Polaris General or Ranger?

[carbon_fever]

Hello, I am new to this forum and new to the UTV world as well. I'm about to close on a square 40 acres of timbered land. It has some old logging roads within the timber. Anyhow, I would like to get something to run around the property with to do a little upkeep with the land. We plan on building a house on the property within the next 5 years or so. In the meantime I want to manage the property for whitetail deer hunting. I was set on a 2017 Ranger 1000 hunter edition but when I went to the utv dealership I came across the General hunter. The inside of the General was so comfortable to sit in compared to the Ranger. I realize the dump bed on the Ranger is bigger by a few inches and can hold up to 1000lbs vs the General and its 600lbs. Give me some open unbiased discussion on pros and cons to both. Thanks guys!

 

[adamandeverest]

Congrats on the new land, sounds awesome. Smart coming on here to do research. I used a ranger from a few years ago and it was good for working, but not super comfortable. I now have a Yamaha Viking and the seats are a lot more comfy and it's great for working. I did see the General in the shop today and that looks awesome! Not sure if that's much help. Let us know where you land or what follow up questions you have


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[bdk]

If you plan to stay primarily on your land then I think the Ranger would be the better vehicle. It's unlikely that you will spend enough time in the seat for the seating position to be a problem but you would certainly notice the additional ease of ingress/egress the Ranger provides over the General. The additional bed size and capacity of the Ranger would also be hugely beneficial, especially when it comes time to move stands and fill feeders.

However, if you plan on using it for recreational riding, you will probably appreciate the Generals doors and overall ergonomics. I have found the Ranger to be quite comfortable for rides up to about 4 hours but for long days on the trail you will likely want the reclined bucket seats of the general.

Basically, determine your work to play ratio. If it's close to 50/50, get then general. If it's closer to 90% work get the ranger.

My dad has a ranger crew 800 that we use on a 1000+ acre hunting lease in Kansas and when I had my Kawasaki Teryx (similar amount of utility as the General) I found the Teryx to be almost useless in comparison unless pulling a trailer. Good luck with your decision and either way congratulations on the land and future UTV purchase!

Here's my old Teryx and my dads ranger hard at work lol