- 5/6/2025
Happy Holidays from UTV Driver! It's the end of the year, which means it's 10 Best season! We run down our list of the best side-by-sides in 10 categories, from pappaw utility to open-class brawlers!
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SportsTranscript
00:00It's 10 best season. We've spent all year testing and driving the newest side-by-sides on the market, and it's time to pick our favorites.
00:07Welcome to episode 5 of the UTV Driver podcast. I'm editor Zach Bowman. I'm joined as always by executive editor Aaron Richardson.
00:17Aaron, happy holidays, Merry Christmas, all that fun stuff. Are you ready? Is everything wrapped?
00:23No. I think it's the true spirit of Christmas that by the 17th of December, you don't have any of your gifts in hand yet.
00:35You haven't even begun to consider wrapping them, and you're lightly panicked.
00:41I'm all of those things, but at least I have to travel in five days.
00:45We're spending Christmas next week in Florida, which is about a 12-hour drive.
00:50So not only am I not prepared, I don't have very much time to be prepared.
00:54Oh, perfect. Well, the good news is you and I are going to be ships in the night, because I'm going north of Virginia, and you're going south of Florida.
00:59So I'll honk and wave as you drive by.
01:02Yeah, exactly.
01:03Well, you know, we usually run down the top news stories of the week, but we thought, hey, screw it. It's 10 best season.
01:09We're just going to walk you guys through our selects for our 10 best side-by-sides of the year.
01:15These categories are always a little fluid, you know, Aaron.
01:19It sort of depends on what machines we can get our hands on, what machines sort of make the news that year.
01:25It sort of determines what these categories look like.
01:28There are some stalwarts, however, and we're going to start with the one that makes the most sense.
01:35And it's also the one that's the most important to the majority of buyers, utility.
01:41Aaron, who won the 2024 utility side-by-side of the year?
01:44It should come as no shock to anyone who has read our stuff or watched our videos this year.
01:50It's the 2024 Polaris Ranger XD1500, the extreme duty, the three-quarter ton side-by-side.
01:59This thing is monumental.
02:01We have loved every one we've had our hands on.
02:04We got, like, an exclusive look at it last year with the Diesel Brothers, and ever since then, Polaris has been sending them to us.
02:10And not a one has disappointed.
02:12Let's go down some specs real quick.
02:14It's a 110-horsepower three-cylinder.
02:16It was an all-new engine from Polaris.
02:19As far as we can tell, they essentially lopped one cylinder off the four-cylinder in the Razer Pro R.
02:25So it's a proven platform.
02:26You know, it goes in the Slingshot.
02:28It goes in the Pro R.
02:28Now it goes in the XD1500.
02:30It's got a steel belt CVT.
02:33So what that means is that the belt in the continuously variable transmission is encased within the transmission.
02:39There's no, like, weird plastic cover.
02:41And it's made of steel.
02:42It is apparently a lifetime part.
02:44This is an automotive technology thing.
02:46You know, any CVT you see in, like, a Prius or a Nissan or whatever is going to have a steel belt.
02:51This does, too.
02:52Basically, that just means it's way, way, way harder to burn up.
02:56Gives you that little bit of extra load capacity, not to mention durability.
03:00And it's something you don't have to service now.
03:02You don't have to take it out.
03:03You don't have to carry rubber belts around with you.
03:06Let's see.
03:07It's got a 3,500-pound towing capacity, which means 3,500 pounds is like any small car.
03:14You can tow a big trailer with this thing.
03:18The bed capacity is 1,500 pounds.
03:20I have personal experience with that.
03:21We put a wet hay bale in one this summer in Virginia and moved it around.
03:25It had absolutely no problem.
03:27And the dump bed still worked.
03:29Speaking of the dump bed, it's got an automated dump bed on all of them.
03:32You just hit the button and up she comes.
03:34It's hydraulic or electric hydraulic.
03:37So that, yeah, it's got a hydraulic ram with an electric motor.
03:40That's what I'm trying to say.
03:42Which is, you know, it's just a force multiplier.
03:45And it starts at $29,999, which sounds like a lot until you interact with one and then you realize it's actually a bargain.
03:54Zach, you have, I think, about the same high opinion of this thing as I do.
03:58What are your thoughts on why did it make our top 10 list?
04:01Yeah, I mean, you know, when you think of a utility rig, you typically think of something like a Ranger.
04:07You know, like a base Ranger.
04:09The difference in quality, in function, in usability between a base Ranger and this thing is galactic.
04:18It's the difference between, like, a first generation Toyota Tacoma and an F-350.
04:23Like, it's like a new F-350.
04:27Right.
04:28It's that level of generational jump.
