Well, I could have really cared less who won. I did my checklist when shopping for a quad and got the one that had the most features I liked. The only reason to read these shootouts is to find out features/drawbacks that are not really mentioned on the manufacturers website. Other than that, in order to check how they do in the mud, they would have to put identical tires on all of the quads. Identical mud, identical riders, just too many variables. It is all just information, weed out the crap and use what you can get. We all know what makes a good mudder, ground clearance, power, tires, and a locking diff. could help. If we say that power is pretty close between all three, all 3 have a locking diff.(well, Polaris does if the rear tire speed exceeds front tire speed by 20% or something like that), if all 3 had the same stock sized good mud tires, then that just leaves ground clearance. Grizzly and Polaris have close to the same followed by the Prairie.

 

Ever notice what they call the "Hillclimb Test"??? 10 out of 10 times its just a big flat hillshoot contest at maximum speed. Thats not hillclimbing for a 4x4 cause a damn Eton could climb it just as easy (just not as quick). That says nothing to me.

A hillclimb is a rooted up rockfest full of crap that a 2wd cannot pass. That is the basis that a 4wd quad should be judged. When it gets down to it, if a quad with the ability to pull all 4 wheels is entered in with a mess of limited slippers, it should win outright every time. They praised the SP500 for years for its traction advantage in hillclimbs over everything else. Now its just who can go up the smooth hill the fastest. Bull Crap.

The one I liked best was when they took the modified 600 Grizz up the Jackhammer trail, or when they tried it with the Traxter XT. That is a good test. It shows something that can actually be used by somebody other than Duners who could give a crap about a 4x4.

The speed/sport handling factor should be included in the shootout of course, but they ought to take them through the swamps of Louisiana and the mountains of Colorado and show us some real life stuff.

Also, I'd like to see a modified shootout (not engine). One where they lift the big quads and slap some big tread under them all and then take them to the limits. Thats what everyone wants anyway.

 

Are you referring to the October issue of Dirtwheels? I have not seen any issue that compares the big bores, unless it hasn't hit the stands yet.

 

Bravo!

That's the kind of 4X4 testing I'd like to see as well. Heck, that's the kind of terrain we're all looking for and riding with our 4X4 quads.

SilverBear

 

Glad to hear I'm not alone about DW's 4x4 shoot out. Andy said all I have to add. Nasty rock climbs, deep narly mud trails, logging trails etc... should be used, not desert crap. I can find a spot every weekend that I'd go through on the Grizz or 650 for that matter that other limited slip machines just won't go through. They aren't working the big 4x4's in enough technical applications and deep mud to really separate the best machines according to what most people are looking for in a big 4x4.

 

I agree with you guys. I buy a 4x4 utility quad to get into the nastiest places, and I read the reviews hoping to find out which one will do that best. I could care less about which one has the fastest times. (One that really gets me is when one is "better" because it can tow a heavy weight in low range from point A to Point B a few tenths of a second faster. What does that prove??? Low range is all about gearing, more power at slower speeds, so any idiot should know that faster is NOT better!).
Unfortunately, the market will cater to the perceived desires of the masses; and if you look at all the "mine is faster than yours" bashing on these forums you can see where it is coming from. If people are that concerned about speed, more power to them (no pun intended). But personally I can't understand it coming from the 4x4 utility crowd.

 

I think the Griz is the total package. I use mine mostly for trail riding and also race it in local harescrambles and GNCC races. It may not be as good of a sport machine as the 650 but from my experience it is a very good machine when sport riding. At the local trail I ride at there are some MX sections and I have no problem jumping the GRIZ. So whatever kind of work or riding you like to do you can't go wrong with the GRIZ 660.

 

On top of that, whats with these guys and the low range drag races? I think I would want my quad to be the big loser in that race. What is low range for exactly?

 

Well people, I agree with all of you. Every magazine seems to show some bias. I have always thought DW was a fence sitter in that all of their shoot outs, basically all machines were winners. Also, in these magazines you never see articles on problems that seem to plague some machines? I understand this as if they did they would no longer receive machines to be tested from the manufactures. It's not like a Consumer's Report.
In the latest issue of the Canadian magazine All Terrain it tested the same 4 quads and they voted the Polaris tops. They state that they test for real world riders and that in general they are unbiased. However, in my opinion they are a very Polaris orientated magazine. Over the years I have noticed (it seems) more Polaris write ups, pictures and articles than others.
As others have said you have to glean these articles carefully and take what you can from them for your situation and it can be hard to get an honest opinion. But, I sure would like to see somebody with enough gonads to state the problem areas of individual quads. When I can spend 11,000 dollars on a piece of equipment, I would like to know what I'm in for for parts, repairs and downtime. Of course the less the better, then I can enjoy my investment.

 

Magazine reviews are just magazine reviews. They really don't mean too much. My 2001 Griz with a locked front end is keeping up just nicely with every other quad that I have ridden with, including the Sportsman(and in some situations out doing it). Plus I don't have to worry about a rev limiter, I can fly down the road at 60mph wether I'm in 4WD or in 2WD. In fact my quad seems to have better straight line stability with a locked front end then it did with the stock front end.

Rick