as an owner of both (see sig), i concur with the fact that the rancher is the fat trimmed off of it, and is more nimble. the foreman is like a cruiser workhorse. the rancher will definitely do what you want. good luck!

 

I have a rancher I think Hondas are over rated and overpriced atvs bought ours brand new from honda dealer nothing but junk...everyone talks about the china made ones are bad hondas aint much better got 85 hours on it and has 300 miles and the automatic transmission wont shift had the carb cleaned many times lots of brake problems i pd $6000.00 for the 4x4 they arent as reliable as people think they are

 

My neighbor has a Rancher... not sure what year. I know he said it was the first year of the ES. He had to fix something with the ES when it was new. He has over 6000 miles on the machine... and has never had another problem.

If the Rincon had a little more power, low range, and a locker... I would have bought one in a heartbeat. Of course, that's a lot of stuff to "want". The fact remains... Honda makes excellent stuff.

 

I think the Rancher looks cooler.

 

The 05 Rancher is a great ATV ,but it does not compare to a 07 or newer 420.
The 420s are more fun to ride if your mostly trail riding vs a Forman.

A Rancher 420 will run circles around a Forman 500 in the handling and acceleration department.
A very fun utility ATV.

 

I ride with a 420 rancher and 500 foreman they seem to have the same acceleration and speed to me.