Driven: Polaris' RANGER XD 1500 Could Be the Most Capable UTV Ever Built

For such a special occasion, autoevolution was happy to be among those invited to the Three Forks Ranch along Colorado's border with Wyoming for a first-time look at one of Polaris' true halo vehicles. If you didn't think things could get any more refined than the all-electric Ranger XP Kinetic we reviewed last year, the peppy gas three-pot engine in the new XD 1500 might have the quiet EV beaten. The XD-1500 can legitimately do 90 percent of what a light pickup can do, but in a small, compact package that makes much more practical sense.

Not your grandpa's side-by-side

Across a range of applications from farm work to hauling light construction loads or even as a top-notch transport vehicle for hunters and fishermen in barely hospitable environments, the XD 1500 is well-equipped to handle the demands its consumers can not and will not compromise on. Let's take a closer look at the details. Safe to say, there's plenty here to excite.

In both a two-door, three-seater or a four-door, six-seat configuration, the XD-1500 melds the worlds of the automotive and off-road powersports and excites both ends of the spectrum. The simple reason is that the sheer level of features on even the most basic Ranger XD 1500 makes entry-level, road-legal passenger cars feel cheap. But if the UTVs on display in Colorado that afternoon were beauties, the weather and the terrain of the forests and mountains between Wyoming and Colorado were even more spectacular. But before we descend into going ga-ga over the scenery, let's break down the facts and figures around Polaris' flagship utility side-by-side.

Though unmistakably resembling its Ranger brethren of old, the XD 1500 is a wholly bespoke and all-new chassis that serves as a strong foundation for the considerable technology on offer. With dimensions of 137 inches long and 64 inches wide (328x163 cm) in its single-cab form and 27 inches (68.6 cm) longer for the crew cab, the XD 1500 dwarfs UTVs in Polaris' lower-end Ranger XP class, of which the Kinetic EV is a member. With a claimed curb weight of 2,473 lbs (1,121 kg) for the three-seater variant and 2,905 lb (1,317 kg) for the six-seater crew cab, the XD 1500 is tantalizingly close to being automotive-sized.

It's hard not to make comparisons to road-legal automobiles when doing a 360-degree sweep of the XD 1500's exterior. With its impressive size, aggressive front grille, and high-output LED headlights, plenty of modern cars and trucks have less appealing front ends. This heir of automotive-grade quality isn't skin deep. The XD 1500's interior is so car-like in its standard features that you might find yourself reaching for the non-existent turn signals as you make your way down a woodland trail.

More features than some passenger cars

Of course, a flagship side-by-side needs a flagship drivetrain to match. In the XD 1500's case, each variant, from the entry single-cab Premium Edition without doors to the highest-trimmed crew-cab, six-seater NorthStar Edition, packs a 1.5-liter (1,498 cc) three-cylinder ProStar engine jetting 110 horsepower and 105 lb-ft (142.8 Nm) of torque. With selectable four-wheel-drive operated by a button to the bottom left of the steering wheel, there's very little terrain out there the XD 1500 can't traverse. Coupled with the new engine is Polaris' all-new SteelDrive transmission. It's the first steel-belt CVT ever designed for a powersports application, and it's another reason why the XD-1500 feels more like a light truck in its application than it does a more basic and traditional UTV.

For our trip to Colorado, Polaris brought a fleet of XD 1500 single-cab NorthStar Editions for us to play with. Each example was sent out in eye-catching Turbo Silver or Sunset Red paint that shined with a pearl any automotive production operation would be proud of. This considerable dedication to quality continues when you open the NorthStar Edition's suicide-hinged doors and peep at what's on offer in the interior. Only when you check out this rig's plush contoured seats and seven-inch infotainment screen with Polaris' Ride Command software can you appreciate how refined the inside of this cab is.

It's one thing for a UTV to have a navigation screen slapped on its dashboard. Plenty of side-by-sides come equipped with one nowadays, and even more options are available on the aftermarket. But for Polaris' propriety Ride Command software to be as crisp, responsive, and downright smartphone-like in its functionality in our testing was an absolute treat. There are automotive-grade navigation screens made not long ago that could never hope to be as easy to use as this in-house system from Polaris. The chunky rubber buttons for all the controls also had a delightful tactility to them, all the more valuable when driving with thick gloves on your hands. Meanwhile, the Ride Command+ mobile app puts all the functionality of the XD 1500's center screen in the palm of your hand.

Fun to drive and functional at the same time

From the moment you turn the key and throw the XD 1500 into drive, its SteelDrive CVT delivers a smooth wave of power that stays consistent across the rev range. Particularly noted out on the trails was the lack of sudden, abrupt jolts after putting it in drive like you might expect from a UTV with a lesser transmission. From low-speed rock crawling using the XD 1500's hill-assist system to high-speed dashes across loose sand at 50 mph (80 kph), there wasn't any speed that this novel UTV didn't feel perfectly at home at.

