Doubling Down: New 2010 Polaris ATV, UTV Models

Home Page Slide Show, Polaris, Sport, UTV, Utility — By Tom Kaiser on November 10, 2009 at 2:05 pm

Polaris must be feeling confident these days. Sure, the economy has been a flaming pile of garbage, but the company’s product planners and engineers have been on a roll lately with its popular RZR, the second-generation Rangers and last year’s launch of the all-new Sportsman XP ATVs.

With an award-winning ATV, a hard-working line of full-size UTVs and the intoxicatingly fun RZR, you might think the company has its bases covered. After all, Polaris has clawed its way to the top marketshare spot in combined ATV and side-by-side sales — watch out Honda!

We’re not naming names, but that much new product would certainly be enough at some other manufacturers. To us, change is always good when it means better and/or more off-road vehicles. With yet another round of product launches this year, Polaris is doubling-down on an already strong hand, and reaffirming its commitment to be at the forefront of the ATV and side-by-side biz.

Behind The Lines

Based in Minnesota, with facilities throughout the state, it was only fitting its 2010 media introduction would be held at the company’s engineering, fabrication and testing facility near the small town of Wyoming just north of the Twin Cities.

We all got a tour of the $35 million facility — one of those dream offices with machines and helmets everywhere you look, workspaces designed with employee creativity in mind, a classy cafeteria with floor-to-ceiling windows, a high-tech sound lab, a cool hydraulic chassis durability test machine and component fabrication all in one building.

Better still, Polaris Wyoming is located in the countryside and surrounded by a network of delightful woods trails, with some rock crawls, ramps and other random obstacles thrown in for good measure.

Time For Touring

We love the new-for-2009 Sportman XP, as our ardent readers know. Aside from receiving the 2009 ATV Magazine ATV of the Year award, we’ve also showed off our long-term XP testers to friends, family and curious riders we meet on the trail. Its roomy dimensions, pillow-soft ride, precise front handling, mega-easy power steering and strong power all make this chassis even greater than the sum of its parts.

As we uncovered in our recent 2-up shootout (Power Couples, Sept. ‘09), the old-Sportsman-based Touring 800 was starting to feel old, and it finished third out of three in our comparo. Testers raised a stink over its too-far-reclined rear seat with little lumbar support, an unsettled ride for the passenger and handholds that weren’t as ergonomically sound as the competition. Our passengers and bodies were ready for an XP-based 2-up.

For 2010, that wait is over almost before it began! Now built off the XP chassis, the big-ticket changes for the new Sportsman 850/550 Touring EPS include an adjustable Comfort Ride seat that incorporates a shock absorber right into the passenger’s perch, standard power steering, on-demand AWD with Active Descent Control, a dual A-arm front suspension, improved ergonomics, a front storage bin and two integrated cup holders designed to carry drinks even while riding in the rough. You’ll also get more modern looks and stronger power whether you take the Fuji-built 550 single or the fierce, 70-horsepower Polaris-built 850 twin.

Based on our recent testing, that Comfort Ride seat is the biggest news. Everyone has their own preferences, so being able to turn a preload knob for a softer or firmer rear seat is a million-dollar feature, and it worked great in the field. The seatback is still reclined a bit more than we’d like, but its bottom is better contoured to keep passengers in place. The integrated, but exposed, coil-over-spring shock absorber truly does soak up trail harshness, and this feature should make for happier Sportsman-riding couples.

Also, since the XP chassis naturally rides better than the previous Sporty, these Touring models feel drastically better in all regards, and the ride is noticeably more forgiving. Its chassis is also narrower at the knees, due to its longitudinal engine placement, for more usable space for all aboard.

It’s hard to say how things would shake out if we re-did our 2-up comparison, but it’s likely the new Tourings would have a much better shot at first place. Starting at $9,299, the Touring 550 EPS starts a thousand dollars higher than the ’08 Touring 500. The full-blown Touring 850 EPS begins at $10,999, $1,300 dearer than the previous Touring 800.

Still Transforming

With a small but loyal following, Polaris really has something unique with its X2 quads, which easily transform from a single-passenger ATV with a truck-like rear storage box to a two-passenger rig. It’s always been easy: just flip a door and hide the seat when you don’t need it, or pop it up when you’re driving for two.

The X2 is still a good idea, but its operation and comfort made the original model a compromise, especially in passenger comfort. While it came in 500 and 800 variants in the past, there’s just one X2 for 2010. This single-cylinder 550 X2 has a softer, height-adjustable rear seat that does a much better job bridging the gap between cargo and people hauling.

The new 550 X2 still converts between modes in seconds, without tools, and it’s nice to be able to haul a bundle of firewood, gardening supplies or some game bait without having to hook up to a trailer or carry five-gallon buckets in your lap. Power and torque from the 550 single-cylinder engine is adequate, if not thrilling, and seems an ideal match for the X2’s intended purpose.

The 400-pound cargo hold remains the same, with a handy tailgate so you don’t have to lift your goods over the sides. Because Polaris knows you’ll be hauling, the wonderful front storage bin is standard, and contains room for 8.23 gallons worth of goods. Your cargo needn’t be liquid: but this front box does a heck of a job carrying water bottles, tools and extra layers of gear for a day on the trail.

We’re happy to see Polaris continue with its ingenious X2, even if they don’t sell like iPhones. This year’s 550 X2 is priced from $8,999, up $700 from last year’s 500 X2.

It’s nothing major, but the year-old Sportsman XPs also received some rear-end suspension changes, as the anti-sway bar was revised to make room for wider aftermarket wheels and tires. The battery was also moved forward, slightly improving the XP’s weight balance for a bit less push in the corners. A brief test revealed no easily noticeable handling changes.

