We had a great question asked on YouTube by “Justice bdone” on our review of the 2018 Polaris RZR XP Turbo DYNAMIX. This subscriber asked, “Why would a person buy the Turbo Dynamix when the Turbo S is available?”
So what’s the difference between these vehicles? There are actually a couple good points like price, weight and performance of your RZR so let’s take a look at how this shapes up.
Both of these vehicles feature Polaris’ Dynamix suspension, which, if you’ve ever used it you already know, is an active system that automatically adjusts suspension levels based on input from a plethora of sensors as the vehicle conquers terrain.
Dynamix also detects body roll and compensates by adding compression damping to the outside shocks to keep the vehicle level and can even detect when your RZR is airborne, adjusting all 4 shocks to full hard for the landing before immediately returning to your preset level.
These units also both use the same 168 horsepower turbocharged powerplant, but thatÂ’s about where the similarities end.
The XP Turbo is 64 inches wide vs. the 72-inch width of the Turbo S. Plus ground clearance is 13.5 inches vs. 16-inches respectively. ThereÂ’s also a significant weight difference between the two with the Turbo S being more that 200 pounds heavier! That’s about the weight of an additional passenger… a well-fed one at that!
The weight difference comes from several areas like the Turbo S’s much heavier, 32 inch, 8-ply ITP Coyote tires plus significant reinforcements in every area to handle the abuse of wide open throttle desert riding – something we experienced earlier this year while evaluating the Turbo S in gnarly, unforgiving desert terrain surrounding Las Vegas. It took as hard a beating as we could hand out, with a smile, and kept coming back for more.
Looking at these differences, we have to think that, at the purchaser level, it would come down to your intended use of your RZR and where you ride. We’ve made it clear that the Turbo S absolutely shines in abusive and merciless desert terrain and both of these vehicles are suitable for dune thrashing any day of the week. But can a 72-inch wide RZR fit down your local trail system? We think the lighter and narrower XP Turbo might be better suited for fast trail riding and navigating fire roads and its Maxxis Big Horn tires would handle this sort of terrain admirably.
At the end of the day, if you’re rolling into the dealership with the intention of laying down your hard earned cash for a new RZR, both of these vehicles are at the pinnacle of performance.
So it’s really a matter of how you intend to use your RZR and if youÂ’re intended use warrants the additional $2,500 the Turbo S costs so you can have the biggest and baddest RZR on the block.