Across the dusty trails, narrow woodland passes, and the occasional herd of cows that we found ourselves driving over, the XD 1500 was everything you'd expect a flagship, top-of-the-line UTV to be and then some. Its 15 inches of ground clearance is achieved using a clever A-arm front suspension with a hinged link between the frame and the rest of the suspension. With familiar arched A-arms in the rear, small ruts in the trail turned into nothing special behind the wheel. The four-wheel hydraulic disk brakes are light and responsive for a UTV. However, we get the sense you'll be doing more engine/drivetrain braking going downhill in the XD 1500 than riding the brake, like every highway motorist's pet peeve.

Truthfully, the respective Pro-Armor and Kenda off-road tires available with the 14 and 15-inch wheels on the XD 1500 NorthStar Premium and NorthStar Ultimate editions make for a vehicle that seldom needs its 4WD system to skip around over most terrain. Only on the most aggressive up-hill and down-hill sections of the course laid out for us that day necessitated switching into 4WD mode. All the while, switching between the XD 1500's standard driving mode and its comfort and sport modes really did make a difference to the experience. Comfort mode, in particular, appeared to turn an ordinarily buzzy, active engine into something that lets you conversate with a passenger and hear yourself think better than you might expect.

In the practically not-useful but still all-important category of off-road hooning, the XD 1500 didn't disappoint. But keep in mind, this isn't the more sporting-oriented RZR line. Ranger vehicles, be they the smaller XP or the big-boy XD line, are true-to-form work vehicles first, and off-road toys a very distant second. From a utilitarian point of view, the XD 1500 doesn't disappoint either. How could you be underwhelmed when the Ranger XD's towing capacity of 3,500 lbs (1,587.5 kg) outright beats low-end, road-legal trucks? We're looking at you, 2WD Ford Mavericks. The rear-bed loading capacity of 1,500 lbs (680.4 kg) out of a 137-inch (348-cm) or 164-inch (416.5-cm) rear bed box, depending on the cab size, is pretty phenomenal as well.

Expensive for a toy, amazing value for a work vehicle

The optional Lock & Ride MAX storage containment solution will also assuredly come in handy when carrying precious cargo. Further trinkets like power windows, ample 12-volt charging, and utility capability in the cab and the bed combined with a surprisingly robust air conditioning system make for a space that's not only lovely to sit in but all the more functional for farmers, ranch hands, and hunters/fishermen, most likely to buy this work vehicle. Pulling other stuck motorists out of mud bogs with the optional 6,000 Lb. Pro HD Winch is likely a breeze in this thing as well. In the extreme weather and temperatures that these folks tend to work in, such luxuries pay dividends in ways we desk jockeys might fail to appreciate at first. And let's be honest, most people who buy a UTV with a $29,999 sticker price for the most basic model are probably looking for it to pay for itself with the hard labor that gets done behind the wheel.

In this, the category that likely makes the biggest difference for the XD 1500's customer base, this halo-vehicle UTV ticks all the necessary boxes with flying colors. Of course, the MSRP can spike through the roof once you add the crew-cab option. The highest-specked XD 1500 NorthStar Ultimate with the fancy Polaris Pro camo package starts at $50,499 before taxes and fees. Add in the extra utility goodies of the bespoke Ranch, Farm, and Hunt options packages, and you're off to the races in terms of base price.

It's undoubtedly quite a bit of coin if you're just messing around in the forest for fun. But for the hard-grafting workers who earn their pay behind the wheel of these UTVs, we're almost certain the extra functionality is worth the added expense. But even if you're not a ranch hand or a farmer in the heartland of America, the level of refinement that went into a UTV that's explicitly not road-legal proves the trickle-down effect really does apply between the automotive and powersports community. In truth, it's genuinely difficult to come up with gripes or complaints about the XD 1500.

Apart from a slightly annoying level of drivetrain cabin noise, the experience of driving this beast over the course of almost five hours was almost completely perfect. Besides, the XD 1500's interior might trick you into thinking it's a car. But it's really not, so a little drivetrain noise is by no means the end of the world. When you weigh the considerable upsides with the negligible downsides, the Ranger XD 1500 impressed in ways few side-by-sides in its class could hope to compete with. By melding the best qualities of both the automotive and powersports sectors, the XD 1500 is a machine that people from all walks of life can really appreciate after some time behind the wheel. That's a 5 out of 5 star driving experience every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Check back real soon for more automotive and powersports test drives and so much more right here on autoevolution.