It’s Here!!

Dealer just unloaded it off of truck. Haven’t seen it yet. Will pickup later this week. He is doing street legal and 32” BFG KM3 tires and beadlock wheels before I take delivery.

Oh hell yah. Love the color.

Love that color congratulations you can take everyone for a ride in that one.

Congrats!!! Looking forward to the wheel and tire setup and hearing those first impressions.

First impressions are…AMAZING, next level great! This is the real deal! Ought to be for $50K, but I really do see the value. I am hoping it doesn’t have some major Disappointments like the xpedition had but so far so good. I will attach some pics. The machine is beyond my expectations. I can’t believe it’s a side-by-side. Like a small pickup that can run the desert or mountains. Very impressive suspension despite not being on par with xpedition. I was in some reasonable washboards today, and didn’t even feel them. It will be interesting to have our fellow forum member AZxd get his so he can compare to xpedition. I am also certain he will do after market suspension so will be happy to get his take. I assume suspension could make this vehicle better than the expedition. Don’t tell John Deere over on the xpedition forum though. He’ll get butt hurt and it will cause a firestorm! Ha ha. Certainly, the noise is almost nothing, By comparison. I found that the RPMs never rise much above 5500. Most of the time it’s sub 5000…even going 40-55. If going 25-30 it’s 3500-ish. 20 mph sub 3000. It does have a governor that won’t allow it to go any faster than 65 mph. It just stays right between 63 and 65 With plenty of throttle to go, but won’t take it any quicker. Honestly rides like a jeep or bronco at 65. The transmission is next level good. So smooth you don’t even realize that it’s doing its thing. Definitely doesn’t feel like a belt. No jerky sensations at any speed.

Modes are noticeable and accurate based on the description. Comfort is a little too unresponsive for me. Standard really is ideal for potting around and general riding. Sport is noticeably peppy and responsive and also higher rpm. Haven’t even tried tow/low.

It does shift with a finger as long as you remember to push and not pull lever to put in gear and opposite to take out. I can’t seem to figure that out yet. Hahaha. Just feels tight and well built. Doors shut solid, tailgate shuts solid. Very quiet for what it is. I may add some rubber mats and some insulation behind the panel, behind the rear seats just to quiet it even more, since I’m sure there is nothing and why not protect from heat/cold and noise.

Accessories added so far:
1. 32 inch BFGKM3 tires and beadlock wheels. Honestly, this machine needs a 32 inch tire. Looks so much better and feels like it needs the extra Size. It certainly has no problem accommodating it. I am guessing you could easily do a true 33 inch tire. Might get 34 even. BFG doesn’t have any larger, so I wasn’t interested in looking at another brand.
2. Rock sliders that I put on after I took the pics.
3. rear bumper. Kind of unnecessary, but due to the way, I packaged things. I basically got it for free.
4. Bed mat
5. Brush guard
6. Spare tire carrier
7. Rail tie downs
8. Street legal. In my neck of the woods it will spend as much time around town on roads or highway as in the dirt. Legal to do so and many of us use these for our run around cars.

I do have a 20 inch Baja designs light that I may put on the roof tomorrow. Also, I am adding a couple of rear spotlights and an additional rear seat dome light since I’m going to have the headliner off anyway.

After I get lights done, I’m probably not adding anything else. It really doesn’t need anything. I will see what AZ learns with suspension and may do something there based on his recommendations.

I should also note, the heat almost works too good! I mean it really warms up in a hurry. No heat loss either because it is so tight. There is no air or anything coming in anywhere. You have to shut the doors fairly hard because it has such a good seal. Definitely automotive style heating and air-conditioning.

If I think of anything else, I’ll throw it up here. Sorry so wordy!

Also, thought I would comment on the size of the cab. Extremely roomy! I’m 6 foot three and 210-215 pounds. I have ample headroom… Few inches at least to the headliner. Plenty of legroom and generally just comfortable. I’ve heard some complaints on reviews about the seats but honestly they feel OK to me. Grippy and supportive. Certainly not soft which is great by me. I prefer a firm cushion. Windows are enormous and I don’t find myself having to crouch to look out of them like I do in my general. My general is especially bad because I have the sound bar above the windshield and I have a hard time seeing out of it without looking under it, and crouching a bit. XD almost gives the sensation of riding in a bubble because of the tall wide windows throughout the entire cab. As a result tint might make some sense in the summer heat. I’ll wait-and-see on that one. I haven’t sat in the backseat, but it looks to be plenty roomy for a guy my size. I would guess if you threw three guys my size, it would be cramped width wise. Same is true of the front middle seat. It would be fine for a 12-year-old or small woman or something like that.

The tilt and telescope steering is also really nice. Makes it very easy to put in a position where you can easily see all of the diagnostic information on the dash. I haven’t tried the heated seats, but assume they will work well. We’re having an unusually warm few days here in central Utah so not much need at this point. I will comment on that in a week or two when it gets ungodly cold again.

One last quick observation. Sorry. Will be done for now at least.

The rear bed light is fantastic! You can put it on the middle setting and it turns on when you put the vehicle in reverse or you can pop it up one more and turn it on whenever. It is actually very bright. A nice and useful feature that is high-quality. Also, if you have the ultimate, the lights in the bumper are really bright. For my purposes, I see no need to add a small light bar or a couple of singles to bumper because it is at least as good as the light I have on my general bumper. That might be a wait-and-see addition for those of you who are intending to add bumper, light bars or singles.

any questions let me know. Happy to answer. I would’ve loved to have had someone a month or two ago to pick their brain. The reviews by the websites got tiresome and frankly, not all that informative in many cases.

