Hello! I am looking to surprise my husband for our 8th anniversary by taking him to buy 1 or 2 new 4 wheelers budget is roughly 20k. Which maker is best so we go to the right dealer? We would use them mostly for trail riding in Colorado. No racing.

Thank you!

 

If you're not into fast rides and want comfort and good on board storage, go with Polaris. 570 cc would probably do it. 850 would be that much better if you're riding at high, engine power robbing, elevations.

Yamaha and Suzuki would be my next choices for single rider machines. Both are very reliable and decent all around quads.

2 rider machines would include Can-Am, Polaris, and Arctic Cat. I'll assume some of the trails are 50" or less National Forest Service trails. I don't know as much about Arctic Cat so my opinions will be about the Polaris and Can-Am machines. They both make 2 rider quads. Again, I find the Polaris to be the most comfortable ride with best on board storage for all the things you want to bring with you. However, if you have the passenger seat installed on the Polaris you'll find little room to put a cargo box or bag on. They have very little space behind the passenger seat. The Can-Am Outlander Max has room for a large box even with a passenger. Can-Ams also tend to be most powerful per cc, with Polaris right behind or even with them. As I mentioned, the Polaris machines for the kind of altitudes you're talking about, are the 570, 850, and 1000 cc machines. One thing I really like about Can-Ams is their 650 cc machine. More power than their 570 and Polaris' 570. Plenty of power, but much more controllable than their 850, and 1000 cc machines.

The last machine I would think of for those kinds of elevations would be the Polaris RZR. They have a 50" model with a 570, and 900 cc engines as choices. My son and a buddy's son rented RZR 570's to do the Paiute Trail in Utah back in 2013. They had good power from 6000 ft. to the 11,000 ft. mark but not much of a top end. The 900 would cover that easily power-wise.

I'm also not too much up on Honda's offerings. I know they have single rider machines, and the Pioneer. The Pioneer has a 500, 700, and 1000 cc available. They're more upright like a Polaris Ranger. The 500 is 50" wide, the 700 is 60", and the 1000 is 62" according to their website.

Hope all this helps you to see what's available.

 

Usually the best ATV is the one you choose to buy! Look at all of them before making your choice please.....some machines fit people better than other machines and that does not make them good or bad. The more you look and try the better informed and will be more comfortable with your decision. Its your money ...spend it wisely.

 

Single person, 2-up, or SxS? Sport or utility? I will stick with single rider ATVs because I don't want to carry a passenger or be one. I don't know which maker is the best. As far as I know they all make good quads and an occasional lemon. Polaris is usually the best value. You could get a $1,000 rebate on a Sportsman 570 without EPS for a total of $11,198 for 2 of them. Some ATVs cost that much for one. For higher elevations I would look at the Sportsman 850 and Grizzly 700. The last I read about Honda was they don't have nearly the power of everyone else and I don't know much about any of the other brands. I think anything 700cc and up would do the job in the mountains.

 

The Can-Am Outlander L 570 would be a good choice for overall value. A little more expensive than the Sportsman 570 but the Can-Am 570 is a v-twin making a bit more power. The Outlander L series costs a bit less than the regular Outlander as it has a few less bells and whistles but you still get the same performance. I actually like that the L models have steel racks front and rear instead of plastic composite racks like the other models and all Polaris models as well. I prefer steel. I would include the Kawasaki Brute Force 750 on your list too. Its about the same price as the Grizzly 700 and the extra displacement and v-twin power make it a little quicker and more responsive. Any of these models also have available power steering, something that most people will appreciate on longer rides. Hopefully you have more than one dealer in your immediate area and they do allow you test ride new machines before you buy them. Rider comfort and ergonomics are another important factor in choosing which quad to buy. You need to be able to test ride to see how they feel.

 

Happy anniversary!

I'll bet he'll be pleasantly surprised.

Not sure there's really a best brand. There are some models from one brand that outperform others, but I don't think one manufacturer makes the best of all of them.

Hope you both get to enjoy the new rides. The key to any brand you buy is keep up with the maintenance.

 

All the manufacturers from north America and Japan are putting out good products. They all also turn out a lemon from time to time. Definitely look to at least sit on a few models, test ride or rent some if it is at all possible. When it comes to best make for you, dealer and service support may be crucial. Off road toys need frequent preventative maintenance, most of it is easy for the backyard mechanic but a good dealership to stand behind you can make a huge difference in ownership experience. Personally, Honda is still a great option for those that don't need a lot of flash, just a machine that will run for the next few decades with a little common sense pm. Yamaha tends to be like this as well, but with most of the bells and whistles. Can Am and Polaris tend to be heavier but have decent rides and a lot of cutting edge stuff on the top models. Suzuki and Kawasaki are both good manufacturers with solid machines as well, I would take one from either in a heartbeat.

 

Thank you for all your help. What's the difference between a belt and gear driven atv? Someone told me Honda is the only way to go because it is the only one gear driven anymore.

 

With a CVT (continuously variable transmission AKA belt drive) there are an infinite number of gear ratios and you're always in the right gear. It shifts up and down whenever it needs too. They're very dependable and belts last for thousands of miles. If a belt breaks it's easy to replace and can be done on the side of the trail. If a gear driven transmission fails it will be a lot more money and more work to get it fixed.

 

But a gear driven transmission is much more durable, often lasting the life of the machine.