Mitsubishi Shogun Sport (2018 – 2021) Review

The 2018 Mitsubishi Shogun Sport is a rugged seven-seat SUV designed to compete with the likes of the Ssangyong Rexton, Hyundai Santa Fe and Nissan X-Trail, but it offers a greater degree of off-road ability than most of its rivals. This is partly thanks to it being based on a supremely capable off-roader – the Mitsubishi L200 pick-up truck.

The Mitsubishi Shogun Sport is a bit of an oddity. While many commercial vehicles are aiming to be more car like these days, this is a car that is based on a commercial vehicle – the rugged and capable L200 pick-up truck.

The Shogun Sport is a seven-seater that shares more than just its platform with the L200 – it is powered by the same 2.4-litre diesel as the pick-up. However, the four-cylinder diesel engine gets more power than the pick-up truck, with 180PS and 430Nm of torque. This means NEDC combined consumption is 32.8mpg and 227g/km of CO2, while the max legal braked towing capacity is 3100kg.

Mitsubishi describes the Shogun Sport as 'built for the most extreme family adventures' which is why it comes with lots of off-road systems as part of the grandly named Super Select II all-wheel drive system. These include hill descent control and a dedicated off-road mode, as well as trailer start assist. There is also a locking rear differential included.

On the flip side, the Shogun Sport doesn’t match its off-road ability with on road composure, and it is far less capable than its more refined rivals.

Although it doesn’t have the same basic leaf-spring suspension setup that the L200 has at the rear, it is still less capable than the likes of the Skoda Kodiaq etc. There is a great degree of body roll around corners and the ride is bumpy. This bumpy ride also means that the Shogun Sport can pitch forward and backwards when you press hard on brake or accelerator.

There is a decent amount of space for all three rows of passengers, although the third row is one for shorter adults. The boot arrangement means that there isn’t a huge amount of space when all seven seats are occupied but drop those seats down and there is a huge amount of room for luggage. Load space is 502 litres to the window line five seats up, 1488 litres all rear seats folded and 131 litres with all seats up.

There are just the two trim levels, somewhat bizarrely called ‘3’ and ‘4.’ The entry-level '3' trim includes leather upholstery, electrically-adjustable front seats, LED headlamps and parking sensors. The higher spec ‘4’ model – which adds £2,000 to the list price – gets heated front seats, adaptive cruise control, crash mitigation systems and a 510W audio system.

The top of the range model adds heated seats, a bind spot warning system and a 'Multi-around Monitor System' which creates a bird's eye view around the Shogun. Handy for parking.

There are two sides to the Mitsubishi Shogun Sport, one it is good at and one it is not so good at. 

You get permanent four-wheel drive, four different terrain settings, a low and normal ratio gearbox, hill descent control and a locking rear differential – this thing is designed to go off road and it is great at it.

Sadly this comes at the expense of on-road abilities, with the Shogun Sport’s ride and handling poor compared to rivals. It has a more modern suspension setup than the L200, but it still lags a long way behind the likes of the Skoda and Nissan rivals.

The ride is soft, yet still a bit fussy on poor surfaces. The softness means that it rolls through corners more than you would like, and it pitches forward and back when you press hard on brake or accelerator.

The vague steering doesn’t help either, meaning that you don’t have as much confidence through corners as you’d like.

The single engine is another thing shared with the L200, but even the L200 has a more modern unit – this is the older 2.4 litre diesel whereas the L200 gets an updated 2.2-litre.

It is slow, despite a decent amount of power (181PS) and torque (430Nm) with 0-62mph taking 11.0 seconds. That torque does mean that it is capable of a decent overtake, though. It’s not a quiet engine, as it is vocal at lower speeds and under harder acceleration, although it does settle down at a cruising speed.

The only gearbox is an eight-speed automatic, which is smooth and easily operated with the paddle shifters. It does sometimes hold onto a gear longer than you might expect, which builds the revs up, but you can encourage it to shift with those paddles if that’s an issue.

The Shogun Sport hasn’t been crash tested, although the L200 on which it is based did pretty well back in 2015 when it picked up a four-star score. The extra equipment on the Shogun Sport is a bonus, too.

Kit like brake assist, a trailer assist system, hill start assist, rear parking sensors and active stability control all come as standard, while the 4 trim gets blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control, front parking sensors and a 360-degree camera as well.