As painful as the wait and process has been for many months. It was worth the wait!

Thanks for your input. My new Xpedition is in at my dealer, I think I am going to call today and ask about the timeline to switch my order to an XD. I am really impressed with the Xpeditions suspension, but I have really been apprehensive about the noise issue. Also a 1500 would just fit my needs better. Thanks again!!

Put my Baja designs light bar on yesterday and added a couple of rear lights to the roof. I’m really not certain that those rear lights are necessary with the bed light, but I pointed them so they’ll look way back and a little to the side. I have them sitting in my garage, so figured I might as well use them. Also put in an additional cab light for the backseat while I had the headliner down. Took it for 50 or 60 miles in mountains with snow, ice and mud, and then ran in the desert. it’s a little crazy because you feel like you’re in a little pickup truck but you’re doing things a pickup could never do. suspension very similar to my general. Certainly not going to be at the same level as the xpedition, but handled everything I gave it with ease. Of course, I wasn’t jumping off of Sand dunes or on anything really crazy. Unless you’re going to use this thing in really aggressive terrain. It will do very well. Attached a couple of pics that I took while I was out in the desert last night.

Jay B said:

Thanks for your input. My new Xpedition is in at my dealer, I think I am going to call today and ask about the timeline to switch my order to an XD. I am really impressed with the Xpeditions suspension, but I have really been apprehensive about the noise issue. Also a 1500 would just fit my needs better. Thanks again!!

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I made the switch from xpedition the day Ranger was annnounced, after hearing some of the negative reviews regarding noise. At that time I decided the Ranger would fit my needs better. There are very limited allocations on XD that dealers have so you may end up in a little bit of a waiting game. Hopefully it will be a quick quick easy change for you.

Wincollector said:

Put my Baja designs light bar on yesterday and added a couple of rear lights to the roof. I’m really not certain that those rear lights are necessary with the bed light, but I pointed them so they’ll look way back and a little to the side. I have them sitting in my garage, so figured I might as well use them. Also put in an additional cab light for the backseat while I had the headliner down. Took it for 50 or 60 miles in mountains with snow, ice and mud, and then ran in the desert. it’s a little crazy because you feel like you’re in a little pickup truck but you’re doing things a pickup could never do. suspension very similar to my general. Certainly not going to be at the same level as the xpedition, but handled everything I gave it with ease. Of course, I wasn’t jumping off of Sand dunes or on anything really crazy. Unless you’re going to use this thing in really aggressive terrain. It will do very well. Attached a couple of pics that I took while I was out in the desert last night.

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Thanks for all the feedback on the machine!
Great overall 1st impressions I agree with the cab seal and really not needing much heat at all to keep it very comfortable.

I have used the heated seats they are almost to good.
The sunset in last pic looked amazing you are lucky to have that place to ride for sure!


Keep us posted on future rides please.

Great info. That review was far superior to anything the “influencers” did. Glad you feel it’s worth the money. Keep the pics and info coming.

Wincollector said:

I made the switch from xpedition the day Ranger was annnounced, after hearing some of the negative reviews regarding noise. At that time I decided the Ranger would fit my needs better. There are very limited allocations on XD that dealers have so you may end up in a little bit of a waiting game. Hopefully it will be a quick quick easy change for you.

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Well I went ahead and changed my order. They gave a shipping date of 3/25. Hoping it will be sooner. I still have my 21 Northstar so I won't be without wheels till then.

Jay B said:

Well I went ahead and changed my order. They gave a shipping date of 3/25. Hoping it will be sooner. I still have my 21 Northstar so I won't be without wheels till then.

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That’s great news! Happy they had something they could allocate to you. I LOVE my XD. The more I use it, the more I like it.

Christmas came early!. I picked up my new ranger today. All I can say is that after owning many rangers Polaris finally got rid of the clunking ,jerking, rubber belt system .after 25 years this ranger is the best .I only have a few miles on it and its smooth quiet and well built, I hope it will be reliable and durable long term,

Jeff G said:

Christmas came early!. I picked up my new ranger today. All I can say is that after owning many rangers Polaris finally got rid of the clunking ,jerking, rubber belt system .after 25 years this ranger is the best .I only have a few miles on it and its smooth quiet and well built, I hope it will be reliable and durable long term,

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Congrats Jeff!! Color looks familiar! Definitely a great Christmas gift!

I agree with you on first impressions. So far no negative surprises on my end. Good news is polaris put a factory 3 year powertrain warranty on these, so it gives us some time should problems arise.

For those unaware of extended powertrain warranty here is a screenshot of the information that shows my particular rig and promotional 3 year warranty. For whatever reason, I missed realizing that benefit until I picked it up. I’m not sure how long that promotion runs, but I was happy about it for those of us early adopters on a new platform and SxS technology with 3 cylinder, steel belt etc. I figure I can extend warranty a year down the road if I see the value.

Jeff G said:

Christmas came early!. I picked up my new ranger today. All I can say is that after owning many rangers Polaris finally got rid of the clunking ,jerking, rubber belt system .after 25 years this ranger is the best .I only have a few miles on it and its smooth quiet and well built, I hope it will be reliable and durable long term,

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How long of a wait from the time u ordered?