I've been doing a lot of vehicle shopping the last couple years, and I'm probably getting an ATV to fill in some of the 'fun' factor I'm looking for. I've found a lot of things about the Scrambler that I like, but the total lack of options and features for Polaris's 'halo' ATV model strikes me as very odd. Is the bar really set that low?
Looking at their lineup:
- B 450 --- 3 trims -- 3 colors
- B 570 --- 3 trims -- 4 colors
- B 850 --- 3 trims -- 4 colors (inc HL)
- B 1000 -- 3 trims -- 5 colors (inc HL)
- 2u 570 -- 3 trims -- 3 colors
- 2u 850 -- 1 trim --- 1 color
- 2u 1000 - 1 trim --- 1 color
- S 850 --- 1 trim --- 1 color
- S 1000 -- 1 trim --- 1 color
One might assume that the greater diversity of options at the lower end of the displacement spectrum was all due to models with a lack of features, and they just don't want to market their top tier models without 'the good stuff' that people are looking for. That is certainly not true of the Sportsman, which has lots of options including a bare-bones models in the 850-1000 range, although it almost seems true for the 2-up models. Not for the Scramblers though, they have almost zero features, especially when you consider the Scramblers that are sold elsewhere like Australia:
The Aussie scrambler is packed with all the features the Sportsman might be optioned with, plus the sporty premium parts the US 1000XP gets, and really does seem to be a halo model. So we can see that they've already invested the R&D to set Scramblers up with a lot more than they're offered with here in the US. The US Scrambler seems bare-bones by comparison, with the 850 having nothing other than the engine worth mentioning, but they charge almost as much for it as the 850 SP Sportsman with all the electronics, power steering, and you get color options???
Are the Polaris marketers just trying to sucker more people into buying the $3.5k more expensive 1000xp, which again has zero trim or color options? The shocks and power steering offer some increased value, but I honestly couldn't give a **** about 11 more horsepower at that level, and would rather have steel rims. Why no SP/XP package for the 850? Why no base model 1000 for racers to build up? Why isn't power steering available for the 750lb 850 -- lets be real, 99+% of the people buying them aren't racing.
How about a race edition to compete with Can-Am X XC if the Scrambler is supposed to be the chubby middle aged guys mid-life crisis race fantasy? A rocks/trails trim package like the RZRs or Can-Am XT-P seems like a fairly obvious winner to me. Polaris can't even be bothered to cover the basics it seems.
For a halo model, the Scrambler seems underwhelming in the features and options departments. This design has been out for several years now, it's about time for some LE packages or something.
2019 Suzuki KingQuad 750 AXi EPS vs. Yamaha Grizzly EPS: By the Numbers
