Mitsubishi’s old-school 4×4 has had a new-school makeover, with better fuel economy and reduced emissions. Is that enough to keep the Shogun competitive with more modern designs?

Judged by the amount of metal for your money, then yes. The over two-tonne kerbweight means there’s no tourer the Shogun couldn’t realistically tow. There’s space for seven inside, although nothing like as much legroom in the third row as you get in the Land Rover Discovery.

Stow the rear seats and the boot is huge, easily coping with a typical load of holiday luggage. Our practicality judge was also pleased that towing data was easy to find in the handbook, and that the car comes with a full-size spare. However, since the spare wheel is carried on the back of the car the towball needs to be unusually long. This did the Shogun no favours in the lane-change test, allowing the caravan too much leverage on the rear of the car, pushing the back of it wide even on low-speed runs.

The Shogun was happier towing in a straight line, although not in the same league as the Discovery or Mercedes-Benz ML. Accelerate hard and the 3.2-litre engine pulls car and van from 30-60mph in 16.5 seconds, but it’s noisy. The Shogun is improved, but there are better heavyweight tow cars.