Sportsman 1-K Is A-OK

Just up the road a piece from Kanab, UT, is the Hog Canyon trail system, and the spot Polaris chose last fall to introduce its newest contender in the big bore/performance category for ATVs. You would think that a generally tight, twisty trail system wouldn’t really be a prime location for evaluating a 1000cc twin cylinder ATV ... quite the contrary. It was perfect.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to get some seat time on a big bore utility ATV—definitely a high performance machine in its own right—just know it is quite the different animal in comparison to peaky high performance sport quads.

Polaris’ entry into that big bore category for 2015 is the Sportsman XP 1000, built on the revolutionary XP chassis and complete with totally functional standard features that we have come to expect from Polaris. A few of the features that stand out and that we most appreciated on the trails in Hog Canyon were Electronic Power Steering, the Engine Braking System and Active Descent Control. The high performance ride and handling is a carryover of the same suspension geometry on the Scrambler XP with its rolled Independent Rear Suspension, dual A-arms, delivering 10.25 inches of travel, and anti-kickback steering. There is 9 inches of travel up front.

We were pleased with the power and performance of the ProStar 850 in the previous Sportsman, yet the 11 extra claimed horsepower of the new SOHC EFI 1000 twin stuffed in the 2015 Sportsman XP definitely impressed us in all aspects of performance. This thumper of a motor has a 270-degree offset crank and two balance shafts to minimize vibration and smooth it out.

Obviously, there is some clutching and gearing involved with the complete combination, yet we could grandpa putt around the tight blind corners or over the sandstone slabs and outcroppings whenever we wanted while riding the Hog Canyon trail system, without the ProStar getting all bucky. We definitely took advantage of the XP 1000’s nice, flat, smooth powerband.

Nothing Short Of Awesome

When we got to the soft sand stretches on the trail, the 88 hp was nothing short of awesome, kickin’ up a roost off all four tires—if you so desired—or you could just take advantage of the nice smooth progressive throttle up. Either way, it just kept pulling hard. We never wondered if we were going to run out of power.

If you are even thinking big bore ATV, then motor matters. If the motor matters then so does the exhaust note, stimulating blood flow and personal wants. We believe that every motor head has purchased a vehicle some time or another where the sound of that vehicle was instrumental in the purchasing decision. With the big ProStar twin cylinder 4-stroker on board, the 2015 Sportsman XP 1000 sounds totally badass.

Polaris’ high performance on-demand close ratio true all-wheel drive is a new feature for 2015 that we like and right away noticed how it improves the rideability of this more powerful Sportsman when compared to the 2014 Sportsman 850. The close ratio gearing allows the Sportsman to hook up quicker and pull more of a straight line under acceleration on soft or unstable surfaces instead of the rear end pushing on the front end and making for a squirrely feel, as the previous generation did.

A long stretch of deep, soft sand on the lower section of the Hog Canyon trail gave us ample opportunity to test this feature under some different scenarios and the bottom line is that it really makes a positive difference with feel and handling in these situations.

Remember ...

Oh, and don’t forget that this Sportsman IS a utility All Terrain Vehicle with working features to complement the power and traction delivered, including unmatched plow integration and 11.5 inches of ground clearance. The 1500-lb. towing capacity and standard 2500-lb. winch offer good pulling power from both ends. It has cargo rack capacities of 120 lbs. on the front and 240 lbs. on the rear, with the exclusive Lock and Ride capabilities and a claimed 100 tie-down points, making the Sportsman racks quite versatile for loading with gear and/or mounting the Lock and Ride attachments.

The only qualm we really have with the Sportsman is that the gauge and info display is difficult to read on the run. We were spoiled by the full digital display of a few years back and would love to see it used again.

The Sportsman XP 1000 that we rode and dissected was decked out with the Black Pearl Premium Paint and color-coordinated alloy wheels, which is pretty sharp and easy to look at, which goes hand-in-hand with the Ducati-esque exhaust rumble.

After the Polaris event in southern Utah, we were able to bring a Sportsman XP 1000 home and have used it several times in lots of different situations (including a couple of hunting trips) in the mountains of eastern Idaho and we are still just as impressed with this ATV as we were on our first ride.

Even at elevation—sometimes up to near 9,000 feet—this Sportsman showed what it was made of with its horsepower and smooth powerband. Again, we were never worried about running out of power, even when pulling a long hill.

Some might cough at the $13,999 price tag but to go big you will pay big.

2015 Polaris Sportsman XP 1000

ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN

Suspension

Brakes

Tires / Wheels

DIMENSIONS

Features