I'm fairly brand loyal as long as the brand is loyal to me. If it is not reliable I wouldn't buy another one. For instance I've had tons of problems with my GMC 2500 and a Ford F350 I had. I've spent in the area of $5000 for non-maintenance problems. The Ford was constantly blowing heater cores (had the diesel) and I got tired of that. Now, with quads I could go with Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, CanAm, or Polaris. The Honda and Arctic Cat dealers are a bit of a drive for me. Yamaha is less than a mile away. The others are all sold by a dealer within 12 miles. With those choices I went with the X2 because it was the most versatile 2 seater out there. Great on board storage, good power, good clearance, and I don't have to take a seat on or off. Flip a couple parts and you're set to go. When the time comes that I need a new quad I'll see if anyone has kept up with Polaris on the versatility.

 

I'd have to say the best bang for the buck is still the brute forces. For me, I don't care what brand it is as long as it impresses me. Although it is nice to buy American if possible.

 

i am fairly new to quads myself. i researched and compared. each model had its good and bad. one buddy has a brute force. i rode it and loved it. another buddy has a grizzly. he showed me comparisons and the down sides of the brute force. i shopped around and shopped around. i pretty much had my mind set on a brute force. well, i was searching on craigs list and cam across an old lt230. i picked it up for $250. i thought what a deal. i next found a lt125 for $250 for the kids. now i am thinking i am a proud suzuki supporter. until i found a polaris trailboss 4x4 for 250. i next found the sworn enemy of polaris-an arctic cat 300 4x4. it didn't run and i only paid the guy $600. it came with a moose plow too. after about 20 minutes i found the wire on the fuse box for the ignition had fallen out. started right up. now that everyone in the family had a quad, we were set. except for the fact that i had the old lt230 and the wife and son have the 4x4's. so i shopped around again for a brute force. again, on craigslist, i found an 06 vinson with a plow and a ton of accessories. picked it up for 3000 and couldn't be happier. it all comes down to what is it going to cost me? will it do what i am wanting it to do? how much will it cost me to make it how i want it?

 

Ditto to the other postings on buying what best fits your needs AND having a dealer that will work with you on any issues. Luckily for me I have had great luck with all of my Sportsmans and my dealer is awesome. I have run in to a lot of folks on the trails that sneer at my Polaris. My comeback to them has always been that I ride by myself a lot and up to the racks in mud and very seldomly do I need to use my winch to get out. Even when I rode with a group of guys a few years back (and just about every manufacturer was represented) I would always have the last laugh when it came to getting through the snarly stuff. While they were trying to get unstuck I would ride around them and end up pulling them out. The only places other wheelers have had an advantage is the deep bogs since the Polaris is such a porker.