Im looking to buy a atv and I narrowed it down to either the Eiger or the Cat 400. I was wondering with machine is a better overall. Any comments gladly appeciated.

Yamaha Grizzly

 

I'm pretty sure the engine is the same in both machines, but the gearing and settings are probably different. The Eiger will be ligher and sporter, but have less clearance. It depends on your riding style. If you like to go fast and don't tackle to many tricky spots, the Eiger is your choice (though it's probably fine in both situations). If you do a lot of slow trail riding, go with the cat, it's probably a more comfortable ride and is rock solid (IMHO) on trails and rocks.

With these two so close, you could probably flip a coin, though, or see what incentives the dealers will give you.

 

I think the eiger is better than the cat the cat seems to be having a lot of problems according to the magzine articles i have read. the eiger is a very good and reliable machine if you want to invest your money in a 4 wheeler buy the eiger you will not be sorry

 

I think the mags are biased. Both machines use the 376 air and oil cooled engine produced by Suzuki. The AC has a larger oil cooler radiator, though, and is arguably more solidly built. It's also heavier, though. My brother's '02 AC 375 4x4 is the same as this years AC 400 4x4 ACT w/Automatic tranny (only the sticker is different), and it's one solid machine.

What this question boils down to, I think is rider preference. The Eiger will be a sportier ride.

For the comparisons below I used the Eiger 400 4x4 Manual and compared it to the AC 400 4x4 Manual ACT (solid read axel as opposed to IRS)

Dry Weight Eiger - 577lbs AC - 630lbs
Ground Clearance Eiger - 9.3 " AC - 10.8"

Oh heck, I could go on, but the stats are all available on their respective web sites. What it boils down to is that, using the same engine, Suzuki built a lighter, sportier machine and Artic Cat built a heavier machine.

While I think both are solid machines, I can only speak for the AC's as I own them. Advantages I think AC has are...

1) Ground clearance. You get more than an inch boost going to the AC with the ACT suspension. The AC with the IRS is a whopping 12" of clearance.
2) Suspension. The Eiger has a swing axel in the rear. Even the AC's ACT suspension allows for independant rear wheel articulation, and the Eiger doesn't even offer IRS in the rear.

I also think the AC design is rock solid. I've taking mine through some pretty tough spots with no problems.

That said, I do think the Eiger will be a sportier machine (due to less weight) and can probably go almost everywhere a cat can. If your buying a casual trail machine and sportyness matters, go with the Eiger. If you're going for a rock crawling workhorse, go with the AC. But most importantly, go with the machine YOU'D be happiest with. I don't think you'd lose either way here.