I've come into the opportunity to live on 45 acres outside of austin TX. I'd like to get my wife and I a utility ATV and the kids a 50cc.

We will be mostly pleasure riding the trails around the property, using them to get to fishing ponds and hunting spots, and moving materials around as needed with a small trailer. We will also use them to do fence line checks weekly. Not looking to go mudding or jumping over anything. I've never owned a ATV before but was always a Yamaha man when riding motorcycles, dirtbikes, and sportbikes.

What would you suggest is the best bang for the buck Utility ATV for the wife and I? I need 4x4, locking diffs, ability to add a wench, and a 2" hitch reciever.

For the rug rats what is the best bang for the buck 50cc ATV for the kiddos to follow behind us and get into riding?

Budget is pretty flexible but will be financing after a large down payment.

any feed back would be much appreciated.

 

Honestly, for a farm or ranch, I'd look at a 2 rider model. Polaris, CanAm and Arctic Cat make them. They are made to carry extra weight, plus you can put the wife on the back and go. If you are ok with standard style and on a Budget, you should look at the Kymco models. They are made in Taiwan and build quality seems very good. Also look at the Kymco 50 cc model. If you can get by with standard size for yourself, then Yamaha, Honda,Kawasaki, Suzuki and everyone else make them, all good. ATV's have been around long enough, so I wouldn't be concerned about reliability. So around 500 cc's will give good power and economy, as you go bigger, the speed and fun go up as mpg's go down. Wife on the back of my AC Diesel , extra weight helps plowing snow, haha. You can see the extra room on 2 person models.

 

The bigger displacement engines come at a big premium cost too. Can-am has an Outlander 450L that comes in either a single seater or 2 seater model and is one of the better bargains out there. Should be plenty of power for what you want and has optional power steering if that's something you would like as well. The Arctic Cat Alterra models are a pretty good budget atv as well. With Textron buying out Arctic Cat recently, all the current stock Arctic Cat models are being discounted substantially to make room for the new Textron labeled models. Only the name has changed but they want to clean house of all the models that have Arctic Cat on them.

 

Pretty much all the 4wd utility machines in the 450 cc on up will do what you're asking.

The most work related quad out there is the Polaris Sportsman X2. It comes with a dumpbox that can carry 400 lbs. of weight. The dumpbox also converts to a passenger seat as needed. Towing is also very good with a 1500 lb. capacity. I had an older model with a 500 cc. Other than top end speed it was a great quad that did everything I asked of it. The newer 570 cc has a good bit more power too. 2017 Sportsman X2 570 ATV | Polaris

 

If you ever plan on riding on public property, like trails, you most likely need a 2-up ATV. I'm not sure how it is where you live but most places it's illegal to ride double on a single person ATV on any public land. That means your choices are limited to the Sportsman X2 and the Touring models Polaris, Can-Am, and Arctic Cat make. If you NEVER ride any public property you can get good 4x4 ATVs in all the major brands. I wouldn't go much smaller than a 500. I think the 50cc kids quads are all made in China or Taiwan. Avoid the Chinese ones if at all possible.

 

Greetings from Colorado. The brands mentioned make the "2 up" ATVs. I wanted one for the extra stability the longer wheelbase provides. It also provides a larger turning radius which I find not so bad. I went with Can Am, but that was just a personal choice. The Polaris X2 with a dump box that Moose mentioned is also a very good work machine. Likewise, hydrex wisely mentioned the Arctic Cat TUV since they are "on sale" right now. My friends both have Arctic Cat "Two Up Vehicles" and have had very good luck with them.
I believe a "500cc" at about 35 hp would be quite adequate for your needs as described.

I wanted a reliable machine but gave up trying to find which ones are more reliable. I could not find any good data. I can tell you they aren't built like compact tractors, but a lot more fun.

You might considered a used machine for the kids. I suspect these small machines are not used very hard, and kids outgrow them, kinda like bicycles. I bet you can get a good one for half price.

David

 

On the kids quads a lot of times you can get a good deal on a used one, let the kids ride it for years, and get most of your money back when you sell it.

 

Are you saying you want two ATVs, one each for you and your wife and then a third + kid's ATV?

If you like Yamaha, check them out as they are very good and extremely reliable ATVs but they are not the cheapest based on your want list, the Kodiak comes to mind.

Most utility ATVs have the ability to add a winch and 2" receiver, so I wouldn't base a decision solely on those two criteria. Also agree with jumbofrank, for the kid's ATV, I would highly consider looking at used ones as most of those don't see a lot of time being used meaning good for used prospect.

 

The last time I checked on hitch receivers Arctic Cat had a 2" but I think everyone else had 1&1/4 inch. That was along time ago so things may be different now. If you get an ATV with a 1&1/4 inch receiver you can get a 2" adapter that fits right in it.

 

Why not give consideration to a UTV or side x side. Wife and I moved up from ATV's into a UTV last year and no looking back. Far more enjoyable to steer with a wheel than with handle bars. Wife likes it much better as well as it give a far more comfortable ride. The unit in my sig has 4x4 with diff lock and would climb a tree if you could hang on. Also much more room to haul stuff with you and a bigger load capacity/rating. You can buy one side x side for less than 2 ATV's.