I'm sorry, but whoever buys this $47k Polaris over a Wrangler needs mental health therapy

LMAO not much , I've seen too many videos where the tie rods and the CV axles break with stock size tires. At least when it comes to Wranglers, 4Runners, and Broncos these break when they put much bigger tires and lifts, a lot of these components were not designed for those type of extreme loads.

 

And the ground clearance and breakover angle look comical on this thing

 

If I bought a 50k recreational UTV, I couldn’t bring myself to beat on it. Of course, my opinion could change if I won a large sum of money.

I’m more amazed though at how the UTV segment has developed and the prices they bring, being a recreational vehicle and all. The market is definitely there, otherwise they wouldn’t be making them. But it is surprising to me that they sell enough of them to keep making them bigger and more expensive.

 

I think people buy them for the "cool" factor. Honestly most people that I see buying these usually have a pick-up truck and, hate to stereotype, they look like they're upper middle class usually without any experience off-roading. We gotta remember, these usually come with auto-4WD systems and don't have to think about shit when taking these things wheeling. The manufacturers know their customers don't know shit about proper wheeling like we do.

 

Everyones arguing about off roading in a Jeep or 4R instead of a Side by Side, and I'm over here going... what? You cant do both?!
(Given when I bought the Ranger in 2019, it was only $19k thats WITH Polaris's Ride Command (built in navigation, stereo, touch screen interface) - but not including adding Polaris OEM heat & hard doors, + another $5k) - what they are asking now is insane. The Jeep (I-6, 5 Speed) I had imported from Hawaii 2 or 3 years ago. Its a BLAST on the trails now that I've upgraded it a little (nutter bypass etc). Tbh the Polaris doesn't get used much anymore, and with people being dum-dums, I can sell it and probably get what I paid for it! I am also super annoyed that the Ranger is governed at 62mph. All that money and I cant even endanger my life? LAME.

 

I can't really argue with any of this. Even though I can understand why folks would want these things (well, maybe not that all terrain school bus in the OP), I do agree that it's a lot of money for a recreational toy.

It does seem like a lot of the drivers are a little inexperienced, but I'm sure it's a mixture. I have a work colleague who has a Razor, or Can-Am, and I'm pretty sure he has the skills to operate one of those things safely.

OTOH, the UTV riders that complained about us being on their trails a few years ago said that if they hadn't been stopped when we came through, they would have hit us head on. My first thought was that, if you would be unable to avoid crashing into oncoming traffic, you're going too fast for the situation.

 

Screw a regular SxS, how about a amphibious tracked SxS...

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/r40XN0vg/2020-hydratrek-xtb66

 

On my pops farm the JD Gator gets used like a government mule.. Excuse the pun, as that is a Kawasaki.
Quicker an easier to, for most farm tasks. Not related to the off road scene, but some side by sides started out as farm tools.

 

I think that’s my hangup with the luxo barge UTVs…I’ve been around long enough to have seen the early farm/utility ones. Since I feel like that was just yesterday, I see the new ones and my gut reaction is “wrong!” Lol. The old man yelling at clouds is strong within me haha

 

Yep, I sometimes look and then forget what frustrated me to begin with.. My wife will typically ask me " Where did the side by side touch you" to make me feel this way.
Cannot count the times the gator has been there to do what needed to be done without even a hickup.

 

That is why a wife will always win, they know your pressure points.

 

Honestly, I hope the high interest rates kill the UTV market. UTVs have no business costing as much as Wranglers and 4Runners. It's not inflation, it's just a bunch of execs being greedy af. I mean honestly, the plastics inside these are abysmal, the seats are shit, the little engines are unreliable, and the suspension components break all the time. I can guarantee their profit margins are super high.

 

Oh I wish indsutries to suffer all the time (car dealers I'm watching you). I know we live in a consumer driven economy, but too many corporations cross the line with their greediness. I digress, but I hope they hurt and bring down prices. All those cheap Chinese components in these UTVs have no business making something so damn expensive.

 

That's just a handy excuse to justify getting one, haha. My old boss's husband used that rationale on her, they bought a new house with a long dirt driveway, he told her he could get a plow for it to do the driveway and he could use the pickup bed to move the trash cans in and out, lol.

Don't know how often that he actually used it to plow the driveway, but he uses it for hunting and built a trail out in the woods behind the house to mess around on with it.

His was a basic two-seater Honda, probably barely cost 20 K.

 

The side by sides look fun as hell, but the prices are absolutely crazy. I could never justify buying one unless I hit the lotto.

Right? Rory and Matt must make a ton of money on these things, they're always hauling them out with broken tie rods, axles, and ball joints.

They look like a lot of fun, but definitely the kind of thing that you rent and don't buy.

 

All that money and they can’t at least make it way less noisy. Listen to the obnoxious raspy exhaust and whining drivetrain. No wonder they want doors. It’s the same as the old ones. You can hear them coming down the trail way before you see them.

 

Tons of ATV and UTV trails in the state. Two hour drive to anything for a 4Runner.

Oh, and snowmobile stuff too.

Anything closer than Tigerton?

 

My best friend lives a little further north than me (in Ontario, Canada, just north of Toronto). He has 2 of these types, one with a winch, and a hook up to plough his driveway. Less than a mile from his house, he has a trail system that’s at least a 50 mile network leading to a couple of fishing lakes.

In the southern part of our province, we literally have less 30 miles of Offroad trails for street legal vehicles, with more than a 3rd of those closing for winter. But we have 10x the amount of ATVs and dirt bikes, and then snowmobiles for winter. Folks here think what’s the point of an Offroad street legal vehicle, since nothing is around us. So for here, the market is huge, and mainly driven by those that take the whole family out, or hunting with a friends. I don’t like it, but I’m also not a boater. I have a friend that moved to live near his boat, where he and his boating friends on their powerboats (2 x V8s) think nothing of spending $1K on fuel for the weekend. It’s all relative, anything is a waste of money to those that don’t enjoy it. I’m in the slow process of building a theatre room, for only watching movies or listening to music. People roll their eyes at me when I talk about it, till they come over and sit in it (and it’s only partially built, all equipment, but walls and ceiling still to be done). People though we were idiots (literally said that) when I said we’re getting a pool, and paying more for something smaller since it was custom (in 2019), but during the pandemic they all came here to hang out, lol. Unless you enjoy it or even more, passionate about it, or you have just have the disposable income, you’ll never justify the cost of a lot of things.

 

I'd love to build a home theater someday! You should start a build thread here so I can live vicariously through yours.

 

It’s been 9yrs in the making. After I broke up with my ex, I had a choice between buying furniture for my living/family room, orrrrrrrr … building a surround system, lol. Thankfully my parents gave me their 1980s styled basement couches, and I spent $20 on covers. I’ll have to start a “home theatre” thread in off topics. Bare basics, it’s now a 120” screen & projector with 9.2.4 Atmos.

 

Nope. There used to be a park in northern Illinois, but it shut down a few years ago.