04:30And it's why it earned our knot here.
04:34It's really, really a solid vehicle.
04:37I think if it's pointing to the direction that Polaris is running in terms of fit and finish and all the rest of that,
04:42we've got nothing but good things to see from those guys moving forward.
04:44Yeah, and speaking of fit and finish, it's worth pointing out that as bare bones as a basic XP-1000 or Ranger-1000 is,
04:53this thing is not that.
04:55You know, you can definitely get them where they're not enclosed cab,
04:58but you still get sort of a more automotive style interior.
05:01The seat materials are way nicer.
05:03The dash materials are way nicer.
05:04The dash layout makes a lot more sense.
05:07This doesn't feel like a golf cart with a big motor.
05:10This feels like an actually, like, well-realized utility machine.
05:14Well, and adjustability, too, right?
05:16Like, the driver's seat slides fore and aft.
05:18You sort of get that tilt and telescoping steering wheel.
05:20All the things that you sort of expect to find at this price point, they're all there, even on a base rig.
05:26So, yeah, good on you, Polaris.
05:282024 Utility Rig of the Year.
05:31XD-1500, not bad.
05:33All right, let's move on down the list.
05:35We're going to talk the next big category everybody's really excited about.
05:38This is the Open Class.
05:40We sort of had to create this one a couple years back when Polaris came out with the Pro-R,
05:45because suddenly that didn't really fit in the same category as, like, a Honda Talon.
05:49So, Open Class rigs are machines that push side-by-sides farther in terms of performance.
05:59Aaron, who is our winner this year?
06:01It is the 2024 Can-Am Maverick R.
06:05Yeah, buddy.
06:06With a bullet.
06:06How could it be anything else?
06:08With apologies to the other Open Class rigs out there, this one is still just a super classy machine.
06:16It's incredibly well realized.
06:18That suspension is next-level stuff.
06:21Now, I know that truck guys are going to say, yeah, well, that existed on the Chevrolet S10 back in the early 90s.
06:28Yeah, it sure did.
06:29But Can-Am's taken it and translated it to side-by-sides, and it basically means it's an open-class desert weapon that handles super flat.
06:37It's got, what, two and a half feet of suspension travel, but still manages not to roll super hard when you throw it into a corner.
06:44And then there's that seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, which takes away all of the worry that you get from a CVT.
06:51Not only is it more fun to sit there and change your own gears and feel the thing shift gears, and you get gear whine, and it's a little bit more immediate when you hit the throttle, but also you get that much more control when you're actually trying to go fast.
07:02And you can hold the accelerator to the floor, and you're not going to burn your belt up.
07:07Like, there's no more worrying about throttle modulation when you're going across, like, a hot, sandy area like a desert.
07:14What else can we say about it?
07:16Oh, and it's got 240 horsepower.
07:17Oh, just that, and anti-lag, you know?
07:20Oh, yeah, the anti-lag.
07:21That's your favorite.
07:22That's your favorite.
07:23It makes that da-da-da-da-da-da noise, which I'm here for, you know?
07:26Let's be honest.
07:28No, they're, you know, this and the XT-1500, I think, are the two rigs that we've had our hands on this year that sort of underscore where the industry is going as a whole, which is everything's nicer than you would expect, which has not been the case for side-by-sides ever, at least as long as I've had my hands on them.
07:47And the performance is just outstanding.
07:50You know, yeah, boy, $35,000 sure seems like a lot of money until you get behind the wheel, and you're like, why doesn't this cost more?
07:57I don't understand.
07:58So, yeah, K&M Maverick car, boy, good on you, 2024 Open Class Rig of the Year.
08:07I think it's worth pointing out for that one, too.
08:11You mentioned that nothing that fast should be that cheap.
08:15Find a car that comes anywhere close to, you know, it's levels of performance, right?
08:19So, a car that performs at the top level of where cars can perform is going to cost you $3 million?
08:26Like, I'm not kidding.
08:28Like, what's a GMAT-50 cost?
08:31Right, yeah, exactly.
08:31Or a Veyron or whatever?
08:33And, like, this thing outperforms a lot of cars.
08:36Like, I'm sorry.
08:37It's a, you know, put it up against, like, an out-of-the-box rally car like a WRX and, like, get out of here.
08:42No, I mean, I will full out say it outperforms any production car, any production car.
08:48Like, I, you know, in terms of, like, if you want to do what this can do off-road, there is no production car that can do it.
08:54There just isn't.
08:55And if you want to go do SCCA rally cross, like...
08:58And win a lot.
09:00Yeah, and win, right.
09:01You're not going to buy, you're not going to be able to replicate this for $40,000 in a Subaru or an Audi or any other four-wheel drive car.
