HONDA PIONEER 700-4 DELUXE TEST

— A fresh look at the updated original Honda Pioneer,

By Mark Kariya, Photos by Kevin Wing —

 

 

It’s not often that you look out your bedroom window of your rustic but very comfortable cabin and see an ostrich and a trio of young kangaroos, especially in Texas. A huge longhorn, yes. A coyote, sure. A rattler, of course. But an ostrich—and an almost aggressively curious one at that?

It was obvious from the moment we rolled into the Ox Ranch outside of Uvalde, Texas, that this wasn’t going to be your normal press intro, and the animals we mentioned were just a minuscule cross-section of the assortment of exotic, as well as native, wild game there. You’d likely need to visit a zoo (or the late Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch) to see the variety of wildlife that we’d view over the next few days for this very memorable look at Honda’s best side-by-sides.

Honda invited Dirt Wheels to several fun and informative days at the Ox Ranch working the 2017 Pioneers. We concentrated on the Pioneer 700-4 Deluxe while on the 33-mile loop that Honda and Ox Ranch guides had laid out. With 18,000 acres to play in, the loop encompassed a great variety of terrain that was representative of what an owner might encounter. We had no sand dunes or gumbo, but if you wanted an abundance of rocks, hills, cacti and shallow creek crossings, as well as ample animal viewing opportunities, it was unbeatable.

 

 

WHY NOT A PURE SPORT UTV?

While the biggest and baddest sport UTVs get more than their share of glory in the pages of most enthusiast press, the numbers tell a different story. According to Honda’s research, as the UTV market has evolved, the combined number of utility- and sport-model side-by-sides sold doesn’t match the number of multipurpose UTV sales (though sport SxS sales numbers nowadays nearly match those of Utes).

 

 

Thus, while Honda certainly has the technology to produce a competitive sport side-by-side, for “Big Red,” it makes more economic sense to concentrate efforts on the multipurpose segment of the market, which it claims to own with the multiple Pioneer models built in Timmonsville, South Carolina. Breaking that down further, the multipurpose market is divided into three categories, with mid-size and full-size side-by-sides posting nearly equal sales numbers, both dwarfing the sub-500cc segment.

NEW STUFF

The 2014 700 was Honda’s first Pioneer, and it fits right into the popular mid-size UTV slot. While still powered by a liquid-cooled, overhead-valve, 675cc, single-cylinder engine with fully automatic transmission, it’s available in four configurations now—base 700, 700-4 (with room for up to four passengers) and the new Deluxe version of both. It earned a number of improvements for 2017 Deluxe editions. Among these is electric-assist power steering and a dual-mode transmission, which features a fully automatic mode, as well as manual mode with paddle shifters activating the electronic shifting. Conveniently, the driver can instantly override the auto mode on the fly by hitting either paddle, making it the best of both worlds.

 

 

Aluminum wheels, painted bodywork and several color options like Honda Phantom Camo, silver or blue also make their debut. Matte Gray Metallic marks the new 700/700-4 Deluxe models.

 

 

Across the 700 board are a new front bumper/fascia and graphics, competitive wheel travel of 7.9 inches in front and 9.1 in back, and new passenger and driver torso bars to increase safety. Owners are encouraged to make their machines fit their own unique needs by picking from more than 50 Honda Genuine Accessories/Honda Signature Accessories, many of which are made in the U.S.

 

 

Pricing starts at $10,499 for the Pioneer 700 and increases to $11,899 for the 700 Deluxe, $12,099 for the 700-4 and $13,499 for the 700-4 Deluxe. The new owner gets a transferable one-year limited warranty, while extended coverage is available via a Honda protection plan.

 

 

THE AWESOME OX RANCH

Unlike the outdoor/hunting writers in attendance, those of us in the UTV-enthusiast press don’t have much experience with dedicated hunting ranches like the Ox Ranch. Most of our outings are, naturally, done at venues that cater to OHV recreation.

But while Ox Ranch may have made an exception in allowing Honda to hold the Pioneer intro there, it still holds plenty of options for most guests. As mentioned before, the variety of animals living there is simply astounding, and it’s not like you have to get up before the sun or wait until dusk to see them; there are critters of all sorts somewhere on the ranch at nearly any time of day (or night)!

Besides the wildlife, though, guests can arrange to walk out of their comfortable cabins to hunt, fish, ride personal watercraft, take Jeep tours, spend time at the shooting range, put some rounds through machine guns or even drive a World War II-era Sherman tank! And, we have to mention the meals, all of which were outstanding; you’re not going to go hungry, either! You can check out the lodging and the available activities on the ranch at www.oxhuntingranch.com.

 

 

RIPPIN’ ‘ROUND THE RANCH

Honda scheduled a full slate of activities for us at the Ox Ranch so we’d be able to enjoy more of what it had to offer. While that crowded somewhat into the driving time, we still got a good idea of what the Pioneer is capable of; in a word—lots. The 33-mile trail ride was the main focus of the trip, and it took a full seven and a half hours (including the generous lunch stop, plus a few photo ops) before we returned to the lodge, which is the Ranch’s HQ.

Most of the group drove the new and very capable Pioneer 1000-5 Limited Editions, generally with only the driver and one passenger. We, however, wanted to spend more time in the 700-4 Deluxe.

Though billed as a mid-size model, average-size adults should find little to complain about in the 700s. Honda R&D electrical controls test project leader Rodney Frijas rode shotgun to fill the role of our passenger since, unlike an ATV, most consumers will always have a passenger accompanying them in a UTV.

The tempo that the Honda and Ox Ranch guides set for our conga line of Pioneers was brisk but not race pace. After all, with nearly a dozen and a half machines in the group, they wanted to go at a pace that kept the group together and be more representative of the speed a typical user would travel, keeping in mind the role that multipurpose units fill.

At that speed, there was seemingly nothing the 700 couldn’t do; it kept up with the bigger, more expensive 1000s with ease. Driver error forced us to retry one particular hill littered with both loose and embedded rocks, but on the second try, it summited effortlessly in 4WD. We never encountered anything that required 4WD diff-ock mode.

Though we started out with the transmission in automatic, we turned the dash-mounted knob to manual in order to try the paddle shifters and discovered that Honda’s auto mode does an excellent job of up- or downshifting at the right time, depending on one’s speed and how hard you’re pushing. It almost reads your mind. We left it in auto the rest of the day. In much the same way, the 700-4 Deluxe’s electric power steering provided accurate directional control with a light touch.

Overall, it’s hard to find fault with the new machine, and we believe it fills its niche well.

 

 

HONDA PIONEER 700-4 DELUXE

Engine type Liquid-cooled, overhead-valve 4-stroke single

Displacement 675cc

Bore x stroke 102.0mm x 82.6mm

Fuel system EFI (Honda PGM-FI w/40mm throttle body)

Fuel capacity 7.2 gal, including 1.2-gal. reserve

Starting system Electric

Wheelbase 76.8”

Length/width/height 114.8”/59.7”/78.5”

Brakes:
  Front Hydraulic w/two 200mm discs
  Rear Hydraulic w/one 170mm disc

Final drive Automotive-style hydraulic torque converter, three forward gears plus reverse; three drive modes (2WD, 4WD,
4WD w/ diff-lock)

Suspension/wheel travel:
  Front Independent double wishbone/7.9”
  Rear Independent double wishbone/9.1”

Tires:
  Front 25×8-12
  Rear 25×10-12

Ground clearance 10.7”

Payload capacity 1000 lb.

Towing capacity 2000 lb.

Curb weight 1426 lb. (wet)

Colors Matte Grey Metallic (painted)

MSRP $13,499