Scrambling, Blazing Outlaws

Always a bit of a utility quad imposter, the Trail Boss 330 now has petite racks front and rear that accommodate Lock & Ride accessories, which can now make this little wheeler work. It gets a larger, more comfortable seat, 25 percent more lighting power and a Sportsman-esque face that’s a much cleaner look than before. Hard-parts changes included thicker brake pads and a new master cylinder for better braking, a revised swingarm skid plate, more fuel capacity and a new, remote fuel gauge.

Basically a Trail Boss without racks, the Trail Blazer 330 is similarly updated and continues to provide an affordable automatic machine for sporty riders. Just barely on the sport side of the fence, the Blazer gets a face inspired by the Outlaw quads, and it’s a huge improvement over the early ‘90s look sported by the previous version. Mechanical changes to the Blazer mirror the Boss – better lighting, swingarm protection and more fuel capacity.

Moving up to the mighty Scrambler 500 4×4, riders get a friendlier new face, 27 percent more lighting power, larger foot wells, more fuel capacity with a remote gauge and a longer, more comfortable seat. The AWD system is new, sharing the Sportsman’s setup that uses centralized front drive with dual, offset half-shaft joints that provide faster four-wheel engagement and less handlebar vibration.

On the trail the 2010 Scrambler 500 performs like previous versions — clearly not as advanced as other dual sport models like Can-Am’s Renegades, but the Scrambler is still a ton of fun on the trail, can easily pop up the front end at will, doesn’t require any shifting and starts at $6,399, which is significantly less than the $8,049 starting price for the least expensive Renegade 500.

Honey, They Shrunk The Ranger

With big-name players like Can-Am and Suzuki conspicuously late to the UTV party, Polaris has a broad range of side-by-sides to fight existing competition. From the pure-sport, desert terrorizing RZR S, through the amazing full-size Rangers and up to the Ranger HD, it seemed like Polaris had covered every sector of the UTV market.

Some of the biggest Polaris news for 2010, the midsize Ranger 400 (left) and fully-electric Ranger EV (right) are both solid performers.

Boy, were we wrong! For 2010 Polaris has plugged every conceivable hole in its UTV portfolio, added more horsepower where it counts, expanded its power steering offerings, made the RZR even faster and unleashed a handful of totally new, surprising side-by-sides.

First, the surprises: Polaris did a great job building suspense at the intro. With dimmed lights, the new Ranger 400 came speeding into the conference room. A 400-class Ranger? Wouldn’t that be slow as a snail and weaker than Tom Cruise playing a tough guy? Instead of sticking a smaller engine in the existing Ranger chassis and calling it good, Polaris went all out with a totally new, midsize Ranger chassis that looks like a 7/8 Ranger for the right size and right power-to-weight ratio.

The engine is a carbureted, liquid-cooled 455cc single rated at 29 hp. It tops out at 40 mph, has a 500-pound rear cargo box, a 1,250-pound tow rating and a McPherson strut front setup with IRS out back — providing 8 inches of travel up front and 9 in the rear. Ground clearance is also impressive, at 10 inches.

Polaris threw out a lot of numbers, comparing the new Ranger 400 to its midsize competitors. It all sounded convincing, but we were most excited about a chassis that’s 3.5 inches narrower than the previous Ranger, meaning it can fit in the back of most trucks.

Over rocks and through tight trails, it was clear this new 400 is more nimble and agile than the big Rangers. Its strut-based front end requires more steering effort than the superior A-arm setup in other Rangers. The engine provided decent throttle response and more low-end power than expected. Kubotas, Mules (Polaris’ suggested competitors) and the Rhino, Teryx, Prowler hegemony (our picks) should be worried about this one.

Juice It

Now, for the real show, Polaris opened the garage door and a Ranger-looking vehicle silently rolled in: its first electric side-by-side, the 2010 Ranger EV. Built on the same, smaller Ranger 400 platform, it’s powered by a 30 horsepower, 48-volt AC induction motor “fueled” by eight 12-volt batteries creating about 50 miles of ride time.

The EV can be fully recharged from bone dry in 8 hours using a standard 110-volt outlet and can scoot around quietly for a range of up to 50 miles.

Its drive selector has three options – in High, it can reach a top speed of 25 mph, but burns the most battery power. Low has a top speed of 15 mph and is intended for towing or hauling. Low also engages regenerative braking (that captures kinetic energy to recharge the batteries). Lastly, “M” provides maximum range — it’ll still get up to speed, but it’ll take a bit longer, but uses the least electricity.

Driving the 4×4 EV was illuminating, and the vehicle proved much more real world capable than we would’ve imagined. Sure, it’s quiet, but its acceleration is stout and it’s quick enough for rapid errands or sporty driving. Polaris claims two hours of power, but we rode all afternoon and still had plenty of charge left. This must be the future’s official arrival, and it’s looking better than expected.

The Speed Round

You’d think that was it, right? Wrong again. The Ranger 700 is now an 800 (760cc, 46 hp twin), giving more muscle to an already-powerful series of utility machines, and power steering is now offered on Limited Edition 800 XPs. The lesser Ranger 500 also gets a boost in power for 2010.

For the biggest projects, the Ranger 6×6 and Ranger Crew both move to new chassis, with the Crew getting improved second-row leg room (among many other improvements) and the 6×6 gets a fully independent suspension.

Last, but definitely not, least, the RZR is allowed to rev a bit higher with revised clutching, and it now tops out at 60 mph, compared to 55 with last year’s model. The 60-inch wide RZR S returns unchanged, aside from some new color options. And one last thing: all Rangers get better ROPS cages that meet new safety standards.

That is one comprehensive model introduction, and it proves Polaris has ambitions to be one of the preeminent off-road companies out there. Competing manufacturers, you’ve officially been warned.