09:09You get this thing out of the box, we'll spank all of them.
09:13And that's not for lack of there being tech, right?
09:15Like, this is a...
09:16Rotex built the transmission for this thing for the Maverick R.
09:20It's not some, like, off-the-shelf unit.
09:23And the anti-lag thing is really cool, too.
09:25They've, like, figured out within the price point of a side-by-side how to drop a cylinder and make the thing build boost on it.
09:32So, like, you don't get anti-lag systems in normal road cars without spending, what, $100,000?
09:38And, you know, it's just, it's not something that exists.
09:41And here's this $40,000 side-by-side that, like, yeah, you can't take it to the shops.
09:46But, like, you know, if you build yourself a legit race car, you're not taking it to the shops anyway.
09:51I was about to say, well, number one, that depends on where you live.
09:53But don't tell K&M I said that.
09:58True.
09:59If I lived in Phoenix, I would daily one of these.
10:01I'm not kidding.
10:02Absolutely.
10:02Absolutely.
10:03All right, well, moving back down to the utility side of things and also a little bit more of the pedestrian side of things,
10:10the pure work category is typically reserved for the type of rigs that you'd see on Papaw's farm, right?
10:16These are not the super Gucci machines.
10:19These are not all the power in the world.
10:21They're just the rigs you turn to, and you've got a job, and you need it done.
10:24Aaron, who is our 2024 winner?
10:27Our 2024 winner is the K&M Defender, and I'm not specifying which Defender because it's all the Defenders,
10:35whether you get the most basic HD7, the middle-of-the-road HD9, or the top-of-the-line HD10,
10:42which comes with all sorts of configurability.
10:45I mean, you can get it cowboy Cadillac or base Papaw spec, whichever you want.
10:50They're all great.
10:51You get your choice of engine.
10:52I think it goes from a small V-twin all the way up through like an 80-horsepower, 1,000-cc V-twin.
10:57They're all great.
10:58They're all made by Rotax, which Can-Am owns.
11:01But, you know, Rotax has a long history of building power sports mills with a reputation for just being absolutely bulletproof
11:08and pretty fun, too, when you get into the throttle.
11:12And, yeah, you can find a Defender for literally any job you need to do.
11:19And, you know, unless you need that three-quarter ton XD1500, if you want something that's a little bit more basic, a lot cheaper,
11:28these things start at $12,899, which is like, let's just reiterate, that's less than half of what a Ranger XD1500 costs.
11:37You know, if you're in that price bracket or you just need something that's fairly basic to bop around the farm,
11:43the Can-Am Defender is your guy.
11:46Yeah, they're super rugged.
11:47We have one with, I don't know, 15,000 miles on it that we just donated to a volunteer fire department in Virginia,
11:57and they're still using it and haven't had any issues with it.
12:00You know, you can't say fairer than that in my book.
12:03Yeah, absolutely.
12:04And, you know, we had a pretty, I wouldn't call it a heated debate,
12:08but we had a pretty strong debate whether we go Ranger or Defender here, right?
12:11Because on paper, they are pretty well matched neck and neck, and that's for a reason, right?
12:16Can-Am's always looking over Polaris' shoulder and vice versa when it comes time to, like,
12:20how they develop these rigs and where they slot to the market.
12:23But I think we landed on Defender, and you very wisely made this point,
12:28because of the sort of breadth of what you can get, right?
12:33All the way down from a base HD7 to a 6x6.
12:37You can get a 6x6 Defender.
12:39If you need a long bed, if you need to carry a bunch of people, you just, whatever.
12:44Can-Am's got you covered.
12:45And at the end of the day, I had to concede that, man.
12:48That's a totally valid point.
12:51Yeah, I think so.
12:52Yeah, Defender.
12:54Good on you.
12:54Good, good get.
12:55But moving on, we're going to sort of stay in the utility range here.
13:00We left the electric category sort of as it is.
13:05Eventually, we're probably going to have to figure out a way to split this up between electric sport and electric utility.
13:10But for now, really, mainstream buyers are only looking at electric utility rigs.
13:16Aaron, where did that lead us?
13:18That led us to the 2024 Polaris Ranger XP Kinetic.
13:23It is the first of its kind mass market EV side-by-side, and it is a great machine.
13:31It's such a cool thing just in general.
13:35But I think that Polaris really did themselves and did their Ranger a great service by putting its first viable EV drivetrain in a utility rig.
13:44I think that makes so much sense.
13:46For one thing, utility rigs are easier to justify than sport machines.
13:51For another, you tend to drive a utility rig in a much sort of narrower or smaller radius than you would a sport machine, so you don't have to worry about range as much.
