The occasional danger with many automotive fads is that things are not always what they appear - take the current fascination with soft-roader SUVs, for instance. You buy one of them for its go anywhere off-roader looks, but you don't want to buy one that can actually go off-road because it ruins the on-road driving dynamics.
What you want is something that looks like an off-roader but drives like a car, hence the soft-roader moniker. The danger is that in going for something that looks like an off-roader you could end up with something that is actually an off-roader.
The Mitsubishi Shogun is one such pratfall waiting to happen. It's great off-road, the sort of confidence-inspiring 4x4 that makes you think you could literally go anywhere in the world and the car would be able to power you to safety. It has the aggressive looks of a proper off-roader too, the sort of styling that would look infinitely better if you could artfully throw a few buckets of mud up the side.
The interior quality has been greatly improved for the latest generation of Shogun too, which will please the UN, or whoever buys them. The tactility of the cabin plastics has been taken up a notch without adversely affecting the manly off-roading feel. The dashboard of a good off-roader is a key psychological part of the driver convincing himself that he can get up that next hill without falling off it.
Despite those fantastic off-roading chops, however, the Shogun is fairly terrible on the road. The driving experience will no doubt leave you feeling depressed - whilst the driving position is comfortable and imperious, the suspension is terrible and crashes the car about. The steering is entirely bland and you won't get any satisfaction out of driving on the road at all.
The only engine option available with the Shogun is the 3.2-litre diesel, a thrashy unrefined engine that never really sounds very happy. The torque does work well with the low range gears off-road though, which is something.
As an experience, the Shogun is a reasonable prospect - the running costs can get expensive, and depreciation is mildly upsetting, but there is an excellent standard equipment package that shows up well against the opposition. That reasonable prospect does depend on how much off-roading you do, however. If you don't fancy driving through even the occasional field you'd be better off elsewhere.