Driven: The 2024 Polaris RZR XP 1000 Ultimate May Be the Most Fun Thing on Four Wheels

What if the only thing you care about is having fun? My friends, Polaris has your back. This is the 2024 RZR XP 4 1000 Ultimate, and it's here to show you a raw, visceral experience is still possible with four wheels and an ICE powerplant. You know, the way all performance vehicles on or off-road used to be. The RZR lineup is North America's top-selling strictly recreational side-by-side, built to do nothing but put a smile on your face and a few pounds of mud and sand on your clothes for good measure. First launched in 2007 with major refreshes in 2014 and 2019, this all-new, totally bespoke 2024 RZR XP only shares the steering column with the outgoing model.

Everything else, from the chassis to the drivetrain and all the important suspension, is all-new and made to work in harmony at Polaris' state-of-the-art R&D facility in Wyoming, Minnesota. The stage was set for us to have the drive of a lifetime at one of Polaris' Adventure locations at On the Trail Rentals in Grand Lake, Colorado. With plenty of mud, dirt, sand, and three-foot-deep puddles of water from the previous week's rainfall to play with, there was no shortage of obstacles for this strictly recreational side-by-side to cut its teeth on. But first, we'd need to get to grips with the machines we'd be riding.

With dimensions of 147.8 x 64 x 75 inches (375.4 x 162.6 x 190.5 cm) with a 117-inch (297.2 cm) wheelbase on the RZR XP 4 1000 Ultimate we drove that day, this four-door side-by-side lets you take a family of four on a thrill ride they'll never forget. The vehicle's doors are opened via mechanical door poppers on the interior door cards. You'll find they pop open with a delightful tactile feeling that only accentuates the excitement you're liable to feel as you climb inside. Once the doors open, you're greeted with an interior far more automotive-like in appearance than you might expect if you're new to recreational side-by-sides.

Plush vinyl material covers the seats in the front and rear. You'll instantly notice they match whichever paint and decal colors were chosen for your machine. Moving further around the interior, we find a seven-inch infotainment and navigation touchscreen complete with Polaris' industry-leading Ride Command software that provides a better user experience than some automotive-grade infotainment setups you're liable to find. There's something to be said for a center screen with smartphone levels of responsiveness found on an off-road toy rather than a big luxury car, but it's one of the brightest spots in this rig's interior goodies. They really do make the RZR XP 4 1000 a nicer place to sit than you might think. The rear backup camera was crisp and clean in image quality as well.

No world-class infotainment screen would be complete without a banging stereo connected to it. Thankfully, this isn't a spot where Polaris cheaped out even slightly. We're talking about a Rockford Fosgate Stage 3 audio system with speakers integrated into each door panel for an authentic stereo surround sound experience controlled from your phone via BlueTooth and the Ride Command+ mobile app for iOS and Android. We mean it when we tell you the audio quality brought a palpable increase in the ride experience. Once again, there are some automotive-grade stereo systems from the last 20 years without this level of quality.

Moving to the vehicle's rear, we find a recreational-optimized variant of the Polaris Lock & Ride cargo storage system. Although it's not as robust as what you'd find on the utilitarian Ranger, you'll find it does a fantastic job of hauling light loads of cargo, drinks and snacks, and a spare full-sized wheel and tire around to the point you forget it's even on board at times. We'll also note that we stored a camera bag full of expensive, irreplaceable equipment in the rear Lock & Ride storage box during our test drive. Not only did it not move a wink during the ride, but the water bottles and energy drink cans in the cooler behind it didn't even leak from the melting ice inside.

Add on the spare tire mount latch that disconnects and raises with a simple tug with your pinky finger, and it's one of the most understated but brilliant pieces of engineering on the whole vehicle. Can you believe we haven't touched the nuts and bolts yet? Thankfully, the RZR XP 4 doesn't disappoint there, either. Sitting at the rear of the vehicle underneath the Lock & Ride hardware and a thermal protection cover sits a naturally-aspirated 999cc Polaris ProStar four-stroke, twin-cylinder gas engine with electronic fuel injection and 114 horsepower to play with.

For some context, a couple of entry-level hatchbacks on the market right now don't make this much power. We're looking at you, Mitsubishi Mirage. Heck, even the 2023 Kia Rio only makes six horsepower more. Like the Mirage and Rio, the RZR XP 4 1000 Ultimate sports a CVT transmission, albeit using rubber belts instead of steel ones. Sadly, this model doesn't get the fancy SteelDrive CVT of the Ranger XD 1500. Then again, when all you want to do is have fun, you don't need the extra transmission hardware driving up costs unnecessarily. The results are profound once you get this wicked engine and transmission combo out on the trail.

From the moment you hear this twin-pot roar to life with a visceral, guttural growl that we're told is going Dodo when EVs take over, you're treated to as primal and joyous an experience as is still possible on four wheels with a new vehicle these days. Throttle response times feel nearly instantaneous; it's to the point where people who don't drive sports cars or recreational off-roaders regularly might have a tough time getting to grips at first. But after the initial shell shock wears off and some truly intimidating off-roading is thrown your way, you start to understand the true abilities of what Polaris has come up with here.

Over uneven terrain with crevasses and dips galore, dirt berms angled at what feels like 60 or even 70 degrees, and across thick mud passes and rainfall collections you could probably use as a swimming pool if not for the critters and mud mixed in, this RZR XP 1000 didn't even flinch. When you consider the 16-position adjustable Walker Evans shocks at all four corners paired with dual a-arm front suspension and trailing arm rear suspension, is it any wonder this machine can glide across even the most rugged off-road terrain? The chunky Trail Master X/T 2.0 radial tires help drive the point home.

With 16 inches of wheel travel to play with up front and 18 in the rear, there were very few hazards that you would even notice on a given off-road trail. The level of suspension articulation the RZR XP 1000 line is capable of puts Jeeps and Land Rovers to shame, all while sporting an engine so eager to rev with each joyous stomp of your right foot that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a VTEC motor. With a roughly 25 percent increase in chassis stiffness over the outgoing model thanks to a one-piece frame instead of individual sub-frames welded together, it all comes together to make a vehicle supremely competent in its abilities.

Almost like a high-end supercar, this is a case where the upper limits of the RZR XP 1000's capabilities aren't really attainable to the average Joe or Josephine. But that's not to say ordinary people can't have an absolute riot behind the wheel. Most folks with their crossover SUV daily drivers have likely never experienced a vehicle with this level of input between machine and driver. For a crash course in how to drive smartly yet aggressively within the bounds of the rules at your local off-road trail, we can think of no better vehicle on Earth to get the job done.

With a range of trim packages available in two or four-door models from the entry-level RZR XP 1000 4 Sport starting at $24,999 to the mid-range Premium model at $26,999 to the mack-daddy Ultimate package starting at $29,999 before taxes and fees, there's a configuration out there to suit everyone's needs. Of course, that's still a lot of money for what's still just a plaything.

But if you ask us, the best bang for your buck solution is to travel to a place like a Polaris Adventure location and rent one of these beasts for the afternoon so you can enjoy them without any of the hassles of ownership. If you ask us, it's something everybody should try at least once in their lifetime. Trust us, you'd be surprised how the fear of messing things up melts into abject joy when you power your way over terrain you'd think twice about sending a road legal 4x4 through without voiding its warranty. Some machines are just "built different."