The tboss is a little slower than the trail blazer, but my wife does not need very much power. She keeps up just fine.

 

My wife is 5' at 100lbs.She has a 300 Arctic Cat.It has fully independent suspensions and is easy to turn.It is not a small machine for a 300 but very good for trail riding. I think this model comes with alot of good standard features .The 300 will not come in a automatic however.
Anyway she really likes the way it handels and performs.

 

Although I don't have a wife or g/f at the moment, I ride with several couples. Here are what thier wives ride.
425 Magnum 2wd
300ex
500/HO Scrambler 4x4
325 Trail Boss
They all seem pretty happy with them, although the one with the 300ex has talked about getting a Rancher. She grew up on dirtbikes and knows how to ride that 300ex!

 

WOW! Thank you to everyone who contributed. I've been leaning towards the 250 Explorer 4x4. She wants an automatic and 4x4 traction in a medium size package. The only thing I'm scared of is turning her loose on a quad with no EBS. Have your wives had any problems controling the non EBS bikes?

 

In my humble opinion, EBS is good thing but not a deal breaker. I don't believe any of the many Polaris' in our group have EBS and we're all fine with it. Polaris has a very good break system. And if you're going downhill you can shift into low and keep just enough rpm's to engage and it will put some drag on the drive train. Of course, not like downshifting a manual. Best of luck deciding. There are many good bikes out there to choose from.

 

Wife: 5'9" 130 lbs.(foxy too I might add.) rides a 500 Mag with EBS. Didn't want to buy somthing she would "out grow" right of way. She sat on other units after her purchase and was glad she didn't go with something smaller. Sat on a friends Rubicon and she said "no way, too girly".(Now don't get on my case Honda guys it was her words.) She just started riding this year and can kick my butt on the open trails. Told her we should have got her the Sportsman and she is perfectly happy with her Mag.

 

I fear her outgrowing a smaller atv too. but then again can't hurt to have an extra around if we need to buy a new one for her. She never had any trouble with out EBS on the Xplorer 250. also even tohugh it is non Polaris the 300 Prairie 2 wheel drive auto, drives nice and steers really easy.

 

My wife much prefers our Xplorer 400. We have a Honda 300ex, but she doesn't like shifting, and soon got to want more zip. Don't get me wrong, the Honda is a great machine, but for about the same money (in 4x4) you have 100 more cc's, auto tranny, and a much smoother ride. My wife is about 5'4" and it fits her fine. Once she got used to the feel of it, She was running along with the pack. She especially likes the floorboards and auto tranny, and the ability to go into low range in the rough stuff. EBS is nice, but not a must-have. In open trails, it coasts gently to a stop, although is a plus in real hills.
In the Polaris, I think anything from the 250 4x4 to the 400 would be good choices. Couldn't go wrong with the 500s either, provided the steering isn't too heavy. I don't know how strong your wife is, but mine thinks the Sportsman steering is a little too heavy.

 

Almost forgot Polaris is going to have a 400 Sportsman in the line up for "01". Might be just the ticket.

 

Almost forgot Polaris is going to have a 400 Sportsman in the line up for "01". Might be just the ticket.