UTV's and ATV's general discussion.

[Duds13]

You kind of have to know where I'm coming from when I say this, so basically my Mule is taking the place of a lawn tractor, i.e., I use it to run around the yard with a trailer to do chores. In that respect it is OK. I don't use it for "trail riding" or any kind of "four wheeling" type activities, so not really sure how it would be in those kind of situations.

Again, I haven't really tried doing anything too radical with it, just driving around the yard, but it doesn't feel terribly stable laterally, so for trail riding or operation on steep hills, a wider unit might be better.

I will say that it seems to get good traction, especially with dif lock and 4WD engaged. I like the fact that it is small and can fit in tight spaces. It is supposed to have an 1100 lb tow rating and it seems to tow my utility trailer (full of trees/logs) just fine. It seems silly to me that they tell you the tow rating, but there is no tow hitch from the factory and they don't even offer a receiver hitch as an option, you have to get one on Amazon. They do offer a kind of cheesy looking ball mount as an accessory.

Some things I don't really like about it:
CVT transmission - is clunky to shift and freewheels going down hills so you have to ride the brakes. I assume this would make it a pain in the neck for trail riding.
The bed is too small to be of any real use. If I need to haul anything more than a few tools, I have to use the trailer.
Non-power steering. It's not horribly heavy, but once you get used to a tractor with hydraulic steering, it's kind of a let down...
Noisy - I heard people say this about the Mule before I bought one, but never thought it would bother me. It's not so much the noise, but the thing feels like it's revving it's guts out all the time just to get and keep moving.

If I were buying another UTV, I would be looking closely at the Kubota RTV models with hydrostatic drive. I've never driven one, but I really think it would be a better fit for my use. Also, I think the Kubota RTV's are all liquid cooled so would be a little quieter and more refined.

I will say one other thing, in my state, any UTV less that 50 inches wide has to be registered and you have to pay property taxes on it. The Mule is 48 inches wide (track) so it will fit in a pickup (which I don't care about). I think this is really stupid and I can't for the life of my figure out why this is so, but it is. Units over 50 inches wide don't have to be registered or pay tax. It's not that there is much tax on it, but it is the priniciple of it that pizzes me off the more I think about it.

Great info, honest info! What year is yours? I wonder if any of your gripes have been corrected on the 2025 models? In all honesty I'd be using mine for basically the same as you. Chores around the property, hauling some firewood, using it for sap collection during maple syrup season, etc. The Kubotas are significantly more money arent they?

 

[ArlyA]

You kind of have to know where I'm coming from when I say this, so basically my Mule is taking the place of a lawn tractor, i.e., I use it to run around the yard with a trailer to do chores. In that respect it is OK. I don't use it for "trail riding" or any kind of "four wheeling" type activities, so not really sure how it would be in those kind of situations.

Again, I haven't really tried doing anything too radical with it, just driving around the yard, but it doesn't feel terribly stable laterally, so for trail riding or operation on steep hills, a wider unit might be better.

I will say that it seems to get good traction, especially with dif lock and 4WD engaged. I like the fact that it is small and can fit in tight spaces. It is supposed to have an 1100 lb tow rating and it seems to tow my utility trailer (full of trees/logs) just fine. It seems silly to me that they tell you the tow rating, but there is no tow hitch from the factory and they don't even offer a receiver hitch as an option, you have to get one on Amazon. They do offer a kind of cheesy looking ball mount as an accessory.

Some things I don't really like about it:
CVT transmission - is clunky to shift and freewheels going down hills so you have to ride the brakes. I assume this would make it a pain in the neck for trail riding.
The bed is too small to be of any real use. If I need to haul anything more than a few tools, I have to use the trailer.
Non-power steering. It's not horribly heavy, but once you get used to a tractor with hydraulic steering, it's kind of a let down...
Noisy - I heard people say this about the Mule before I bought one, but never thought it would bother me. It's not so much the noise, but the thing feels like it's revving it's guts out all the time just to get and keep moving.

If I were buying another UTV, I would be looking closely at the Kubota RTV models with hydrostatic drive. I've never driven one, but I really think it would be a better fit for my use. Also, I think the Kubota RTV's are all liquid cooled so would be a little quieter and more refined.

I know of no air cooled engines in UTV's or ATV's for that matter*.

Most machines seem to have engine braking since they have a clutch, and the cvt belt stays engaged at all times. All the machines I used for the past 15 years have had engine braking.

* have not used or looked at, discount machines.

 

[Runner]

Great info, honest info! What year is yours? I wonder if any of your gripes have been corrected on the 2025 models? In all honesty I'd be using mine for basically the same as you. Chores around the property, hauling some firewood, using it for sap collection during maple syrup season, etc. The Kubotas are significantly more money arent they?

Mine is a 2023. I doubt they'll ever make any changes, they've kind of been exactly the same for many years.

I thought of another thing I like about it, with the bench seat and flat floor, it's very easy to slide in/out from either side when you're out picking up sticks or trash or whatever. It's basically a 4WD golf cart.

Yes, the Kubota RTV's are a couple grand more, but you get what you pay for. I pretty much bought the Mule because it was the cheapest UTV sold by a "big brand".

