The 300 is a little giant...Truly a tank. The two we have at camp, (one 2x4 - one 4x4) have been literally put through the ringer. Everybody and their brother has ridden them hard as nails...If I had to guess, the 300 4x4 has at least 10,000 hard driven miles on it. They both sit outside in the woods 24/7/365 and start up and run every time....

Too bad they pulled them from the line-up and worse yet that they never made it in automatic. I never had a though about buying auto, until I found my current '03' A/C 400 - Man, I love it now...

 

Get a 4x4... any extra $ you spend will be made up on the loss you take when you sell your used 4x2...after a season or two.

It doesnt take much on a low ground clearance machine to get hung up on stuff something, on a trail... 4x4 will help...

'05
AC 500 4x4 auto

 

We just went for a long weekend of trail riding. I had my TRV and the kids took their turn on the '06 250. I must say I get more and more impressed with this ATV. What the 250 lacks in 4x4 ability it more than makes up for in nimbleness and overall handling. Several of the hills we were climbing I switched to 4x4 on the TRV and the 250 made it with little trouble (My TRV had 2 adults on it though). The 250 is lacking a little in ground clearance but if you are not big on the technical trails it is fine. The trails we were on weren't real bad but they were pretty challenging.

The double edge sword to the 250 is that it is light and while that is good a lot of times it sometimes can work against you. My wife rolled the 250 on its side after hitting a rock on a hill. The heavier bikes weren't a prone to that. (I am sure some of it had to do with lack of experience though). She was uninjured except for a bruise on her leg but we all agreed that the lighter weight of the bike was a factor. Now with that said, the light weight (I think it is about 490 lbs) makes it really maneuverable. It made some turns and twists that my tank the TRV had trouble with.

I love the 250 and have no regrets about buying it but my next one will be a little bigger.

Just my $.02

Steve

 

look at the polaris halkeye, 4x4, IRS, speedo ,fully auto, and its a 300. click here for the site.

 

That Hawkeye looks nice.

And it is true, what big machines have in power, is lost in weight and maneuverability.
My friend has a 2000 model year AC 250 (see my photos) with full time 4x4 and he likes it, especially
for getting in to and out of tight spots while hunting. I do not think it would be nearly as good without 4x4 however.

His has IRS too, which he says makes a big difference and improvement over solid axles he has riden.
Honda dealers will tell you, you dont need it.
But it makes a world of difference and they have to say that, as most of their machines dont have it.