So I watched ATV television last night and they did a review of the Polaris 700EFI, Honda Rincon, King Quad, Brute Force and Yamaha Grizzly. They said they wern't able to test the Artic Cat because the manufactuer didn't provide a test unit or something yadda yadda.

Well the King Quad was rated 9.75 out of a possible 10 and took the win. They really scored that machine high in every catagory. It looks like an impressive quad. I would seriously concider it as a choice if I were looking for a new quad. They loved everything about it basically. They said it's so smooth youd think it was electric.

The Grizzly took second with a 9.25 or so. They gave it very high marks in every catagory but it scored slightly less than the King Quad in the engine and transmission dept. I guess the King Quad has a smooter transmission if you can beleive that!

The Brute Force scored fairly well but lost a ton of points for being top heavy and tippy. They of course loved the engine but didn't so much care for the drive train and hated the handling. They fessed up that Radial Tires would help a lot.

Honda Rincon didn't do so well. I don't remember what it scored but it very close with the Brute Force. They took most of it's points away for not having a diff lock, not having more suspension, they took points away from it's tranny because it didn't give you as much control as a belt does. (they didn't like shift intervals or something) and they took points away for not having low range. This machine scored almost dead last.


Polaris 700EFI did terrible. They took points away in every catagory. They hated the brake system, They hated the 4x4 system. And they really hated how the brakes work in conjunction with 4x4 system on long decents. They really bashed this machine. They said "polaris was the first to come out with it's new IRS sportsman and sent all the other manufactures to the drawing boards, now they all make a better sportsman than polaris does" I giggled a little at that comment [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]


Just a bit of reading for the interested, don't bash me thinking I made this test or agree with all the findings but I did enjoy watching the show.

 

and they couldn't test the big boy 800 ... hmmmmm ... sounds like they didn't get any money from Polaris or Artic Cat.

 

Well the engine in the 700efi scored just fine, not quite as high as King Quad and Brute Force which were perfect 10.0 but it was well over 9.0.

It was all the stuff around the engine that brought the Polaris score so low.. I would imagine the 800 would have scored just as bad as the 700 did.

 

When i'm ready to buy another four wheeler I will put very little if any weight into what information I get from a magazine or on tv. I go by my own personal experience and what other unbiased owners have to say about their machines. IMO I think they are way off on most of the reviews. Just because a wheeler doesn't have a locker, low gear or only rear wheel engine braking doesn't mean its a bad quad. It's what you as a rider and a buyer want and expect out of a quad that matters not what some dink on tv says.

 

exactly...they bash machines that dont pay/give them stuff

 

I have read so many "Big Bore Shoot Outs" I can't see straight. There is no real consensus on who is winning these. So far I have seen the BF win and come in last. The Polaris win and come in last, the Grizz place near the top and near the bottom. The Rincon near the top and near the bottom and the KQ usually near or at the top. The magazine media types are just like us, and that's why there is no consensus on "The Best Big Bore Ute" it's way to personal. It's fun to read but, I put very little stock into what these guys are writing or saying. A marketing agenda might have some sway, but I doubt if it would weigh too heavily in the final out come.
Last year one of the ATV mgazines picked the Artic cat over the Prairie 700. All other mags bashed the AC all year in all of their shoot out. Just line up the options you are interested in and buy the quad that works best for you. I actually like trading brands every few years just so I can see what else the other companies are doing. It's my own long term ride projects.

 

Everyone likes certain things in a quad. My dad has a Honda Fourtrax 300 4x4 that is 8 years old and he loves it. He wouldn't have any of the new quads because the Fourtrax is the only 4x4 that fits in the back of his pickup truck with a cap on. To me it sucks because is is slow and 4x4 all the time and I don't like shifting constantly. To him he only uses it for putting around and doesn't care about speed. I don't like it because it is small and he loves how small it is because it is narrower and can go between narrow sets of trees that my Brute Force will never make it through without a chainsaw along. I must say that it is reliable and has never been in the shop for service other than changing the oil and air filter.<u>Text</u>

 

I agree with Curls.

The 800 EFI won the ATV Rider shootout.
They took everthing into consideration like the top notch tires and Aluminum wheels and storage conpartments on the Sportsman.

This must be tied into advertising and money.

Jim

 

I'de be curious to know how many Suzuki commercials were on that show.

 

I always take in all the articles and then take the consistencies away from it all as the truth. All of these tests are done in different settings and results are just a handful of peoples opinions. Of course results and shootout winners will vary. That is why I love ATV Riders style in that they give you all the test riders opinions at the end. BTW, I totally agree with last months Dirtwheels retro article on the 85LT250R. I own that bike, and it was spot on. Same with the YFZ I have. Every article I've read falls right in line with my experiences with it to date. My $.02