I was at teh local Cat dealer today. Th eprices on the 01 Cats are getting really attractive. $7600 for the manual 500, and $7900 for the Auto, with winches. That's not bad when you consider that a 01 Rubicon is $8995 with no winch.
Does any one know how they compare in terms of performance. I know the Rubi is going to be quicker and faster, but HOW MUCH quicker and faster?
Has anyone tried climbing big sandy hills with the AC? I'm wondering how it would be for playing around here, and we have some BIG hills that could be a challange for a heavy machine like the Cat.
Lastly, what do you guys think of the manual vs the auto? I'd really love to try an auto quad. How are they holding up? Are they just as reliable as the manuals?

Wow Canadian prices are quite abit higher than U.S. I paid $5,900 before taxes for my 01' A.C. 500 auto back in April. So far with about 300 miles on it I've reached a top speed of 55mph. I've heard it will increase some as it breaks in more. But I didn't get the A.C. for speed. The A.C. makes an excellent work horse atv. I've put mine to several jobs alreadly pulling trees, plowing food plots. As far as climbing hills its climbed some good hills with ease, and smaller hills say 25ft up,but steep in 2-wheel with little trouble. Kids stuff! I don't get into much sand. I test rode the manuel,and couldn't get used to the rocker shifter after having a dirt bike for yrs it seemed awkward to me. But they do offer an optional toe only shifter now. The auto has been just fine so far with anything I've done. You do have to be careful about water as do with any auto. I had one occurance riding where I was hitting some huge puddles pretty fast. Causing some big splashes. The tranny slipped a little bit for about 60yds then was fine. I pulled the drain plug on bottom of case, but no water came out. I'm sure it was only a minor amount,and burned off. But thats the only case. One of the tranny vent tubes runs up to where the handle bars comes out top of the machine,and water certainly splashed in that way. I've ridden it through mud & water about up to the fenders with no water problem. If your looking for a work horse machine, and to trail ride the A.C. is an excellent choice. If want more of trail machine its not the fastest, but handles great. I'm considering buying my wife a 02 A.C. in the spring also.

Actually the prices in Canada are lower. $5900.00 US is over $9000.00 Cdn.

Cheers Jim

I bought the '01 500 Manual way back in August of 2000 for $5945 american, with the winch installed. That sounds like a pretty decent price to me. I've only seen pics of the '02 models and it looks like the '01 models have better headlight protection. It has been an excellent machine that even my 67 y.o. father rides without any problems.