I'D HAVE TO SAY GO WITH EITHER HONDA, OR YAMAHA, STAY AWAY FROM POlariS. THE YAMAHA KODIAK SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST CHOICE FOR YOUR NEEDS. 400cc, FULLY AUTOMATIC, GREAT UTILITY QUAD, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT. WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO GET DON'T GET IN A RUSH, DO ALOT OF RESEARCH FIRST. MAKE A SMART DECISION, NOT A QUICK ONE.

 

and you choose the Kodiak over the Polaris on what grounds. By the way the Kodiak is a great quad.

 

I WOULD TAKE THE KODIAK OVER THE POLARIS BECAUSE, FOR ONE, I'M MORE OF A YAMAHA PERSON THAN A POLARIS PERSON. + THE KODIAK IS A SLIGHT BIT CHEAPER THAN A 500 MAGNUM, YES THE 500 HAS A BIGGER ENGIN THAN THE KODIAK, BUT IT ALL COMES DOWN TO WHAT YOU REALLY NEED. I MEAN IF I WAS BUYING A UTILITY QUAD, AND DIDN'T CARE ABOUT $$$ I WOULD JUST GET A GRIZZLY. IT'S NOT THAT I'VE EVER HAD ANY BAD EXPERIENCES WITH POLARIS, AT LEAST THEIR UTILITY QUADS ANYWAY, IT'S JUST THAT I HAVE'NT HAD ANY WITH ANY YAMAHA UTILITY QUAD. I'M JUST TRYING TO HELP OUT BUY GIVING AN OPINION.

 

Nice honest answer,also very reasonable,the kind we need on here. Sorry if I came across wrong we need more people on here that are objective and it looks like you are.

 

i would say that all manufactures make pretty good machines but I would have to say stay away from high performance if u want something reliable. High performance is great but takes more to keep it going.

 

This is coming from a Yamaha fan! But I strongly believe that Honda has the best reputation, I mean think about it, you can always see those old Honda Big Reds still kicking around but you don't see very many of the yahamas or polaris's. In my opinion the push botton 4wd really doesn't make that much difference obviously it helps a little on the wear and tear on the front end and might save a little gas but that is about it. I suggest to you either a honda 300 4wd or a yamaha Big bear, the price is pretty reasonable or a 4wd Timberwolf that is in the 250cc range and is pretty low in price if there is such a thing in the ATV world.
Good luck

 

The best advise I can give you is this. You have plenty of time, so test drive as many atv's as you can that are in your price range. Talk to anyone you can about their experiences on atv's and decide for yourself what you want. Their are many good atv's on the market today which make it more difficult for one to make up his mind on a specific product. The bottom line is, what do you want? You will be riding whatever you buy.