To be fair, yamaha has a "head to head" video as well. Naturally, THEIR video finds THEIR products superior.
There are several little ticky differences that are huge though.
I looked at (These are all side by side units. I already have a 4 wheeler):
1. polaris ranger 4x4 500
2. yamaha rhino 4x4
3. kawasaki mule 3010
4. arctic cat 4x4
1. ranger
pluses:
great ride
american made and owned
awesome traction, even in turf (non 4wd, rear axle unlocked) mode
great brakes
1000 lb payload
minuses:
external tank for engine oil, not sure how I feel about that
whine at high speed, think this is a design thing, they all have it
2. rhino
pluses:
slightly cheaper than other models
fastest acceleration
narrower than most, fits through tight spots
minuses:
rear axle is locked all the time, horrible on your turf around the house
narrower than most, tips over, class action lawsuit brewing
engine is known to burn oil
3. mule 3010
pluses:
industrial grade engine, expect over 2000 hours and 4000 with good care
million times quieter than any other model
steel bed (assuming you don't want plastic)
east to work on if they ever break
they don't break
great on gas
best seat belts of the bunch
~20 years on market, great record, tons of accessories
1 year warranty
minuses:
horrible suspension, good thing those seat belts hold you in comfortably
25 mph top speed
horrible brakes
front diff doesn't lock
4. arctic cat
pluses:
12" ground clearance
smokin fast
canadian company
minuses:
solid rear axle, tears up turf
standard 4x4 model doesn't have locking slip front diff
HORRIBLY loud, ear plugs needed
horrible turning radius due to locked rear axle
cylinder head gasket problems
miscast shafts, stripping
2 years on market, no track record, not many accessories
I scratched off 2 and 4 because of the rear axle thing. They also have bucket seats which is a problem for riding over 2 people.
I would have gotten the mule if it had gone over 25, even with the suspension and diff problems. The engine and craftmanship in the mule is simply awesome.
The ranger won out. Also, even though it and the mule are the same size machine, the ranger's seat is about 6" wider. The mule's parking brake is beside the seat. That's handy, but you lose some seat because of it.
What susprised me the most:
1. Traction was awesome, even in open diff 2wd mode.
2. Ride was awesome. It was smooth. I could ride across a plwed field at 30 mph and it would float.
DieselDave said:
Turbo,
A friend of mine owns the Polaris store here. I've watched all the head-to-head videos and understand why you got the Ranger. I drove one and it's plenty fast for what it's intended to do. Other than on the road I can't imagine running it wide open. Even on road 50 MPH is really more than you need. Congrats.