well for starters do you live where there is alot of mud because if you dont you dont need a 4x4 get a straight up sport quad and i really dont know why you want a 4x4 for sport riding just is heavy and slower

 

threejet,

First off if you want a "Sporty" Ute IMO you must stick a SRA. With this said here's your basic options:

700 Twin Peaks
650 Praire
500 Vinson

Yes there is the Scrambler but IMO it's not a true Ute but it does have 4x4. As for the other three I don't think you can go wrong. The TP is the fastest and more powerfull but the Vinson is a bit cheaper and still a very capable machine and will have no problems keeping up with the larger machine on the tight wooded trails. Like I said you can't go wrong with any of these so get out there and get them a test drive and choose for yourself. Good Luck.

As for me I have a Vinson and I ride with many many riders who ride everything and I have NEVER been in a situation where I couldn't follow or keep up with my friends. Check out my PIC I ride in some crazy stuff here in Alaska.

 

I remember back in 01 i was asking my self this same question.

I went with an Xplorer 400 because i wanted racks but still something light and sporty feeling and it pulls it off great. Gotta love 2-stroke.

All the big 700's that where named don't feel very sporty at all to me. too much machine to really throw around.
I would get a Scram 500 4X4. It's going to be the best in class for what you want to do.

 

definitly a scrambler 500 4x4

 

prairie 700 hands down. any faster and youll want the brute force 750, but it just doesnt handle like the prairie.

 

get the scrambler 500 4x4,you wont find a better sport/ute machine out.

 

wolverine

 

I own a polaris so naturally I try to recommend the Polaris brand but I really love my Polaris Sportsman 700EFI. I would recommend the 500/600/700 series sportsmans for what your wanting to use it for. the rumor is that Polaris is going to offer a 500EFI in their 06' lineup so that my be something worth waiting for, I know I probably would have gotten the 500EFI instead of the 700EFI if it was offered when I was looking. the EFI is an awesome feature and really makes for a more enjoyable riding experience due to not having to deal with a choke, warm up period on cold starts, jetting changes etc. just turn the key and go.

 

Sportmans may good machines but they are far from a sport riding machines...just to heavy. Most of my friends have them from the 500HO all the way up to the 700EFI and I can say they are nice quads so I'm not bashing at all.

Off the subject. Why is Polaris making these EFI machines without a pull cord for back up? I've had two friends have to drive their machines home because of dead batteries. EFI is very nice to have but how many of us had to pull the old cord a time or two? IMO this is an option I couldn't do without.

 

I don't think they will start without a battery even if they had a pull cord