Shogun Sport K90 Petrol or Diesel – Which to Buy?

The Shogun Sport K90 series was available in both petrol and diesel with the latter being significantly more economical to run yet much slower than it’s more refined petrol cousin which only came with automatic transmission.

Shogun Sport K90 petrol or diesel? if you are considering one of these classic old 4×4’s then fuel choice is an important consideration as the economy difference between the the 2.5 diesel and the 3.0 litre 177 horsepower petrol unit is significant.

We are talking about the model made for the EU market here, it would have been nice to have the 3.5 petrol as a choice in UK showrooms but those were reserved for other parts of the world like the US, the 3.0 however was more than enough for the UK roads with the automatic transmission making it, in theory a smoother drive and more refined choice between the two.

It would seem obvious that the diesel is going to be more economical on a real life daily basis and it is – very much so but only because of it’s beefier cousins insatiable thirst for petrol, as a choice for a daily driver the diesel is the one to go for but you do get a much more sluggish vehicle and a snail’s pace 0- 60 time, if niether of these factors are a concern then diesel is the way to go.

Transmission

The 2.5td had manual transmission, the 3.0 petrol had an auto box, both sound and reliable by all accounts but depending on the purpose of the vehicle then this may affect your choice. For overlanding it’s a manual box every time, I personally need more control, for the UK school run however then the auto is just fine. All of the 2.5 diesel Shogun Sport models came with a manual transmission, auto was not an option.

Noise

The diesel is a way louder engine, there is no getting around the fact that these power units are old school technology and while strong they do make a racket as you can see from our own Shogun in this video:

Which one to go for

Neither choice is particularly good for the planet, the Shogun Sport [1st gen] is a polluting vehicle so if that concerns you it may be better to look elsewhere. For overlanding the 2.5td would be the one to go for, yeah it’s a sluggish lump compared to it’s competitors but very, very capable offroad and in any case when, realistically do we need spped when we’re overlanding?

If you have deeper pockets for fuel then the 3.0 V6 is a nice vehicle, more refined engine-wise and a smoother drive but tremendously thirsty. The auto box might be a deal breaker for some. Both variants are solid, reliable old skool 4×4’s, from the days when 4×4’s were ‘real’ as some might say…

Both are also very cheap to buy for what they are although prices are levelling out in 2022, from there, prices tend to begin to go up – there are less and less of this model of Shogun coming up for sale so the scarcity factor is slowly coming into play.

If you’re after one, get one now.

Resources:

• Our Shogun Sport ownership review
• Early Shogun Sport buyers guide
• Budget Overlanding – Why we chose the Shogun Sport 2.5