My wife and I are in the market for a utility atv for use around the property and some play time in the trails around the house. Both the Kawasaki Prairie 360 4x4 and the Honda Rancher 420 4x4 are around the same price range. Both have their pluses and minuses, but I am at a loss as to which one comes out on top. I have read reviews on the internet, but the Honda Rancher is never discussed against the Kawasaki Prairie. Do not want IRS...

2009 Prairie Pluses:
Low gear
Front Diff lock
Larger Overall ATV
Larger (listed) towing capacity (1100 lbs)

Prairie Minuses:
Slightly larger price tag

2008 (same as 2009) Rancher Pluses:
Slightly lower price tag
Larger Engine
More Horsepower
Selectable gearing
Liquid Cooled
Fuel Injected

Rancher Minuses:
Towing capacity only 850 lbs
No front diff lock (have read that braking will activate the non active front tire)


Feel free to post other pluses and minuses. Any personal experiences are welcomed. This is our first ATV purchase. I just want to know whichever ATV I buy will be the better ATV for my needs and not leave me to do manual labor while I pay for an ATV that can't perform.

 

I am not personally familiar with that Prarie, but the Rancher is a superb little machine! It rips, right off the bottom, and handles as good as some sport quads. Best value for your $$$ of any quad on the planet!

Is the Kawi belt drive??? You listed "low gear" for a + on the Kawi. Please explain. The Rancher has a super low 1st gear, so it doesn't need a transfer case....keeping things nice and simple.

Lockers are overrated! Hondas have an excellent torque sensing front diff, that sends 70% of the power to the wheel with traction. Think about it...a locker sends 50% of the power to each wheel all the time, no matter what. Would you rather have 70% of the power going to the wheel with traction, or just 50%???? (The reset time (switching the 70% to the other wheel) on the diff can be speeded up, by just tapping the front brake lightly.)

 

Other than the dif lock, the Prairie has no advantages over the Rancher. The reason you haven't seen the two compared in a shootout is that they are that far apart in performance. - with the Rancher being much better. Just having EFI makes the Honda worlds better for everyday use. More power and better working suspension are a + for the Honda. Liquid cooling will be better for work. I would easily choose the Rancher over the Prairie 360, even if the Rancher cost more.

Also consider that the P360 design dates back to 2002 while the Rancher is only about 2 years old.

Jaybee

 

diff lock is the way to go if you use it in tie mud and don't like getting stuck 3x4 vs 4x4

 

hey im here to tell you i am a true honda fan my whole family is i have a 420 rancher my father bought a forman and my brother got a foreman just recently but i will say my lower end torque and my speed have out mached that 500 outragously so i just wanted to show you what they looke like mine is all they way to the left http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...42042719_n.jpg

 

Larger (listed) towing capacity (1100 lbs)
Prairie Minuses:
Slightly larger price tag


Rancher Minuses:
Towing capacity only 850 lbs
No front diff lock (have read that braking will activate the non active front tire)

as for the towing compasity it says 800 but my atv has pulled cars out of ditches in the winter well over 2000 pounds its just that the hitch isnt welded so its more or less 800 pounds of down force on the hitch is what its trying to say the pulling strength is out ragously over 1100 pounds its just a matter of honda not wanting you to break the matchine so they tell you dont go over so they arnt replacing hitches because they dont want to pay to fix them the first thing they ask you if its broke do you know how much you were pulling
i know but the max on it its fine if you not mudding and your pulling logs or somthing on dry land you dont need a locking diff if all 4 tires are on the ground you got traction on all 4 tires but if you are mudding and you have a tire in the air the one in the air is only spinning out 30% of the power the rest is going to the other tire over all im a honda person iv never had mine stuck to were i broke it or couldnt get out but i have had it stuck and had to winch my self out i got a extream 3000 pnd winch and 25 in mud devil tires with ss rims i love the matchine it hasnt faild me yet i cant tell you about a kawi i dont own one and havent riden one thats all i can say but my 420 has out perfomed some things you wouldnt see a 500 forman do

 

The 360 low range and difflock is a big plus. Do not go by engine size with Honda Utilities because they use OHV motors not OHC so they are down on HP per cc vs everyone else.

Example, a 500 Foreman has 28hp vs 36hp for a 500 Sportsman or 500 Suzuki King Quad.
A 680 Rincon has the same 39 HP as the new 550s. 700 (686cc) Grizzlies have 46hp with the same displacement.

A 420cc Rancher has 27hp while a 374cc King Quad/Eiger is 26 hp.

 

this guy knows his ****

 

definitely go with the rancher 420, my friend recently got one and added it to his garge with his polaris sportsman 500 ho and honda rancer at. but the honda rancher 420 is amazing! that thing will do anytihng you want it to.