I started looking at the Massimo's sold by Tractor Supply which are cheaper and have LOTS more features (windshield, top, full instrumentation, four wheel independent suspension, four wheel disk brakes, trailer hitch, etc.) but I read too many bad reviews and no dealer to service them scared me off.

 

[Duds13]

Mine is a 2023. I doubt they'll ever make any changes, they've kind of been exactly the same for many years.

I thought of another thing I like about it, with the bench seat and flat floor, it's very easy to slide in/out from either side when you're out picking up sticks or trash or whatever. It's basically a 4WD golf cart.

Yes, the Kubota RTV's are a couple grand more, but you get what you pay for. I pretty much bought the Mule because it was the cheapest UTV sold by a "big brand".

I started looking at the Massimo's sold by Tractor Supply which are cheaper and have LOTS more features (windshield, top, full instrumentation, four wheel independent suspension, four wheel disk brakes, trailer hitch, etc.) but I read too many bad reviews and no dealer to service them scared me off.

The Honda Pioneer 700 looks interesting

 

[John_Mc]

The Honda Pioneer 700 looks interesting

I went with a Honda Pioneer 520, since the engine braking was a real plus operating on my hills, especially when towing a significant load. (Contrary to ArlyA's experience, I found a number of well known brands that don't have good engine braking, or that have braking that is not effective at low speeds, since the transmission "lets go" at low RPMs. I was only shopping for smaller models, and used equipment however. It may be different in larger units.)

If I were looking for a larger unit than the Pioneer 520, I would have jumped to the Pioneer 1000, rather than the 700. I see a lot of experienced Honda user users not impressed with the P700's 3 speed automatic transmission. Others are quite happy with it. (I have no personal experience with the Pioneer 700.)

 

[Duds13]

I went with a Honda Pioneer 520, since the engine braking was a real plus operating on my hills, especially when towing a significant load. (Contrary to ArlyA's experience, I found a number of well known brands that don't have good engine braking, or that have braking that is not effective at low speeds, since the transmission "lets go" at low RPMs. I was only shopping for smaller models, however. It may be different in larger units.)

If I were looking for a larger unit than the Pioneer 520, I would have jumped to the Pioneer 1000, rather than the 700. I see a lot of experienced Honda user users not impressed with the P700's 3 speed automatic transmission. (I have no personal experience with the Pioneer 700.)

Good to know about the 700! How do you like the 520?

 

[John_Mc]

Good to know about the 700! How do you like the 520?

The 520 suit my needs well. I wanted something smaller and lighter so that I could get out and work in my woods when conditions were a bit too soft to get out there with my tractor without tearing things up. It works well for that. I haul tools in the bed, and bring along with a small trailer if I want to haul back a bit of firewood.

The 700 has larger towing capacity, and the 1000 larger still.

I have my tractor with a dump trailer and a log forwarding trailer with hydraulic grapple for the larger jobs, so I had no need for a larger SxS. I also had no interest in a "go fast" sport/recreation focused ATV. I've had my Pioneer 520 up to 40 MPH exactly once, just to see if it would do it. Most of the time it's less 15-20 MPH, often less on my woods trails.

 

[ArlyA]

I went with a Honda Pioneer 520, since the engine braking was a real plus operating on my hills, especially when towing a significant load. (Contrary to ArlyA's experience, I found a number of well known brands that don't have good engine braking, or that have braking that is not effective at low speeds, since the transmission "lets go" at low RPMs. I was only shopping for smaller models, however. It may be different in larger units.)

If I were looking for a larger unit than the Pioneer 520, I would have jumped to the Pioneer 1000, rather than the 700. I see a lot of experienced Honda user users not impressed with the P700's 3 speed automatic transmission. (I have no personal experience with the Pioneer 700.)

Oct 18, 2013 — The Honda Pioneer engine braking simply has a switch on the pedal telling the PCM if the brakes are engaged. As a result, the PCM commands the tranny to downshift ...

 

[John_Mc]

Oct 18, 2013 — The Honda Pioneer engine braking simply has a switch on the pedal telling the PCM if the brakes are engaged. As a result, the PCM commands the tranny to downshift ...

I can also manually downshift, whether the transmission is in automatic or manual mode. However, my concern was not just what gear it is in. What I like about the Honda Pioneer 520 is that the transmission does not "let go" when I take my foot off the gas. I take my foot off, and there is drag on the wheels. If I want more drag, I can use the paddle shifters to downshift. With some of the other brands I drove, I had to keep my foot on the gas to keep the RPMs up enough to keep the transmission engaged. It's just counter-intuitive to have to step more on the gas when I want to slow down.

 

[paulsharvey]

Honda Pioneer 700-4 here, and we like it. The 3 speed transmission is fine. It governors on Speed, not RPMs, somehow? So, if you for some reason don't just bucket the seat belt behind you, it won't shift beyond 1st, and you will be turning some RPMs before you remember the seat belt needs buckled behind you.

It also wants it's oil changes at the regular intervals, and it can shift funny when over due, as it shares motor oil and transmission (that's my understanding).

Cooling isn't awesome, if you aren't moving down the road, but turning RPMs. So, typical use in 95+ degree, clay pits, dunes, ect, high RPM, but not a lot of air moving over radiator, temps do climb.