14:03So you've got a great opportunity to do proof of concept here, and not to mention the torque from zero.
14:08And this thing has 110 horsepower.
14:10That is, like, 30-something more than the most powerful gas Ranger XP 1000.
14:20Well, it's the same as the XD-1500, right?
14:24110.
14:25Like, until the XD-1500 came out, the Ranger Kinetic was the most powerful Ranger you could get, which is insane to me.
14:33And it puts all that power down or puts all that power out from zero, like I said.
14:37So it feels a lot faster than the XD-1500.
14:42Whether it is or it isn't is immaterial because, like, you smack the gas and that thing sends you into the back of the seat.
14:48And, you know, you get, like, roller coaster stomach.
14:51And, yeah, it's super cool.
14:54So, but aside from that, you get up to 80 miles of range.
14:58You get all the capability of a normal Ranger with none of the maintenance.
15:02There's not a belt to maintain.
15:04There's not oil changes to take care of.
15:06There's a belt to maintain, but it's worth putting out that this is the hog belt like you would get on a slingshot.
15:12This isn't like the – it is a rubber belt, but it's not like the typical CVT continuously variable belt.
15:19Right.
15:19So you're not going to burn it up doing the work.
15:21And, you know, so oil changes are a thing of the past.
15:26So basically you have to, like, worry about tires and axles and coolant.
15:30And, you know, there's no spark plugs.
15:31There's none of that jazz, no air filters, nothing, which makes a huge difference over the course of a utility rig's life.
15:41You know, if you work on a farm or a ranch and you're working this thing all the time, maintenance becomes a huge deal.
15:45It's like a legit annual expense.
15:48And this just doesn't have that.
15:50Not to mention that electricity is cheaper than gas.
15:52You know, you charge it overnight in the barn for a few hours and you've got more than enough range to do most of the stuff that I think especially small farmers are going to need to get up to.
16:03Well, you know, I think we're at this interesting point where we're starting to see people accept electric tools in a way that even five years ago wasn't a thing, right?
16:18Like an electric leaf blower or even electric lawnmowers.
16:22I mean, my father-in-law has completely gotten rid of all his gas yard equipment because, hey, I don't have to worry about, oh, man, it's time to mow the grass.
16:30Oh, wait, I'm out of gas.
16:30I've got to go get gas.
16:32You know, it's not a thing that you can just drive down at the gas station.
16:34So it's like all this back and forth.
16:35All that stuff's gone.
16:36You just leave the charger plugged in.
16:38Leave the batteries on the charger.
16:40When you're ready to go, you slam them in there.
16:41This is even easier than that.
16:42You just leave the rig plugged in at your shop, and it's ready to go.
16:45You literally never have to worry about fuel.
16:47I think, you know, for a lot of people, it makes a lot of sense, and that's why it got the nod.
16:54Yep, and it's super fun, and I don't know.
16:57It's a Polaris Ranger, man.
16:58There's a lot of great things you can say about it aside from the powertrain.
17:01Yeah, absolutely.
17:03Until somebody builds this one that's better.
17:05You know, I think the Ranger Kinetic was our electric side-by-side of the year last year, too.
17:09You'll notice two years running.
17:11That's intentional.
17:13Part of it is nobody builds a better one, but part of it is, like, this thing deserves all the accolades it can get.
17:19And, you know, I'm looking for them to start selling a few more of these things.
17:23I think they make a lot of sense.
17:25Yeah, absolutely.
17:26All right, let's move on a little bit, and we're going to stay in the Polaris family for this next category.
17:31Recreation.
17:31You know, we used to just leave this as the rec-ute category,
17:35but we are finally starting to see a little bit more differentiation when it comes to recreation rigs.
17:40What is a recreation rig?
17:41Well, it's a machine that can take you and your family out to the sticks.
17:45It may not be the sharpest tool in terms of sport riding.
17:50It may not be able to do the sort of yard work that you require out of your rec-ute rig.
17:55It's just designed to have a good time.
17:57Aaron, who's our winner?
17:58It is the 2024 Polaris Expedition.
18:03Of course.
18:04Yep, the Polaris Expedition, the ADV, the XP, whichever one you get, you can't really go wrong.
18:10I love these things.
18:11I think they make a huge – they take side-by-sides another leap forward.
18:17When they came out last year, it was to get Polaris into the overlanding market,
18:23try and take people out of Tacomas and 4Runners and whatever else and put them in side-by-sides for doing their overlanding.
18:31And Polaris designed this thing from the ground up for that purpose.
18:34It was an all-new chassis when it came out.
18:37The only thing that really carried over was the engine.
