Mitsubishi

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Mitsubishi Shogun LWB – A Compromised 4X4 That Lags Behind More Modern Rivals

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If you want to ogle some serious, heavy-duty vehicles, head down to Gatcombe Horse Trials. The event is well under way today in Gloucestershire and it’s packed with mud-splattered, off-road exotica.

You might think the Cotswolds is prime territory for Land Rover but Mitsubishi has a strong following here – partly thanks to the company being based in Cirencester. Yep, Waitrose car park is rammed full of them.

Mitsubishi has made subtle changes to the Shogun over the years but it still instantly recognisable. These days the styling looks outdated and even in its most luxurious form, lags behind the rest.

People who buy a Shogun aren’t generally looking for street chic, they want something that will handle a horse box and plenty of go-anywhere ability. That’s where the Shogun scores – boosted by an extensive equipment list that you won’t find on a similarly priced, entry-level Discovery, for example.

Unfortunately, first impressions of the Shogun reveal it feels cumbersome and heavy, with rather vague steering. All that off-road ability means that it’s compromised on-road. And with many of its rivals offering a better combination of both, the big Mitsubishi doesn’t feel like the king of the road anymore…

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Monday – The Trout Man

 

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Tasmanian Roger Butler has been fishing since he was six. His father taught him the basics and charged the youngster for every fly he lost in a tree or bush while learning to cast. It didn’t take him long to master the art.

Butler’s 2007 Mitsubishi Pajero used to belong to the police. Now he runs his fly fishing tours out of Hobart, using the 4×4 as his home from home. It’s loaded with more fishing equipment than you can shake a rod at.

Why does he drive a Mitsubishi off-roader and not a Toyota, like the rest of Tasmania? Butler says it fits his 6ft 5ins frame perfectly and is an admirable workhorse.

Butler is also the loudest person I have ever shared a car with for three days. He is a real-life Foghorn Leghorn, if you can remember that cartoon. He also fished with Billy Connolly when the comedian was in Tasmania for three days in 2010.

And I like him because despite his endless banter, he taught me to fly fish and then land my first three fish. Thanks Roger.

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Thursday – Brand Power

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Jessica  The Mitsubishi GX5 is a curious car. On guessing the price I was wildly inaccurate as the drive quality and slightly bizarre choice of trimmings didn’t lead me to believe I was driving a car that sells in the £34,000 price bracket.

Talking about trimmings, there is retro and there is ‘why use old design…’ This car has an old style automatic gear stick which reminds me (vaguely) of the old red Jaguar my Father drove in the 1980s with it’s super 8 casettes. This, however, is a strangely cheap copy and looks out of place among the modern gadgetry.

Looking at cars and prices below is a random selection of seven-seaters which made me wonder where and how this Mitsubshi model competes…

Jeep Grand Cherokee £36,995.00

Volvo XC90 £36,865

Land Rover Discovery GS SDV6 3.0 AUTOMATIC £38,850

My biggest difficulty was the slow responds under acceleration and spongy steering. I would have happily swapped fewer gadgets and alarms for a better driving experience.

That said, the Outlander doesn’t look bad from the outside with its sleek lines. It’s also well considered from all angles.

I must say that after many years of visiting Badminton Horse Trials and seeing the sponsorship logos, I always imagined Mitsubishi was at the utilitarian end of the 4×4 market. It obviously has a healthy approach to country living and moving various types of livestock around the country. Such is the power of marketing!

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Wednesday – Pulling It’s Weight

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Jeremy I’ve always towed boats but this is the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire and that means horseboxes. The ‘Glossy Possy’ who live here aren’t short of a bob or two and you are judged by the size of your horsebox – just like actors always want the biggest Winnebago mobile home on location.

There are no ponies grazing on our lawn but Jessica has owned a few in her time. Her grandfather, Jack, was the youngest member of the British equestrian team at the Berlin Olympics in 1936!

Mitsubishi UK are based just up the road in Cirencester, so hard-working Shoguns and L200’s are as common as muck with the equine set. But they shouldn’t rule out the Outlander, mainly because it has an impressive tow weight of two tons – more than many key rivals.

And with just the front two rows of seats in place, the boot space is massive. Plenty big enough for two or three large dogs, although if you pull out the two third row seats at the rear, luggage capacity is severely  limited.

 

 

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Tuesday – Comfort Rather Than Speed

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Jeremy The first test car anybody tried to steal from outside my house in Bristol was a Mitsubishi Evo. It was the early 1990s and the Evo was the ultimate chav-mobile but it went rather fast.

