In the market for a new UTV looking hard at a mule.Main use will be plowing snow and hunting.What are the best

I would personally recommend Polaris Ranger. They are so much better in the off-road/hunting department. I also use mine on the farm so went with the 6x6, but have always found the normal 4x4 to be great also. Have pictures of bull and a cow elk loaded in box of full size ranger and it handled in without a problem in mountains of CO...

Had the Yamaha Rhino 660. Great for plowing and would go anywhere. Not sure they make them anymore. Ranger is good

Look at the Honda Pioneer 1000 or Polaris Ranger. I would start with the Honda first.

If you'll need to load it in a pickup or use atv trails, you'll need a 50" model. I have a Polaris 800 that fits in a long bed pickup but the tailgate comes about 6" shy of closing. It fits nicely on atv trails.

I have a Yamaha Viking VI and glad I bought it. The Viking is a 3 passenger while the VI is a 6 passenger. Yamaha reliability says it all. My Ranch Edition at my Ranch.......

http://s98.photobucket.com/user/SS30ANV/media/RanchattheRanch_zpspaq17bog.jpg.html]

Be careful of the Polaris, they are having to recall a lot of them due to them catching on fire.

Most, but not all, of the Polaris Ranger recalls have been for turbo oil line leaks. It drips oil on the engine which catches fire.

sumthing from Honda......or Yamaha........

We have had a Polaris Ranger since 2004, when it was purchased new. It has been a great UTV. Very reliable and durable. Never had to do anything to it besides routine maintenance. I have driven a couple of Mules and they seem underpowered compared to even our 500 cc Polaris

Polaris Ranger was the big winner for years but as of lately I'm seeing lotsa folks jumping ship to the Honda Pioneers

My Pioneer has been flawless so far, as was my Big Red MUV, as was my Foreman 400. I sold the Big Red to a pard in our club, and he puts it through hell. No issues other than the ones he has inflicted on it. If you're hard enough on it to unseat properly inflated tires (both on th same side), and it keeps on going, it's a good machine. The Rangers in our camp have been so-so, spotty reliability, and predictable in nature. Driveshaft problems, overheating, fuel injection sensors, wheel bearing failures etc.

AFAIK, the only Honda Pioneer that comes in 50" is the 500. If you need more power, you need to go to something that's the size of a Jeep. I want one that fits in my pickup and can be used on ATV trails. My Polaris 800 fits the bill.

We are thinking of getting a new UTV to replace our 2004 Ranger 500. We have not had any problems with the Ranger but admittedly it gets used less hard than some as it is mostly used on weekends, 1 -2 times per month so not nearly as often as those that use them daily. Going to really consider all possibilities with this new one

Purchased the 570 ranger a year ago. just under 1k miles on to date.
bench seat was my limiting factor when shopping - only a few have them. bad boy, mule and ranger were the only thr ee that i could find to sit in. went with the ranger due to comfort, price and support. love it - the polaris lala bye works great on grandkids around nap time.

I would have preferred the bench seat on our Polaris but my wife took one look at what was on the lot and said no. They had no handholds in any convenient places. She tried a bucket seat with the T-bar hand grips and she loved it.

Ranger 6x6 all the way.. you can even haul a moose in it. I had no issues with mine..

I have thought about the Ranger 6x6 as I like the tool box and the bed! Spoke with a friend who owns a dealership and they sell Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Honda, no Polaris, and he said the Mule Pro are noticeably quieter than the others and a good full size bench seat. I have not looked at one of them yet.

2008 Ranger Crew here. 700cc. Never had an issue. Hauled elk out of pretty rough terrain. It has taken me up some scary hills. I acted like it was nothing so my wife wouldn't get too nervous. Impressive UTV.

Ended up with a Ranger XP 1000. Certainly more motor than we really needed but a decent deal. Pick it up this weekend

I've had my Yamaha Rhino FI 700 SE for 4 years now. Not one problem with it. I did put a lift kit on it, and taller tires.I got mine used with around 1,000 miles on it. The owner wanted a crew UTV to haul around his dogs & Grandkids. The dealer he bought it from was going to allow him $3,000.00 on a trade for a $13,000 machine. I got it for $5,000.00. Runs like a champ.

After A LOT of research, I ended up with a Yamaha Wolverine R Spec SE. Bought it in October and so far I love it.

Drawbacks are it's only a two seater and the box doesn't tilt but otherwise it's great.

You're gonna like it.

Only have about 15 miles on it, just enough to tool around the farm a bit but seems nice so far. Certainly more quiet than our old 2004 version

Ranger

Please update this thread as you get some miles on it. I was looking at them today and they look neat.

>>>>>>>>>>Rhino<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

You got a good find. I'd like one of them myself. $5,000, what a great deal.

FWIW.......my '09 Rhino...paid $7900 for it...Jan '13

bought it from original owner...900 miles...700 FI

After adding...winch...soft top...14" radials & new wheels

then...clutch/belt upgrade....hot water heater (free)

now 3300 miles...four years later...still runs great...

Yamaha builds a good machine..

I will try to remember. It's been put to bed now for awhile because it's just been too dang cold to drive it.

I added the Yamaha fold down windshield and an EMP rear window. Now I'm shopping for doors. Eventually would like to get heat in it as well.

We opted out of heat, due to the extra $1300 it cost. Does have full cab with doors

Did you get a hard cab or does it have the soft doors?

Hard cab with the hard doors. The doors lift off easily to take them off when the weather warms up. Glass windshield and behind the cab

We bought an XP 900 last summer.

It's crazy how fast all the cab options add up!

And you know you're basically getting ripped off but I guess the convenience of getting everything installed by the dealer is worth it.

Question for you UTV owners.

How deep of snow can you get through good tires and chains?

High centering is the problem, not the tires and chains. I have an aftermarket skid plate on my RZR that's great in rocks. However, it'll easily high center in snow much deeper than 10". Tires and chains are useless if the wheels are spinning free. Dense snow will high center faster than dry snow.

I agree, high centering is the issue, not traction, even without chains. We have easily negotiated 10-12 inches of snow but can still get stuck in a drift if you don't have enough momentum.

get way past a used jeep in a hurry doncha?

Sycamore

Polaris ranger 570 is what you need!!!!

We have a Polaris RZR 800. I would have preferred the bench seats but my wife took one look and said no way. It had no hand holds at all. There was nothing but the seat belt to hold the passenger in. So, we tried the RZR with the buckets and the t-bar hand grip and she loved it.

Looking at updating a Polaris ATV with a newer UTV at the other farm. Local has a 2009 Polaris Ranger, full size, 500 cc with new tires for $6200. It has 600 hours, not sure if that is a lot of hours for a UTV?

I've looked at the R-Spec before, the lack of protection to the front end is a deal breaker for me. I know I can buy aftermarket parts to fix that issue but why should I have to buy that stuff, it should come stock. Same with the other 2 models, the Viking and the YXZ. I wish Yamaha would make an updated version of the Rhino, my Rhino has been great (other than having 3 wet clutches go bad) and I'd buy another if it were updated with better seats, a slightly bigger motor, and better shocks.

Found a 2013 Ranger XP 900 with camo. Hard top, glass front and back windshield, front and rear brush guards, comes with a 2015 14 foot aluminum Polaris trailer for $11k, Only 1250 miles on the Ranger. Seems like a pretty darn good deal.