A short video with my initial thoughts on the new Kawasaki Ridge. Who is it competing against Commanders and Generals or Defenders and Rangers? What are your thoughts on the new Ridge?
I just bought one this week. Traded in the RZR just for a change with heat and AC and fully sealed cab. I'll send you some honest feedback in a couple weeks!!! Great video.
Congratulations on your purchase. I hope it's a great machine for you. I look forward to hearing back from you with feedback on the Ridge. Save travels!
For those that have deep pockets, the Ridge is going to be a great choice. Kawasaki did their homework like Yamaha did with the Wolverine X2 1000. Also,Kawasaki has the best warranty in the business.
Nice video but I will stay with the can am defender I used to own Kawasaki mules pro fxr and I had issues with my local dealer not wanting to do warranty on it my last mule pro fxr was a 2023 model whatever machine you buy is only as good as your dealer
Thank you for the comment, I can totally relate to dealer experience being very important. I had a very bad experience with the previous brand that I owned, similar to yours. It caused me to switch to can am.
Love the new Ridge that 4 cyl sounds so smooth and quiet compared to the rest plus it looks great inside and out...I was going to pull the trigger on an Rmax but just may wait till I see and hear the Ridge in person...I'd only be interested in the 116 hp version...the Rmax is an awesome machine but it's so damn loud it's annoyingly so...had Kawis before and had no issues with any of them.
I have a friend that owned an RMAX and he put 1200 km (800 miles) on it in a week-long trip in 2022 and sold it when he got home. He said the noisy engine was unbearable.
Amazing video and comparison. Love how you stacked them all up against each other for a quick and clean comparison. How do the weights of the machines stack up?
Thanks for the quick review. As every year passes I find it harder and harder to justify spending that kind of money on a sxs. I like my commander, but if something major goes wrong, I just might find myself going back to a quad.
Me too. With the cost to buy and then the cost to own and maintain the thing and needing a trailer it's hard to justify. An ATV is just simpler and nearly 1/4 of the cost these days. I live in Halifax and need to tow to use. If living in Nfld a SxS could almost be a daily driver to run errands. Could own one of these instead of a Honda Civic.
Finally, someone who understands what the Ridge's competition is. TFL Offroad was comparing it to the new Ranger 1500 XD.......big miss they are not in the same ballpark. Over on Dirt Dudes they were comparing it to the Expedition ADV.....closer but still not the same. The Expedition XP however would compete much closer. Liked the comparison much better than others.
Thanks! I think TFL was comparing to the Ranger 1500 because they both have 4 cylinders. But I think the price point of that machine is way higher. The Defender Limited and Ranger Northstar are priced so close, and the size is so close that they are direct competitors to one another in my opinion.
@@EastCoastATV The Ranger 1500 has a 3-cylinder motor not 4 and is really tuned for work not sport. It makes 110 HP which is not much for it's size but it has 105 ft lbs. of torque, and you feel all of it. It has a Steeldrive transmission that is nothing like a traditional CVT. It carries 500 lbs. more in the bed, it tows 1500 lbs. more, it weighs almost 1000 lbs. more and really has no direct competitors. I have the 1500 XD and the Ridge while nice doesn't compete at that level. You nailed what it is and who it directly competes against.
Yeah I agree every other video on the Ridge compares it to the wrong class and commenters are clueless…. This video finally compares it in the proper segment. You’ll never beat Kawasaki quality and 3 year bumper to bumper warranty!!! When this comes out in a 4 door model I’m going to have to consider getting one and upgrading the Teryx.
@rodcox1005 Thanks for the posting again. You are totally correct about it having 3 cylinders. I remember watching videos of it when it first came out and somehow forgot that. It truly is a far superior machine to the regular Ranger, but it comes at a cost as expected. Thanks again for taking the time to post.
great review and comparision ...I hope you do a more in depth review on these 3 UTVs in the near future,.....my first impressions is .....the new Kawasaki Ranger Ridge will be the new leader for this class / size utv ...
Nice vid. As an RMax 2 owner I see the higher hp 30" tire version of the Ridge as a direct competitor to it. I have an inline 4 Kawi 1000 Versys. If the Ridge motor is anything like that it'll be awesome. Add in all the extras like pwr windows, heat, hvac electronic dash etc and Yamaha will have a hard time competing here. I spent 1000s in accessories and still not close to what this is out of the crate. May want to make a vid using the "sport utility" versions with the RMax, Commander etc. When I bought the RMax a few yrs ago sealed cabs and heat didn't exist. Awesome to see the evolution grow so quick. Yamaha and Honda will have to adapt and have to answer to this.
I like everything about the ridge but the engine rpm at 57 mph it was running 8500 in one of the videos I saw, the other two run around 6000 so that is a lot of engine noise and it means the clutch stays closed a lot which means the flyweights and rollers will most likely wear out quickly like the KRX does now when you run it at higher speeds a lot. It is geared too low in high range. That is the real issue.
@@EastCoastATV I am sure they were speeding up but that is higher than any RZR there is and still 2000 more than a ranger or defender speeding up during shift phase. Shift phase on a RZR and Turbo RZR is in the lower 8000
Great comparison! I like what I see. It looks like it rides and handles well. It seems to have minimal body roll. I like that the air intake for the clutch and motor are up front under the hood where the dust intake shouldn't be too bad. I know it can be an issue if it's in the rear where dust swirls behind the cab. Kawasaki build quality plus a three year warranty is another plus. It's a winner in my opinion although it won't appeal to everyone I think there is definitely a huge market for this.
Yes the 3 year warranty is a plus. I think the higher trim levels here in Canada will be $40k plus so an incentive like this may motivate some. @@EastCoastATV
Not sure why yo put the top Kawasaki and Can Am of this category and leave out the top of the line Polaris one. The Polaris Ranger 1500xt out classes both these machines and is in the same class. Why did you not include it?
The Ranger XD 1500 Northstar Premium is not in the same class, it's in a class of its own. It starts at almost $15,000 more than the Defender or the Ranger I compared, which had similar specifications. The Polaris model I showed in the video was almost $5,000 more than the other two.