Sadly, I don’t think Mitsubishi will be offering an engine quite as potent in the Outlander. The 2.2 diesel is perfectly adequate for the job and will shunt you and your family around in a respectable 0-60mph time of 11.2 seconds. We’re currently averaging 39.2mpg for everyday driving but the official mpg figure is more like 49mpg.

I can’t really say the Outlander will blow you away with its driving dynamics but you do get a comfortable seat and low noise levels in the cabin. The ride is softer than most other mid-size SUVs but you should expect some body roll going into a corner.

The six-speed automatic gearbox is smooth but still prefers high-speed work to stop-start city traffic, where it feels less refined. Our GX5 is also fitted with a sunroof which left open, is very noisy indeed above 40mph.

Oh and the only test car that was ever stolen from my driveway was a Ford Sierra Cosworth. The police knew where it was but simply couldn’t catch it…

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Monday – Pretty On The Outside

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Jeremy If I had to choose a small SUV on style alone, then the Kia Sportage would be top choice. The Honda CR-V now has the blandest backside in motoring history and I wasn’t too sure about the Outlander when it arrived either.

Then something happened. I took ten paces backwards and suddenly the Mitsubishi became a vehicle transformed. It’s as dull as a block of butter close up but this is a vehicle that needs a little space to be appreciated.

The slippery shape isn’t that different to many an SUV on the market but the new Outlander nose gives it something extra. It looks especially good with privacy glass too.

So it’s a shame the interior is less impressive. The centre console housing the automatic gearstick looks like it could have come from a Mitsubishi utility vehicle and is totally out of place in a £34k family car.

Mitsubishi need to look at a Land Rover Freelander. Fixtures and fittings are important and the Outlander lacks the finish to put it in this price bracket.

 

 

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Sunday – The Dearly Departed

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Jeremy I was taught that using the indicator was unnecessary unless another motorist was likely to benefit. Why distract yourself if no other vehicles is around? Our Outlander has a ‘lane departure warning systems‘ (or LDW in this case) which sounds an alert every time you cross or clip a white line.

It’s a safety device that has been around for years on some premium brand models. For example, my 2008 BMW 635d used an even more dramatic warning – it would make the steering wheel vibrate, which I found pretty unsettling at times!

Mitsubishi has fitted a bell chime and it’s infuriating, unless you know where to find the button to switch it off (it’s above your right knee). I’ll hold my hand up and admit that on duel carriageways and motorways, I don’t always indicate to change lanes because nobody is behind or in front of me. And yes, on some open corners I might even  clip the white line. That said, I am fully aware that I’m doing it and don’t need an alarm to put me back on the straight and narrow.

We took the Outlander to the hell that is Ikea yesterday. Now that is a place where LDW would come in very handy, especially if you are trying to walk back through the store to buy something you missed at the start.

Ikea use a system similar to kettling to funnel people through the aisles – once you are in the stream, it’s hard to get out again. Deviating off the path can cause all kinds of trouble, at the very least a shoulder barge from somebody coming the other way. If Ikea could fit customers with the Outlander’s LDW I’d definitely shop there more often…

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Saturday – A Swiss Army Knife Of A Car

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Jeremy My biggest fear about having kids and growing up? Obviously, the thought of driving a people-carrier. Who wants to open the door in the morning and be confronted by a Ford Galaxy or something with seven seats, shaped like a wet sponge and built by Nissan? Me neither.

So the rise of the SUV has been a blessing for us forty somethings. Sorry, fifty somethings, I keep forgetting my recent significant birthday. And judging by the huge number of SUVs on driveways up and down the country, the rest of the car-buying British public feel the same too.

One of the more popular models around these parts is the Mitsubishi Outlander, probably because the company has its UK operations based in Cirencester. Quite frankly, there are loads of them. Waitrose is like a forecourt for the company, so expect a Waitrose special edition Outlander any day soon…

I’m just back from the shops and I can see why. Our GX5 test car is at the top of the range. It’s loaded with equipment, including sat nav, leather seats, adaptive cruise control and the rather neat ECO driving mode. Now I thought this was a bit of a gimmick but it actually works!

Today I have managed 46.1mpg in everyday driving. That’s in a four-wheel drive with the air conditioning on and three people on board. Considerably better than expected – and obviously rather more than the sadly departed Jaguar XKR-S. More tomorrow….