Mitsubishi Shogun Black Edition

The Mitsubishi Shogun Black Edition is brash and bold, yet offers comfortable space for five people and plenty of equipment. The diesel engine is thirsty and the interior feels cheap, but there’s generous carrying capacity and this car does a good job of providing rugged transport with minimal fuss. Although it can’t match the sophistication of rivals, the Black Edition does add some desirability to the Shogun mix.

The Mitsubishi Shogun Black Edition offers a long list of standard kit on paper, but can it keep up with newer, more sophisticated SUV rivals?

The Shogun Black is based on the top-spec SG4 trim level, which already comes with sat-nav, a reversing camera and leather upholstery. The Black adds a matt-black finish to the grille, head and tail-light surrounds, foglight bezels, side-steps, door handles, rear roof spoiler and 20-inch alloys.

The Shogun lacks the kudos of a Land Rover or Jeep, but it’s still a very simple and practical machine. So the heated seats and seven-inch screens in the back of the front headrests are unexpected luxuries, yet they fail to hide the crude mechanicals found under the skin.

The 197bhp four-cylinder 3.2-litre diesel is the largest in its class, but it sounds gruff at idle and under acceleration. A useful 441Nm of torque from 2,000rpm means quick getways, despite the 2.2-tonne weight.

The electric power-steering lacks sharpness and the ride is a little harsh on the larger wheels, yet despite its size, the Shogun isn’t intimidating.

The rear seats can be folded down to create a massive 1,719-litre load space, but the huge side-hinged boot door limits your access to it in tightly confined areas, especially with the spare wheel mounted on it.