Pinin a cheap option for off-roader

Feb 1 2010 Peter Hayward

IF you aim a little smaller, the dreadful fuel consumption of large off-roaders can be improved dramatically.

Unless you really need the large size, go for something like the Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin.

Despite its unwieldy name it's actually quite a good all rounder - and it's a Mitsubishi, which means its built to last.

It's a decent size for four in three door form and for five and their luggage as a five door.

It competes with the likes of the Land Rover Freelander and Suzuki Grand Vitara and comes with proper low ratio gears and a differential lock to give real mud-plugging ability.

The Pinin five door has a 2.0-litre direct injection petrol engine instead of the three door model's 1.8, and this is enough to make it faster than most of the competition.

And the direct injection technology gives better than average economy and lower emissions.

Interior

Sadly there is no diesel, but it is easy to live with and to drive, and 28mpg is not too bad if you want or need to drive a 4x4.

The five door is more comfortable than the three door and the only drawback for some is the seat height adjustment, which sometimes does not help shorter drivers.

FAST FACTS

Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin

Price: Pay about £2,300 for an '02 02-reg 1.8 Equippe 3dr, £3,400 for an '04 04-reg Elegance 3dr, or £4,500 for an '05 05-reg Equippe 5dr.

Mechanical: 113bhp, 1.8-litre, 4 cylinder petrol engine driving all four wheels via a 5-speed manual gearbox

Max speed: 100mph

0-62mph: 9.9 seconds

Combined mpg: 28

Insurance group: 10

CO2 emissions: 217g/km

Marks: 8/10

Main rival: Suzuki Vitara