Optional towing paragraph if appropriate. Stick to facts and figures: towing capacity, kerb weight, 85 per cent of kerb weight figure.

The Shogun Sport is a strong towing vehicle, with a top towing capacity of 3100kg on both models. The standard-fit trailer assist system, which can sense when a trailer is starting to sway out of line and then control individual wheels to bring it back into line is a bonus, too.

The front seats get a lot of head and leg room, as do those in the middle row. The middle seat is able to take an adult passenger, too, as the floor is only slightly raised. There are Isofix fittings on the two outermost seats in this row, too.

Getting into the third row is relatively easy, as the middle row can be tumbled forward simply. You can get a pair of adults in the third row of seats, but with the usual caveats that come with any such car in this class. The floor is relatively high up so legs will be left bent, and headroom is a little tight.

The boot space is not suitable for much more than a couple of bags when those rear-most seats are in place, being just 131 litres in total. Drop the seats then you get a decent 502 litres, albeit with a few bumps in the floor. Fold everything down and you get a generous 1488 litres of space.

The Shogun Sport comes with a decent level of standard equipment, with leather seats as standard, which is a nice touch.

They are the stand-out highlight when it comes to the materials on offer, though, as there aren’t many other premium or soft-touch elements.

Scratchy black and silver plastics are more common, along with buttons and dials that lack the feeling of solidity that you would hope for in a rugged vehicle that costs approaching £40,000.

Both versions of the Shogun Sport come with a standard-fit seven-inch touchscreen with a good array of features. These include Bluetooth, USB connectivity and even an HDMI input – somewhat of a rarity in any car. If you go for the higher trim then you don’t get anything extra in terms of screen or functionality, but you do get an upgraded amplifier and an eight-speaker setup, which is an improvement on the standard model’s six speakers.

The actual system is not as sharp or intuitive as the setups in some rivals, with the slick version in the Skoda Kodiaq much more user friendly for example. However, the standard-fit Apple Carplay and Android Auto are welcome inclusions, which means you can bypass the in-house operating system and use your phone instead. 

In fact, you’ll have to do that if you want any form of satellite navigation – it isn’t offered even as an option.

The Shogun Sport is not a cheap car to buy, with no budget option in the range – it starts at a few pounds under £36,000 for the 3 trim, with the 4 costing £2,000 more.

Granted, the simple nature of the range you do get a good amount of standard equipment on the basic trim so there is no need to head to the options list. In fact, there is only the one option available – metallic paint. The higher trim adds more equipment that is geared towards on-road use, so there is no real need to get it if you are going to use the Shogun Sport as an off-road tool. 

A 4WD, automatic, seven-seat Skoda Kodiaq, for example, starts at around £33,000 and the Nissan X-Trail with similar features is in a similar ballpark. They don’t have as much in the way of off-road equipment, or the trailer control system but for the majority of users those won’t be daily requirements.

The Shogun Sport is still relatively new to the UK market, but it looks to offer decent value as a used buy (perhaps less good news if you have bought one new.) It is predicted to hold on to just over 40% of its original value after three years, which would see it start around £16,000 at that point.

The Shogun Sport isn’t a particularly economical vehicle to drive, as it sits in the second-from-top bracket for the first-year showroom tax, and the top band for company car tax.

It’s also a thirsty vehicle, with an official fuel economy of 32.8mpg, which is poor versus the likes of the Hyundai Santa Fe and Skoda Kodiaq.

Even if you go for the four-wheel drive version of the Skoda then you get an official economy of close to 50mpg. If you use the Shogun Sport in its natural, off-road environment then that official economy might be hard to achieve, too.

Insurance wise the Mitsubishi compares favourably to its rivals, though. The cheaper trim sits in group 43 while the increased levels of safety kit on the 4 trim means that it is five groups lower in group 38. This is similar to the Hyundai Santa Fe, although it lags behind the Skoda Kodiaq once again.

The 3 trim is the model that will suit those who are buying the Shogun Sport for its off-road ability. It gets the Super Select 4WD System, rear view camera, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, electronic parking brake, cruise control, hill descent control, rear parking sensors, dual-zone climate control, DAB digital radio and Bluetooth, powered front seats and leather upholstery.

Step up to 4 and the stuff you get is largely comfort and safety focused, with heated seats, a blind-spot warning system, a 360-degree camera, forward-collision mitigation system, extra speakers for the stereo and adaptive cruise control but not navigation.