Bigger and better than ever: Polaris RZR XP 900

The off-road power sports industry has many new faces and many more new and exciting off-road vehicles for the free at heart. The road to 2011 hasn't been paved with gold for everyone, but a select few seem to have hit the fleeting masses with unforgettable products. A few years back the off-road world was turned upside down with the development and release of the Polaris RZR. The RZR was to be the first true race, sport, purpose-built adventure UTV. This vehicle made it possible for race fans, or just the true adventurer, to conquer their dreams of off-road freedom whether on the tightest trail or at the local race track.

Although there were a couple of players in this market before the RZR came to be, those were more of a working and utilitarian type vehicle with a side of trail worthiness. Starting from the moment in our power sports history in which the team of designers at Polaris released the "epic" ride, many have jumped into the side-by-side and UTV market with success, but it seems for this particular arena Polaris has the stronghold. Even with the Can-Am Commander ripping the trail scene wide open, there was still a size difference that kept the RZR a popular purchase and I believe there will always be.

So where are we going today in 2011 you might ask? Well just a few hours ago, myself and ATV Rider Magazine editor Eli Madero had a chance to see and drive Polaris's answer to the horsepower race that has befell the UTV market. Keeping the same stature and look, the RZR has evolved into what could be the most nimble desert slayer on the market. The newly designed rear trailing arms and front suspension give the feel of a miniature Trophy truck. The power output of the twin cylinder four-stroke has to be the biggest for the vehicle's power-to-weight ratio. A staggering 88HP to the rear wheels on this machine is beyond expectation and the feel of this power output under your foot makes the driver feel as though they are controlling a sprint cup racecar.

With a very crisp throttle, the flat-footed riding style of many desert-racing enthusiasts will be quickly satisfied and the suspension just adds to it, multiplying the fun. The front suspension gives up an amazing 13.5 inches of travel and coupled with the Fox piggy back dual rate sprung shocks you can roll the tops of the rutted trails at speed with little effort. The rear trailing arm technology isn't exactly new in the off-road world, but on a side-by-side set up like the RZR XP900 it makes the ride phenomenal. The independent rear suspension has 14 inches of wheel travel. With an overall width of 64 inches coupled to the 4.5-inch longer wheelbase, the machine seems to be very stable in the roughest terrain.

After a few hours behind the wheel of what some would consider a mini trophy truck, Eli and myself had a grin that went from ear to ear. Never before have we driven a SxS machine that had handling and acceleration characteristics similar to an ATV. When you want to unload the front end to charge over whoops that would swallow any other machine, all you needed to do was mash down on the skinny pedal. The cornering characteristics were similar to that of a roller coaster since you could just stay on the gas and turn the wheel in whatever direction you wanted and that is exactly where the machine would take you. Our goal was to push this machine to its limits and I think we were pushed to ours far before we could get close.

Our conclusion is that the new Polaris RZR XP900 is going to be the new king of the SxS market. If you like the information you've gotten from this so far, look for an in-depth ride review in the May/June issue of ATV Rider Magazine and we guarantee that you'll be happy with the results.