I’ve hunted a large western ranch for years that routinely sees 300 elk killed (plus deer and moose). It sits at about 8000’ and is quite rough in places. There are 8-10 Rangers up there at anytime owned by the guides. They prefer them for the combination of weight and power. They’ve all needed warranty work (6 mos warranty), and to keep hunters in the the field, they keep numerous spare parts in camp to replace commonly failing parts.... I’ve never been there when there werent a couple machines sidelined. Most of the guides will admit they’re not as reliable as the Japanese brands.....but find the weight/power/capacity worth the headaches. They trade them out after a couple years because the downtime is too disruptive/expensive.
Couple of thoughts: these get worked real hard. I’ve watched a number of times as guys hung off the back or front of the machines to keep wheels on the ground in steep country when retrieving game. The roads/trails are rough and beat the hell out of suspension systems (bushings are constantly in need of replacement). It is doubtful 99% of the Rangers sold will ever see this kind of use. Still, they regularly are replacing parts and having common problems that should never go tits up on couple year old machines.
I don’t use my side by sides that hard. I will say the build quality of my Teryx and Mule Pro FTX is such that I’ve never needed the 3 year warranty...for anything. Same with my Yamaha atvs....
