We had mentioned that Polaris has been wise in offering numerous variations on its venerable RZR in order to keep competitors at bay.
Although there are various performance versions and even a couple of different 4-passenger RZRs, basically only two engine configurations are currently available: the 800 parallel OHV twin (in standard and HO versions) and the new SOHC 900 in the RZR XP.
We see this as a good thing because the kind of rider who buys a RZR is looking for better than average power so the wheels can easily break free in dirt and the vehicle can be power-slid intuitively.
With marginal horsepower, especially on a 4-wheel drive vehicle, this often doesn’t happen and the SxS is harder to maneuver in tight terrain or just flat-out, not as much fun to drive.
Here’s the rub: Because of the high performance powerplants Polaris has been using in the RZR, we wonder if there isn’t a huge market for an entry level RZR with 2-wheel drive and a smaller displacement engine – say about 500-550ccs.
The advantage here is it would open the marketplace to a ton of entry-level buyers, presuming of course the price would be considerably lower on a less-featured RZR.
We think there’s a lot of rabid buyers who simply can’t afford to ante up the price for the pricey big-inch models but would readily jump at a bargain-priced performer like this.