18:39It's the ProStar 2 Parallel Twin.
18:43But there's room – if you get the ADV model that's four doors, there's room for five people in there,
18:48like legitimately room for five people in there.
18:51It's got a flat roof that you can put an accessory rooftop tent up there, sleep up there.
18:57And there's enough room for five people's gear if you're going to go out into the sticks.
19:01And you get a super configurable interior.
19:04You can fold the bottoms of the rear seats up,
19:06so you get this huge load floor right behind the driver and passenger.
19:10Or if you want, you can fold that down.
19:12And there's a 70-inch cargo deck that – I can't stress this enough – is enclosed and lockable.
19:19So your stuff's out of the elements.
19:20You can park it somewhere, lock it, and nobody's getting in to steal whatever you have brought to the campsite with you.
19:27So whether you're hunting or just taking your family out, like way out into BLM land for a weekend,
19:33like you can beat up a side-by-side and not have to worry about beating up your street truck.
19:38And these things are going to be quicker across the ground and more capable than just about any street vehicle I can think of.
19:47Yeah, and if you're at that place where you're having trouble convincing Mama that you need one of these into the tree this year,
19:52boy, Expedition makes it easy.
19:54You know, you get heat, you get AC, and the closed cab models.
19:57The ADV model that we have here in the shop right now is amazing.
20:01I mean, I – you know, yeah, it's pricey.
20:04It starts at $39,999 and goes up from there.
20:07But holy crap, is it nice.
20:09I mean, when we took it out on the shoot, we had camera gear.
20:13We had helmets.
20:14We had, you know, extra clothes for four dudes.
20:18And we're ripping right along.
20:20And, like, everybody's comfortable.
20:21Nobody's knees are crammed into the back of another seat.
20:24I mean, the rest of that stuff really is a proper – properly well-executed, good use of space.
20:32Yeah, and it earned the nod, absolutely.
20:35All right, so 2024, let's go back to the old rec-ute category.
20:41Our favorite.
20:42Our favorite.
20:43And, you know, this is one, again, a recreation rig designed to have mostly fun but also sort of a dual-purpose rig, right?
20:51It's got a bed.
20:52It could do some towing.
20:53It could do some hauling.
20:54It's probably a dump bed.
20:56Think Can-Am Commander, that type of machine, right?
21:00The first year we did these awards, the Yamaha R-Max was brand new, sort of defined the segment,
21:07and very wisely earned that nod.
21:12Aaron, what do we have this year?
21:14Weirdly enough, we had the 2024 Yamaha Wolverine R-Max 4-1000.
21:21And we should specify 4-1000, right?
21:25Yes.
21:26So for 2024, they lengthened the chassis.
21:29There's now proper four seats in there, which the R-Max didn't have before.
21:35Yeah, but before it was, like, this weird, like, they were, like, jump seats and they were, like, half in the bed.
21:40And, like, you really couldn't put anyone back there that you didn't just absolutely hate.
21:45Like, that's what the back seats of the R-Max 4 were for.
21:49Yeah, not anymore.
21:50Yeah, I mean, the thing wasn't any, well, it wasn't much longer than the two-seater.
21:53And now it is a proper four-seat, fully, you know, fully realized four-seater,
22:00which just takes it one level up from where it was before.
22:04We fell in love with the R-Max because they're super fun to drive.
22:08They're extremely playful.
22:11I guess eager is the best way to put it.
22:13They will go over anything.
22:15You know, we took a 2021, I guess, out into Moab a couple years ago now,
22:21and it embarrassed a lot of the, like, sort of gnarlier machinery that we had brought along
22:26in terms of what it was just willing to go over without complaint, without, you know,
22:30just, you know, you pointed at a gnarly rock climb,
22:32and the R-Max is going up at almost no question.
22:35Whereas we had some other stuff, some more sporty rigs out there, which I won't name,
22:39but, you know, you had to pick your line.
22:41You had to be a little bit more careful.
22:42You had to really watch the gas, and the R-Max just didn't care.
22:47Not to mention.
22:49The longer wheelbase has not saturated that, right?
22:51Yeah.
22:51It's everything that we loved about an R-Max just with, you know, room for actual adults now.
22:56Man, they're good, which is huge.
22:58Yeah, and sometimes, you know, that extra little bit of wheelbase can help you
23:01when you're at a really gnarly rock climb.
23:03You know, you can spread the traction out a little bit more.
23:05So, yeah, the R-Max is an absolute no-brainer for us.
23:09Can't say enough good things about it.
23:11And, yeah, we hope we can get our hands on one for a longer test pretty soon.
23:16I should also point out we've been talking about some pretty expensive side-by-sides.
