This Mitsubishi Montero Sport has no rear seats for maximum cargo

The appeal of the Pick-up Passenger Vehicle (PPV) is undeniable: you get the ruggedness of a pick-up truck with the practicality and versatility of a wagon-type SUV. That's what you get when you build a seven seat SUV using a pick-up's platform.

But it seems Mitsubishi has tried something rather unusual with the Shogun Sport, otherwise known as the Montero Sport: they removed the rear seats.

This is the Mitsubishi Shogun Sport Commercial, the UK market name for the Montero Sport. Instead of having a second and third row for the full 7-passenger capacity, Mitsubishi deleted the rear seats and fitted a flat, carpeted load space. Effectively, the vehicle has been refitted to become a single-cab pick-up truck like the L200/Triton, but with a closed cabin.

The Shogun Sport Commercial is geared towards business customers that require the performance of a pick-up based SUV, but need the protected load space more similar to a panel van. The load area is 1920mm long, 1000mm wide at the narrowest point between the rear wheel arches, and 1040mm high. The cargo capacity is 1488 liters. Mitsubishi says the Shogun Sport Commercial has a maximum load capacity of 605KG and a maximum towing capacity of 3100 kilograms (braked).

This move by Mitsubishi is similar to what Toyota did with the Land Cruiser Prado in the UK when they built a Utility version. Unlike what Toyota did, however, Mitsubishi didn't reduce the features and upscale design bits as the Shogun Sport Commercial still has a lot of polished chrome trim pieces, alloy wheels, four-wheel drive with electronic settings for terrain, Bluetooth, adaptive cruise control, advanced safety features like FCM, and many more. The engine is the 181 horsepower MIVEC turbodiesel that we get in our Montero Sport as well.

While this may be a UK vehicle, would you be interested in a Philippine-market Montero Sport built like the Shogun Sport Commercial for business owners?