I just don't need an 700 machine. A 400 has met my needs for the last 10 years. It gets used every day and I've never said "I wish I had a bigger machine or more power". Several times I've wished the footprint of the machine was a little smaller. That was one of the reasons I liked the Grizzly...and one of the reasons I didn't consider the Rancher since it is now the same physical size as the Foreman.
Diff lock I do like and have seen it make a lot of difference when climbing steep trails with uneven rocks and the back tires start spinning with one of the front tires off the ground. Doesn't help that I wear tires until I can get no more wear out of them.....
On trails this past weekend I really liked the solid rear axle. It has the down side of feeling everything more, but it seems so much more stable (compared to IRS) on the washed out ruts and uneven rocks. It was the thing that stood out most. High speed and smooth ride aren't nearly as important to me as stability. I kept thinking that the stated lower ground clearance of the Foreman was going to hit a lot of the uneven rocks/ledges that I was going over but it didn't...my IRS machine seems to hit more even though ground clearance is supposed to be higher.
Changing gears is neither here nor there with me. For my kids I especially like the CVS and engine braking, I think it's a lot safer than gears if they don't know how to use them. As long as you use them, the gears on the foreman are great, especially the low first gear when descending rocky sections. I like not having to stop and switch a lever from low to high or to reverse when driving up a steep tricky section then flattening out to a level section....just change gears and you're good.
I keep thinking I wish I had gotten a manual foot shift, but hopefully it will never make a difference.