23:21You know, that just tends to happen when you're talking about 10 best lists.
23:25We've got to pick the best stuff, and it's not a budget competition.
23:29But the R-Max 41000 starts at $27,999, which is a Yamaha hallmark where they kind of undercut the competition in price.
23:39And reliability-wise and quality-wise, they're like a cut above.
23:42That's no different here.
23:44$28,000, yeah, it's a pile of money.
23:46But when you're looking at an Expedition at $40,000, you're looking at $30,000 for a Ranger Kinetic, you know,
23:53$28,000 starts to sound pretty good.
23:55And really, like, for the majority of people, these R-Max's are going to be 97% as good.
24:04Yeah, I mean, there are a lot of rigs on this list that I would like to have.
24:10The R-Max 41000 is one that I could very much see parking in my garage.
24:14It's just a—
24:15Yeah, absolutely.
24:15It's an excellent machine, and it's a good all-rounder, and especially here on the East Coast.
24:19You know, it bears saying that Yamaha's based down in Georgia.
24:23They did most of the R&D on this machine in the area, especially here at Winrock.
24:28It is actually made for the type of riding that we like to do, and boy, does it shine through.
24:34So, well, speaking of budget rigs, this next category is a new one for this year.
24:39Bang for the buck.
24:40You know, we've sort of watched side-by-sides get continually more and more and more and more and more expensive.
24:46You know, there are several machines on this list that you can easily option to in excess of $50,000.
24:51So what is the machine that makes the most sense financially for a lot of people?
24:58And I'm pretty excited about the winner this year.
25:00Aaron, which is it?
25:02It's one of the two four-cylinders on this list.
25:05It is the 2024 Kawasaki Ridge.
25:07This thing starts at $23,999.
25:12This is Kawasaki's shot across the bow of Polaris and the Ranger.
25:17They've been building the mule for 1,500 years or something like that.
25:23I think right before the first Christmas, I think, is when the mule came in.
25:27Yeah, the earth had just cooled and they introduced the Kawasaki mule.
25:31But anyway, Kawasaki realized that there's a market for nicer utility machines, and so they kicked out the Ridge this year.
25:39It is a four-cylinder that's loosely based on one of their sport bike motors.
25:45It's attached to a CVT.
25:47But you can get up to 110 horsepower in this thing.
25:50Granted, you're not going to get that for $24,000, but pretty close.
25:54I think the lower horsepower one is like 90.
25:58Yeah, in our experience, you don't really miss that 20 horsepower.
26:03I guess it's nice to have, but for the most part, the base rig is just as much fun.
26:09Yeah, absolutely.
26:11And it's just a nicer place to spend time than a mule.
26:15A mule is a great thing if you need something that's super reliable, super rugged, going to do the job every day, day in, day out, no matter what.
26:22But the Ridge is quieter, and quite apart from that, it's way more luxurious, especially when you start optioning them up a little bit.
26:30You can get an enclosed cab.
26:31You can get HVAC.
26:32You can get a really nice stereo.
26:34You can get, well, it comes with super comfortable sort of automotive-style seats, a much more automotive-style dash layout.
26:42Yeah, it's just a great rig.
26:44And again, at $24,000, it's hard to say no.
26:49We get emails fairly often that are like, hey, look, I love to do some sport riding, but I need the thing primarily that's comfortable and that does work around the farm.
27:00And the first rig that pops in my mind every time is a Ridge.
27:02You know, if you haven't gone and put your hands on one, spent time around one, just go do it.
27:08I mean, for the money, and again, I can't underscore that enough, for the money, what else do you get?
27:13Three-year warranty on the thing?
27:14There's not another side-by-side out there that comes with a three-year warranty.
27:17No.
27:18So, yeah, rock and roll definitely earned its place on this list.
27:23Yep.
27:23And again, proven reliability.
27:26And I should also mention it's an expandable platform.
27:28I think that we've seen – there are already like four models of Ridge somewhere in that range, and Kawasaki's kind of trickling them out over this past model year.
27:39But what that tells me is that there's more to come from them on this.
27:42So I wouldn't be shocked to see a four-door model.
27:44I wouldn't be shocked to see like one that's even a little bit sportier than the top-spec XR.
27:49And that engine is, you know, what are they going to do with that next?
27:54I'm excited to see.
27:56There's got to be a higher ceiling than 110 horsepower.
27:59100%.
27:59All right.
28:00So the next category is a perennial favorite around here, sport rigs.
28:04You know, look, everybody likes a good work machine, but where our heart really lies is out there ripping through the woods.
28:11And, you know, this is where all the fun stuff is.
