UTV Tests

-- Testing Can-Am’s best 64-inch car with no-brainer mods -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels: Can-Am continues to have a huge presence in the UTV market with multiple iterations of the Maverick X3 platform. The X3 is available with a 64-inch track width and a 72-inch width. Of the 64-inch machines, the $25,399 Maverick X3 X ds Turbo R is the best equipped. Key among the updates are the premium Fox 2.5 Podium RC2 piggyback shocks with dual-speed compression and rebound adjustments. The X ds also comes stock with…

-- BFD Off-Road cages the beast -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels BFD Off-Road lays claim to being the number-one manufacturer of high-performance sand cars and UTV accessories in Southern California. What we know for sure is that it makes some radical-looking sand cars, and that sand car style is carried over to its UTV parts. The signature BFD Off-Road part is the Can-Am X3 bolt-on cage and matching contoured composite roof. The cage offers race-car strength and safety, and it is a very nice piece, but the roomy…

-- Making it faster, wider & more fun -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Every extensive UTV build is an undertaking of multiple magnitudes. We often cover projects that others have put together in their own garages, shops and front yards, so we don’t experience the build process. Every once in a while we take on the task of generating our own projects, and this build was one of our most involved. Polaris RZRs are pretty straightforward in construction, and that simplicity makes working on them somewhat easy.…

-- Is it the new king of UTVs? -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels, Photos by Pat Carrigan. Polaris is coming up with some truly interesting and exceptional machines for 2018. The latest and most extreme in performance is the RZR XP Turbo S. It is a two-seat platform that looks like a redux of the classic RZR XP rolling chassis from the outside. This is a case of beauty being more than skin-deep. Beauty starts with stronger bones for the frame. Polaris says “all-new frame,” though existing bodywork appears to bolt up. As…

-- What it's like to drive Honda's all-new sport UTVs -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Honda has kept the existence of its new Talon X and Talon R UTVs quite a secret. Even when it seemed sure that something was in the works, and spy photos leaked, the actual specs remained a mystery. Finally, even though we expected only a single sport model from the conservative company, there are actually two different versions here. Most of the legion of Honda faithful are enthused with the new machines. Remember that there are…

-- Four-star warrior from a workhorse --  By the staff of Dirt Wheels The General is the commanding officer in the army of sport utility UTVs that Polaris builds. The machine has been a sales success for good reason. It offers RZR-like performance and suspension in a trail-friendly package that is ready and able to work. If you want to play/hunt/camp but need to convince the family or the tax man that you are buying a tool, the General is ideal. No matter the type of UTV that you are considering, it is typical for an…

-- The amazing 550-horsepower Packard Performance YXZ -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels No matter what generation you are from, the older generation is always complaining that the next generation is being contrary. Some youth follow in their father’s footsteps, while others want to do exactly the opposite of what the family expects of them. Famed turbocharger and supercharger hop-up specialists Packard Performance did both at the same time. The Packard brothers Jace and Jedd (we sense a pattern here) are the muscle…

-- Looking back at the December 2003 issue of Dirt Wheels -- The Kawasaki Mules, Polaris Rangers and John Deere Gators were tame, utility minded machines designed to help get chores done around the farm. Yamaha was the first to say, "Hey, why don't we make one of those  steering wheel machines with a more sporty attitude and able to get down the trail with the speed of a quad." After building it and testing it, they liked it and decided to sell it. For 2004 Yamaha added the Rhino to its line up and the off-road world was…

-- PSN brings older UTV back to life on a budget -- Recently the Dirt Wheels crew went on an in-depth tour of Power Sports Nation’s (PSN) ATV and UTV salvage operations and we were impressed. Feeling that more evidence would be welcome, PSN set out to resurrect a sublimely tired, but nonetheless well-maintained, 2014 Polaris Ranger XP 900. How tired? How about 31,014 miles accumulated during 4,609.7 hours of operation? Both our staff and the PSN crew are of the opinion that this is the highest-mileage/-hours Ranger we…

When we started to hear that Honda would build a sport UTV, we assumed it would be a single model motivated by some version of the proven Pioneer power train. We never imagined that there would be two models released at the same time! In addition to the 68.5 inch wide, 20-inch travel Talon 1000R, Honda used the same frame and 104-horsepower Talon engine package to create a true trail weapon named the Talon 1000X. The car’s exterior and interior specifications are all the same, but the 1000X double-wishbone front…

 -- PROJECT UTV -- By the staff of Dirt Wheels Beverly Hills is a place where beauty is manufactured and the elderly get a new lease on life—well, in the looks department at least! Force Off-Road is a company that is veteran-run, and they outfit UTVs and other off-road toys with aftermarket upgrades. This means that they also get to give elderly UTVs new parts that help them keep living in their golden years. Scott Scurlock is a part of the Force team, and he purchased a tired Polaris RZR XP 4 900 from one of the Force…

-- Bolting on just about every accessory part available -- Russell Porter has the enthusiasm of a happy-go-lucky child in a man’s body. Buggy Whip, his successful family company, needed a rolling UTV showcase to help promote its products. Russ jumped like a kid in a candy store at the prospect of turning a Can-Am Maverick X3 X rs into a wicked display car. Buggy Whip has a great reputation, so many leading companies were ready to participate in the build. Russ was able to pick and choose, but he did a lot of choosing,…