Polaris offers a bit more utility with two extra seats to make the perfect group off-road machine.
In a time where some side-by-side makers are terrified of four-person modifications and the subsequent legal ramifications, Polaris recognized the desire for extra human cargo capacity and designed a new Ranger RZR to accommodate those needs. Polaris offers the Ranger 800 Crew, a utility-based vehicle, but the new 2010 RZR 4 puts sport into the equation. Time will tell if Polaris is really sticking its neck out there for lawsuits, but this isn’t just an extra set of seats bolted to the bed of a standard RZR. Polaris went to the drawing board and redesigned the chassis to make this four-seater work.
Other four-seat utility vehicles like the
Kawasaki Mule 4010 Trans4x4 have less to worry about regarding speed and handling because they’re meant to haul workloads. But, like the RZR whips up on the standard Mule, the RZR 4 is designed to do the same in the quad-seat category. It’s essentially a stretched version of the RZR S model using the same 760cc High Output (HO) Twin and said to be good for 61 mph. The RZR 4 gets an extra 30 inches of wheelbase and gains a claimed 255 pounds (1255 lbs total). Overall dimensions are 24 inches longer and 4.5 inches taller, but it still retains the 60.5-inch width. Extending the wheelbase drops ground clearance to 11.5 inches (from 12.5).
The beefy suspension can hold up to the strain of the extra weight and the on-demand
AWD will make sure you and your group make it over just about everything.
Beefy 26-inch Maxxis Bighorn tires are mounted on cast aluminum rims and bolted to dual A-arm suspension with the latest Fox Podium X 2.0 shocks front and rear. These new springs provide a foot of travel and high/low-speed compression adjustment when you’re out hammering over rough terrain. The rear end has dual-rate springs and also gets an anti-sway bar. Four hydraulic disc brakes haul it down from speed, but the RZR 4 does not feature an active descent control, power steering or a parking brake.
An automatic PVT transmission and shaft drive dispenses power via a Park/Reverse/Neutral/Low/High pattern. Standard two-wheel-drive jumps into on-demand AWD when the going gets tough. The new RZR 4 only costs an extra thousand dollars ($14,999) compared to the RZR S, but it offers the same 1500-lb tow capacity, 300-lb box capacity and box dimensions.
Inside the cockpit are a tilt steering wheel with 10 inches of movement, heel cup for the driver, passenger handrails front and rear, a 12-volt accessory plug and dual cup holders front and rear, interchangeable bucket seats with four inches of adjustment fore and aft, all tucked inside the protective side nets.
Polaris has joined forces with Robby Gordon to offer special graphics packages from his TORC truck and NASCAR Sprint Cup Toyota.
