We could have had just as much fun in a Polaris RZR XP 1000 and managed just as well on the terrain with a Polaris Ranger XP 1000 EPS.
But our ride for the recent Rally in the Pines was the Polaris General 4 1000 EPS. And it was completely in command of the mountains, trails and water crossings we experienced over four days of riding in the mountains above Salmon, ID.
The General was ideal for the type of terrain we rode around Salmon. The RZR and Ranger are great side-by-sides and have plenty of fans, but that middle niche, which is fairly small, is where the General is and it definitely shines there. Just about any of the Polaris off-road vehicles would have been fine during our rides—as evidenced by the drivers/riders in our group using them, but the General provided the right ride comfort-wise and plenty of storage space for all our gear (ice chest, cargo bags, extra gear, etc.) both in the cabin and in the cargo box.
We ended up taking more gear (read: clothes, jackets, etc.) than we probably needed but it was chilly in the morning and plenty hot in the afternoon so while it seemed like overkill, it wasn’t a problem with storing it somewhere on the vehicle. When you’re touring like we were for four days, that is a big bonus. Perhaps we are overstating it, but we are very impressed with all the room in the cockpit and the backseats and plethora of storage on the dash and between the seats both in the front and rear. It’s almost a ridiculous amount of storage space.
Speaking about space, we, at times, had adults in the backseats. They commented about how much legroom there is. No one said they were crowded but it was very comfortable sitting back there.
We think where we spent four days riding the General is this vehicle’s natural terrain. We didn’t experience much technical (read: difficult) terrain or trail conditions, partly because that wasn’t the purpose of our rides at the Rally in the Pines.
Our General demo unit is a 1000 (the only engine size offered in General skin) and it had plenty of power, even when we were climbing up to the Continental Divide (starting at 4,842 feet and making our way up to 8,500 feet) on our way to the spot where Lewis and Clark crossed the Continental Divide on their trek west to the Pacific Ocean. The claimed 100 hp of the General 4 comes in handy when you’re riding in the mountains and gaining elevation. The powerband is smooth as well and power came on at the right amounts when pressing the throttle. It wasn’t “jerky” or too much anywhere in the powerband.
While we didn’t experience any overly difficult trail conditions, there were times we were really glad for the full doors on the General 4. Water crossings and sloshing through the mud were some of those times. Another was just riding on the trails—the really dusty trails. All you had to do was look at us after we rode the trails and look at some others whose vehicles didn’t have full doors and that was evidence enough as to the value of full doors. Period. Not to mention when we were crossing some rocky terrain; nothing flipped up into the cab.
If we were to lodge any complaints on the General 4 it would be vehicle noise. The interesting thing about that is, with helmets on during the ride, it wasn’t overly noticeable. But after each day’s ride and we were going through our GoPro videos (some of which we’ve posted to the Dirt Toys Magazine Facebook page), it was quite noisy, from several areas of the vehicle. And when we took our General 4 to Salmon, the vehicle only had a few miles on it. It’s not a deal killer but it was surprising.
For 2019, Polaris is equipping some General models with Ride Command, which is a great feature and one we would have had fun with during our four days in Salmon. Maybe next year.
Overall, we are very happy with the General 4 and would snag it again and again for future rides over similar terrain as what we experienced in the mountains above Salmon.
