| Long Term Test | Mitsubishi Shogun |
Been anywhere interesting?
The Shogun's wheels rolled out of the UK via a P&O Ferry and drove from Calais to Chamonix earlier this month. There it's been to Switzerland to pick up people from the airport and over to Italy for the day to take us skiing on the other side of Mont Blanc - or Monte Bianco as the Italians call it. All this has been done with impressive ease, the Shogun hauling lots of people and lots of kit to and from ski slopes around the Chamonix valley for a few weeks.
Anything stand out...?
We borrowed the Shogun for its rugged simplicity and it's delivered exactly that, which has made it such a useful thing to have around as we get some skiing in. It's huge so it'll carry everything with ease; there are seven seats when we need them and it's got that go-anywhere ability that means even feet of snow won't stop it - especially with snow chains in the boot. Additionally, the boot's lip is great for sitting on when getting ready to ski and the cabin warms up quickly - even when the ice is on the inside of the windscreen.
It's not often that trip computers excite us, but all the way to the mountains we were checking the Shogun's comprehensive item all the time. It's got features like altitude, a barometer and outside temperature gauges, all of which can be displayed as small charts. As the height climbed it was interesting to see the temperature drop and also keep an eye on fuel consumption. Given the high cruising speeds en-route, 23.3mpg seems pretty decent, and in and around Chamonix we even saw nearly 30mpg on the trip. It's comfortable inside too, the heated seats always a boon after a day on the mountains and four-wheel drive meaning we could get to the slopes when some others struggled.
...and for the wrong reasons?
This Diamond-spec Shogun comes with everything as standard and that includes a premium audio system. We've never been very convinced by it though, the sound nothing like as crisp or intense as many of its rivals. The sound coming from under the bonnet isn't great either, the big 3.2-litre turbodiesel a very vocal unit at certain points in its rev range. Thankfully it's quiet on the motorway, but running through the Mount Blanc tunnel at a constant low speed at around 1,500rpm had us selecting another gear to get rid of the metallic clatter - to the detriment of economy.
Even four-wheel drive can't save you in the snow so next time we're away skiing we'll invest in some snow tyres - taking the snow chains on and off so often is a real pain. You can drive on tarmac for a while on chains, but the Shogun's firm suspension makes it a bit of a teeth ratting experience. In the snow they're fantastic of course, giving traction regardless of the conditions.
Where next?
A bit more time out here in the snow. Though really it seems we shouldn't have bothered going so far - the UK grinding to a halt when a few centimetres of the white stuff fell recently. Us Brits simply couldn't cope with the sort of snow that falls in the Alps daily - though with the Shogun on hand we're having no trouble at all.