28:15Honda Talons, Razors, Mavericks, all that fun stuff, all the stuff that you see slinging mud on TikTok.
28:23These are the rigs.
28:24Aaron, what is our winner this year?
28:28Bit of an interesting one.
28:30The winner this year is a 181-horsepower turbocharged parallel twin.
28:35It is the Polaris Razor Pro XP and the Polaris Razor Pro S.
28:40Yes, we have a tie.
28:41A tie.
28:42Okay.
28:43All right.
28:43I'm listening.
28:44Yeah.
28:45Well, let's put it this way.
28:46So the Pro XP is narrower and shorter.
28:49And the Pro S essentially rides on the Pro R platform.
28:53It's a little bit shorter than the Pro R.
28:55It's going to come in that 74-inch wide mark and have bigger tires.
28:59But what you get with both of them is the same powertrain.
29:02So 181 horsepower turbocharged parallel twin.
29:06So you get the same level of power and like straight line performance.
29:10But depending on where you live and the kind of riding you do, they come in different packages.
29:14So if you're out in the desert and if you're especially somewhere that you're worried about, you know, a CC restriction, this is a thousand CC.
29:24So, you know, where the Pro R is open class, you better have as much room as you need to rip.
29:30The Pro S is smaller, uses a little bit less gas.
29:34And the nice thing about the Pro XP is that when you live out somewhere like Windrock, where you want horsepower, but it's kind of tough to justify a rig that's almost seven feet wide.
29:45And, you know, maybe it isn't the best, most adept rock crawler out there.
29:51The Pro XP is there for you.
29:52It's narrower and it's shorter, so it's going to handle rocks and roots and all that stuff a little bit better.
29:56But, you know, when the trail opens up, you can still rip.
29:59So hard to argue with both of them.
30:02And they're new this year.
30:03They got a facelift.
30:05They got some new vents that come in the cowl that dump fresh air into the cabin.
30:09So the sport rigs are not enclosed, most of them.
30:13So getting that little extra positive pressure in there keeps dirt out, keeps fresh air in.
30:18It got the seats from the Expedition this year, so they got just a touch more comfortable.
30:23And so that bumped them up over the likes of the Can-Am Maverick X3, which, you know, hasn't really seen a substantial update in a long while.
30:33Well, so Polaris, you know, the kind of Razer Pro architecture came out a couple years ago and replaced sort of the old Razer XP's, which were great, you know, fun.
30:46But they were very much old side by side.
30:48And these are moving towards the kind of new side by side thing where the interiors are much nicer and the architecture makes a lot more sense to do different things with it.
31:00So it's got to be the Pro XP and the Pro S.
31:03Which one you get should depend on where you ride and the kind of riding you do.
31:08But they're both going to serve you extremely well.
31:11All right.
31:11Yeah, makes sense to me.
31:13All right.
31:13So next up is a category that doesn't see a whole lot of action, but it's still one that's worth talking about, the youth category.
31:20And this is the same rig that won last year.
31:23Aaron, what do we have?
31:24It is the Polaris Razer 200 EFI.
31:28And really, it's the only choice in this category.
31:31Everything else that's youth-oriented is sort of a bumper car.
31:36Yeah, or, you know, is effectively a go-kart, you know.
31:41Yeah.
31:42You know, Ranger 200 EFI, $6,799.
31:45The thing that really sets it apart to me is what the sort of thinking that Polaris put into the machine, right?
31:55So every rig comes with a helmet, and it will not drive unless your kid is wearing that helmet.
32:00There's a sensor in the rig that determines whether or not your kid's wearing the helmet, which is great.
32:05I mean, we are big proponents of lids around here.
32:10You know, the vast majority of injuries that we see with side-by-sides are head trauma because, you know, you knock your noggin on a piece of steel tube, which is what is in these things, and that's what happens.
32:20So wear your lid, obviously.
32:21That's cool.
32:22The second thing is there's an app for your parents' phone so that you can actually draw a geofence around your yard, and the rig will just stop there.
32:31So you can just turn Junior loose out to, you know, cut his little dirt track in the yard without worrying about him driving through your neighbor's fence.
32:39That is also awesome.
32:41It makes it a much more well-thought-out machine.
32:45I think if I'd had one of these as a kid instead of the 30-horsepower golf cart I had, you know, I might have a few fewer scars.
32:53So, you know, cool.
32:54There it is.
32:55Once again, Polaris has sort of thought through everything that we could have.
33:01And, yeah, I think the geofencing thing is super important, right?
33:04Because how many times do you hear about a kid driving a golf cart or a go-cart out into a street and, you know, yeah.
33:11So this, unless you're, don't do the phone right, this can't happen here.
