I'm interested in an Artic Cat 250 or 300 ATV. Primary use would be hunting and fishing with an occasional trip to Colorado for trail riding. I currently have a Honda Recon and am familiar with the Honda 300 both 2WD and 4WD. How do the AC 250 and 300 compare with the Honda's? I'm not interested in high speed performance or jumping, rather in a rugged machine able to carry or pull a heavy load with a comfortable ride. Specifically I'm interested in how much more powerful the AC 300 2x4 is over the AC 250 and opinions on the capability of the 2x4 Arctic Cats. So far my Recon (2WD) has gone thru everything I've tried. I've read as much as I could find, now I'd like to hear some "real world" experience.

Any input would be appreciated ...

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Mr. War,

The 250 and the 300 2x4 are basicaly the same. The only difference is the bore size, a few more bars on the racks, and a grill on the 300. So if you do get a 2wd, get the 250 and if you need alittle more power bore it and put a 300 piston in it. This would cost you $500 at the most, compared to $800 more for the 300.

As far as power the 300 4x4 has the same engine as the KingQuad. So, it has 3 ranges, compared to 2 on the 250 and 300 2wd. I think you will probaly need a 250 with a 300 piston, because you will certainly fell the weight of the Arctic Cat cormpared to the Recon (it weighs around 50 pounds more).

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Arctic Cat 500, Not your average Kitty, The New King Of the Jungle

 

I haven't really looked at the AC250, but I'm getting my wife a 300 4X4. At the dealer where I got my 500 and the AC300, the price difference between the 2X4 300 and the 4X4 300 was around $300. Taking this into account, if I were you, and decided to go with the 300, I would definitely get the 4X4. It has a feature that allows you to run 2wd or 4wd which gives you the best of both worlds, and when you're talking about spending 4 to 5 grand anyway, $300 isn't a significant increase in price. When I looked at the prices of the two 300 models, I had to look again to make sure I was seeing it right. To me, you should save more than $300 by getting the 2X4; however, this was at my dealer and they possibly could have marked up the 2X4 in order to sell more 4X4s.

 

At the dealer here, a 250 2x4 is $3499, a 300 2x4 is $3999, and a 300 4x4 is $4899. How do these prices compare?

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Last year I paid $4,350 for my 300 4x4. The prices they gave you look high.

 

My dealer has $4800 on the 300 4x4. Don't know about the others.

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*