I recently had a dirtbag steal my "06 Honda Rancher ES 350 so I am now in the market to buy another. I loved my Honda and know about their reliability. With that said, have been looking at the 2012 Rancher 420 AT with power steering and the 2012 Can Am outlander xt 400 and 500 models and need feedback/opinions on which would be the best bang for my buck.

Hard riding and more power go with can am...rancher is reliable and fits most everyone but does not have four wheel drive. Can am 500 would be my choice between those

I'd also go with the CanAm 500. Very peppy engine in that class range. Will outrun any of the 550s with CVT transmissions. Also has a more comfortable ride with the independent rear suspension. My son's Renegade 500 gets over 30 mpg when in high and doing 25-35 consistently. By comparison my Polaris gets around 22 or so. Also the 500 has fuel injection. Very nice for throttle response, cold weather starts, and changing elevations.

no brainer there!can-am 500 outty!the can-am has way more features and upgrades.Plus you get the IRS, disk brakes and a locking front diff.it's a few more bucks but worth every penny sorry to hear about your honda being stolen

I'd check the Suzuki King Quad line up too.

I'd buy a KQ before I bought either of the two you are looking at.

I've owned the KQ also-

the KQ axi is nice and is a feature packed atv for a very modest price, and also has the IRS- but the can-am gives a much better ride, and has better engineered steering & suspension imo- and has more power. Neither the kq or the can-am are under powered tho- both will cover the same terrain pretty easily. I also like having a stationary cluster in front of the bars like the can-am & yamaha have rather than a cluster pod that moves on the bars like all the other atvs have.

If you liked your last Honda and realize that you don't like to work on your quad all the time get a HONDA.. unless you don't put many miles on them then it don't matter. I'm a huge honda fan and i actually bought a suzuki KINGQUAD instead of another RINCON against my better judgement and mainly due to people saying how great they are, wouldnt you know it only has 847 miles on it and the front A arm bushings are totally gone in it...does that even seem reasonable.. it did at the suzuki dealership.. I have a 2006 honda rincon with 4k miles on it and i havent even put a brake pad on it..Had a 2001 honda rancher 350 with 5k on it had to replace the tires thats it..

I don't care what anyone says NOONE has the build quality that Honda put's into their machines and thats why they are more expensive for less features the money is spent on quality.

The preceding post brought to you by Honda.

Thanks to all you guys. You really helped me make my decision. After tossing it around, and doing a butt load of research I've decided to give Can Am a try.

I promise you'll. E very happy with your decision

Don't forget to post pics and first impressions