33:16Yeah, well, and it's, you know, it's a great way to get your kids into the sport, into the hobby, teach good habits from the get-go.
33:22And, man, there's nothing like getting that muscle memory in early.
33:27It's going to make them a better driver driver, you know?
33:29By the time they're ready to get behind the wheel when they're 15, they'll know how a vehicle performs, how it feels.
33:35They're going to be better drivers.
33:36So we're big-time fans of this category.
33:392024 youth category, Razor 200 EFI.
33:42Check them out.
33:43All right, it is time for our last category, number 10, on our 10 best luxury.
33:51Ooh, is this a new category this year?
33:53No, we had luxury last year.
33:55And we went this way because we, in addition to seeing prices continue to stack up, we're seeing rigs just, they're just more Gucci than ever, you know?
34:04They've got leather interiors, they've got insane sound systems, and the ADV model X-PED that we have now has a subwoofer the size of my chest.
34:15I mean, like, I cannot underscore the sort of niceties and insanity that we are seeing in the side-by-side space.
34:22Aaron, who's our winner this year?
34:24The Polaris Ranger XD-1500 North Star Edition.
34:29Two accolades, okay.
34:31Yeah, two on the same list, but when you think of the North Star, think King Ranch Edition F-350.
34:38Yeah, absolutely.
34:38You know, think Dodge Laramie+++, you know, Yukon Denali, whatever you want to say.
34:45That is what the XD-1500 is.
34:48That's who it's for.
34:49It's the cowboy Cadillac model.
34:52You know, if you've got a rich granddad, this is rich granddad spec.
34:56You get a booming stereo.
34:58You get Polaris Rod Command Plus.
34:59You get HVAC.
35:01You get electric windows.
35:03You get nicer seating materials.
35:04You get nicer touch points.
35:07You know, you get a headliner.
35:09All the Gucci stuff that comes with the XD-1500 stock, like that buttery shifter, like that engine, which we didn't talk about this very much when we talked about the XD-1500 before.
35:20But that three-cylinder has been tuned for low-down torque.
35:24So it has, like, sort of almost a diesel quality to it.
35:27It sounds a little bit like a diesel.
35:29It revs kind of like a diesel.
35:31But unlike a diesel, it's quiet and it doesn't smell.
35:33So in a luxury rig, that really – you just kind of get this nice, like, thrum instead of, like, the racket that most side-by-side engines make.
35:43And it's hard to overstate how important that is when you're talking about luxury, right?
35:48Like, quiet, dignified operation is a huge part of it, as well as, you know, comfortable touch points and luxurious niceties.
35:57So the XD-1500 North Star checks all those boxes.
36:03And it should be said that the last box it checks, in keeping with the luxury theme, is that its price tag is $44,499, which –
36:14Starting for a two-door.
36:17Yes.
36:17Yes.
36:18Yes.
36:19So – but when you get up into these, you know, you want to spend some money when you get up into luxury things to show that you can
36:26and also to know that you're getting something that's the highest quality you can muster, you know?
36:31There's a reason Bentley doesn't make a $35,000 car, right?
36:35Yeah, absolutely.
36:36And look, man, if you were running a high-end hunt club down in Texas somewhere and you had, you know, millionaires and billionaires to scoot around your ranch, you'd pick up one of these.
36:45Like, absolutely, you would pick up one of these.
36:46I would pick up one of these, you know, or six of these, you know.
36:49I mean, fair.
36:51Fair.
36:51You know, it bears saying that – I was talking to our local power sports dealer here in central Virginia a couple weeks ago.
36:58So they sell rangers the way that Kroger sells toilet paper.
37:05You know, I mean, they just run through them.
37:06But the guy there was saying that a local guy with several hundred acres, which in central Virginia means high roller, came and picked up a brace.
37:18That means two Polaris North Star XD-1500s, put them on a trailer and shucked them over to the ranch that he's got, and they're getting around the farm vehicles.
37:27So, you know, if you've got it, you might as well spend it on something nice, and that's the XD-1500 North Star.
37:36If you have the means.
37:37All right, that is a wrap for this week.
37:39As always, have fun and ride safe.
37:41If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to like and subscribe.
37:44You can also check us out over at utvdriver.com, where we have news, reviews, buyers, guides, and galleries five days a week.
37:50Finally, hit us up on social media.
37:51We're on all the usual channels, and we want to see what you are riding.
37:55The ATV Driver is proudly owned by Octane Lending.
37:57When it comes time for you to buy your next side-by-side ATV or motorcycle, finance your purchase with Octane Lending.
38:03Aaron, we will see you next time.
38:04Catch you there.
38:05Happy holidays, y'all.
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