When Arctic Cat said they would deliver a 700cc 4x4 for the price of a 400, we weren't sure what to expect. It's here now and it turns out we should have expected a lot!

Meet the $6K All-New Arctic Cat VLX 700 - ATVConnection.com

 

Looks like the Yamaha Kodiak base model has some serious competition now. $5999 retail price is lower than the Kodiak as well, this is in the same territory as the Sportsman 450 HO and the Outlander 450L, both of which have less power. I think Arctic Cat will sell a ton of these. If I were looking to buy a new 4x4 quad, I'd definitely give this a serious look. It appears to not have diff-lock, just like the Yamaha Kodiak base model. I never use diff-lock anyway. I like the idea of a less expensive base model without all the extras. Its got what it needs, 4x4, nice ground clearance, good suspension travel(10in front and rear) and a nice torquey 695cc single cylinder with efi. It lacks a few things like digital gages and doesn't even have a speedometer or odometer. That's the only omission I really don't like.

 

Nice machine but without a diff lock and a actual display and a few other features that are less than the standard 700. I will stick with my 500

 

I've had only a handful of situations that required a diff lock or full 4wd. Enough that I wouldn't buy a quad without it.

 

I think the lack of a decent digital display is a negative but if you can get a 700 class 4x4 in the $5000 range brand new, its still less than everything else. As much as I have ridden quads of similar size, I think I could pretty accurately guess how fast I was going without a speedo. Maintenance like oil changes I would simply do every few months instead of going by hours or mileage. I'm not even sure it has a fuel gage, perhaps a mechanical one on the fuel cap like some used to do, like Honda. It is odd to see a full-size quad without a speedometer, only lights indicating gear position, high temp and 4x4. Reminds me of older quads that just had a few lights instead of actual gages. I did notice the dry weight was also a little less than most Arctic Cat quads of this size, 670 lbs vs most in the 700 lbs range or more so leaving a few things off should actually help performance slightly by making it a little lighter.

 

I can live without the display. Less stuff to break later. Could always put something like a trail tech on it. Speedo? Not like I'll have it out on the highway and worrying about going over the limit. Never been in a mud hole that had any speeds posted anyway.

Take it out and get it dirty. You have extra money for the car wash now.

 

Kinda what I was thinking. Its the same engine that is in the other 700cc quads and the Kymco 700 quad so top speed should be around 65 mph. That's about what the previous generation Grizzly 700 and King Quad 700 topped out at, which both have similar hp. Like all big singles it should have tons of low end torque, great for work or trail riding. I like that they still use steel racks, I prefer them over composite as well.

 

$6000 price.... Nice
I don't like not having a display though...

 

That's the one thing they cheaped out on that I really don't like. I could live without it though. $6000 retail price so I bet they would be priced at about $5000 as most units are discounted about $1000 from the full on retail price, at least in my area they are.

 

They should offer with a Trail Tech option. I much prefer the Trail Tech Voyager on my old AC 500 to the display on my AC Diesel. I like the Jeep front end! Now bring back the diesel.