor carpet dirty.

I wonder if we will be able to say that about any SUV in five years time? Even the next generation Land Rover looks like it was designed for the high street rather than a farmyard…

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The Shogun has become a poor man’s alternative to the Land Rover Shogun…

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The Shogun has become the poor man’s alternative to a Land Rover Discovery. That’s on-road and possibly off – depending on how serious you are about trashing a £40k vehicle.

There used to be a time when the Shogun was king but it’s been left behind on-road by the likes of the BMW X5, the Volvo XC90 and many others.

Yes it has a whopping towing capacity but that’s not enough of a selling point to tempt buyers confronted by a forecourt of alternatives.

The ride is ponderous and bouncy, engine noise from the rumbling engine is intrusive and it’s thirsty too.

Console yourself with the amount of standard equipment and cabin space. Oh and that towing capacity of 3,500kgs (a Toyota Land Cruiser is 2,800kgs).

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The Mitsubishi Shogun – still doing the business after all these years

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Mitsubishi would cringe if I were to compare the Shogun with last week’s Range Rover. Apart from the whopping price difference, they are aimed at very different markets.

You aren’t going to use the Shogun as an urban-mobile – and say what you like, I’ve rarely seen a Range Rover towing a horsebox in the Cotswolds with serious mud on its wheels.

Our top spec SG4 Mitsubishi is capable of being a competent, semi-luxury machine and the Range Rover is brilliant in the mud. But that isn’t what people buy them for.

So, we have two 4x4s that are polar opposites. And I like it that way. The Shogun sounds and feels positively agricultural by comparison but like my friend says, it does what it says on the tin…

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The Range Rover does what it says on the tin – it’s the ultimate luxury car

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If there was a luxury car for all seasons I imagine the Range Rover would be near the top of the list. I know the lady who invented the advertising slogan ‘it does what it says on the tin’ and here we have a machine that will rove over any range.

Why would you want Mercedes S Class when you can sit high and mighty in a Rangey? It is the perfect executive vehicle for town and country.

I sometimes wonder if Land Rover will relent and launch a two-wheel drive version, simply because all that off-road ability is rarely put to any use. Imagine an entry-level Range Rover for about £65k!

The next test car has just arrived, a top spec Mitsubishi Shogun. I took the delivery driver to the station. It was difficult not comparing it to the Range Rover. I’m going to miss the quiet cabin, the refined engine and gentle ride comfort the most…

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Why four-wheel drive won’t save you on ice – even in a Range Rover

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There is a crazy ‘rush hour’ into my village every morning of the week. It’s a school run and I’m afraid to say the majority of drivers are women.

They say familiarity breeds contempt and that’s certainly the case with the narrow lanes around this Gloucestershire beauty spot.

Most of the mums drive SUVs and seem to think that being in a ‘big’ car with four-wheel drive will save them and their offspring on an icy corner.  It won’t.

The Range Rover has the most sophisticated four-wheel drive system of any 4×4. It may be a luxury limo but it has all the attributes of a thoroughbred Land Rover.

Yesterday I slid sideways at 25mph on ice. It doesn’t matter how good a driver you are, permanent all-wheel drive won’t save you. Driving slower might…

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Heavy frost – the Range Rover Autobiography has turned a whiter shade of pale

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In about an hour’s time I’m going to press a button on the keyfob of the Range Rover from inside my office. Ten minutes later I will step outside, wrapped up against the sub zero temperature, and slip into a leather driving seat than is already warm.

All the windows of the Autobiography will have de-iced. A second blip of the fob will open both parts of the tailgate and my hound will launch himself into the boot, ready to head off for our morning run.

The DAB system will click to Radio 4 and the heated steering wheel will come on within a minute. I don’t need gloves and it will be too warm to wear my woolly hat.

Meanwhile, my similarly priced Porsche 911 Cabriolet will still be frozen to the driveway. I’d like to drive it but the thought of battling with an ice scraper, waiting for the windscreen to defrost then having a cold arse isn’t appealing.

Still wondering why people drive Range Rovers?

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The original Range Rover swapped carpet for rubber mats so you could carry a pig to market

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My father used to crank start his Hillman Husky estate – he didn’t want to drain the battery. There was no rear window demister and the heating system was an option.

The original Range Rover was luxury by comparison, back then in the early 1970s. It swapped carpet for rubber mats so that you could hose off the floor after carrying a pig to market.

Now the TDV8 parked outside is fitted with a heavy duty battery capable of firing up the space shuttle. It has to be to power the amount of electrical madness on board.

Among the most demanding is the park heater – designed to switch on the heating system via a keyfob up to 30 minutes before you step into the car. Lovely in this weather.

Then there’s the heated steering wheel, the downlights under the door mirrors that flash an image of a Range Rover onto the tarmac, and the double opening electric tailgate.

If it wasn’t for that 4.4-litre 340bhp engine under the bonnet this would be the ultimate electric car…

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Strap four leather armchairs to a chassis and add every known luxury to man – voila! A Range Rover

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The corner of my sitting room is taken up with a large, leather armchair. I’ve owned it for years. It’s sunk to my shape and lures me in with the promise of comfort and familiarity.

If I could strap four of them onto a chassis and surround myself with every gizmo known to modern motoring man, I would probably have the Range Rover Autobiography.

As much as I love blatting around England in low-sprung supercars, I can also be seduced by the promise of supreme comfort – oh and a heated steering wheel.

I’m really not sure you will find better seats in a luxury car. Combine that with the high seating position and the world is a wonderful place. Even on a cold, January morning in the Shires…

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Can the range beat off new SUV rivals from Bentley and others in 2016? read our review

1059382_Range_Rover_MY16_003Just like bandits on the horizon, a host of well-armed machines will be gunning for the Range Rover in 2016. Bentley, Maserati, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce – hell, even Tesla is launching an SUV.

So what does Land Rover have to do to battle its way through and win in the muddy playground of sports utility vehicles? Probably not much, judging by the latest model Rangey.

Little has changed since last year. It’s mostly more technical stuff in the cabin, like a better surround camera system for parking, a remote tailgate is now standard and the air suspension automatically drops to low access height when the car is parked. Smashing.

The connectivity of the infotainment system is also improved and you can now check the status of the Range Rover’s systems remotely using a special App. Cool.

And guess what? It still would have been the best 4x4xfar even without those changes. More tomorrow…