Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 DI-D

I CANNOT understand why anyone other than a farmer or a vet would opt for an off-road vehicle rather than a conventional car. But there are plenty of people out there who do, as Mitsubishi has sold more than 62,000 Shoguns in the UK since its launch back in the 1980s and companies such as Land Rover, Isuzu and Toyota all seem to be doing very nicely with their range of traditional off-roaders.

That's not to say the Shogun meets all of the criteria listed above. It is by far the best-looking off-roader (especially since its recent facelift) and although it is not quick in the conventional sense, the Shogun offers respectable performance from its choice of engines, either a 3.5-litre V6 petrol with gasoline direct injection (GDI) or a 3.2-litre direct injection diesel (DI-D).

We have opted to test the diesel in an attempt to keep company car drivers' tax bills down. We also opted for the long wheelbase model in middle specification Equippe trim, priced at £30,500. Finding rivals for the Shogun is quite easy - the Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado D4-D, Isuzu Trooper TD Insignia and Land Rover's Discovery 2.5 Td5 XS all offer much the same package for comparable prices. They are also close on emissions and fuel economy.

Of our group, the Isuzu Trooper leads the way. It has the lowest front-end price and the best residual value prediction after three years/ 60,000 miles, leading to it topping our running costs table on 40.92 pence per mile. Usually in one of our road tests, the car with the highest carbon dioxide emissions would be instantly disregarded because of the advent in April next year of an emissions-based benefit-in-kind system. But in this company the Trooper's CO2 output of 289g/km is not important because our chosen quartet are all well above the 265g/km tax threshold when the new system starts, meaning each driver will be taxed at the full 35% (there is no diesel supplement when you reach 265g/km).

Second place in the running costs table goes to the Shogun on 43.31ppm. Its higher price than the Trooper, combined with a slightly lower residual value prediction from CAP Monitor, sees it lose out. For what it is worth, the Shogun boasts lower carbon dioxide emissions and better combined fuel economy.

While the Trooper and Shogun are close in terms of running costs, there is a large gap back to the Discovery and Land Cruiser Colorado. Costing 47.92ppm, the Discovery has the second highest front-end price and the second lowest residual value prediction, although it does redeem itself by offering the best combined fuel economy figure at 27.4mpg.

That leaves the Land Cruiser Colorado in last place on 49.85ppm, not helped by having the highest front-end price (almost £3,000 more than the Trooper) and the lowest residual value prediction (36%).However, the Colorado does boast the lowest carbon dioxide emissions (279g/km) and the second best fuel economy figures (27.2mpg).