Nice Prowler. Those are good machines, also. There are a lot of good machines out there. I think there is much validity in the "buy what you need" strategy. What works for me may not work for another. Though I am a John Deere tractor guy, I am not necessarily a John Deere guy all the time. I have owned other brands, and have had some good and some less-good experiences from that. When I purchased my Gator, I looked at what I was doing which was mostly work involving fairly heavy hauling and pulling a small utility trailer up and down long steep grades and occasionally on very challenging terrain. I do some off-roading and very limited hunting, and I plow snow. I put about 100-150 hours per year on a machine like this, as I also have tractors to use for heavy work. I needed something that had solid engine power and a heavy frame, but was not 100% work-oriented and had higher performance than my previous diesel Gator XUV. Fuel consumption was not a big issue to me and I wanted something that drove well and had true four wheel drive (i.e., locking rear and limited slip front). If I could find space for two UTV's I would have likely gone Kubota RTV 1100 for work and Polaris Razor 900 for play, but given that I could only have one I selected the Gator 825I. My reason was that it did the most the best with the fewest compromises. It is much heavier than my 800 Polaris and therefore does heavy tasks some better. It has a lot of engine power, a boxed hydroformed frame and heavy suspension with solid travel. It is well-made and has strong dealer support. I can use it for play, but yet I can pull a heavy trailer around and plow deep snow with no issue. Though it is gas, its automotive-style engine will last 2000-3000 hours with good service and this approaches the lower end of diesel service life and likely will outlast the machine ownership for me (the 830I will be out by then). I fitted mine with the Maxxis Bighorn RADIAL tires, snowplow with hydraulic lift and angle, poly top, full glass windshield with wiper, power steering kit from Unisteer, power dump bed, bedliner, front and rear brushguards, full light kit and Fox Racing shocks for about $18,000, roughly the cost of an RTV but for much higher performance. I did not get the cab as I like an open cabin. Is it perfect?? No, and there are areas of design and function where I feel my Ranger was better, but given the level of performance and the few compromises it has, the Gator is the current overall better package for me. It also showed me that over the past 1-2 years each manufacturer has made significant headway in the evolution of these machines, with most of the progress coming on the gasoline powered end. I would like to see one of the diesel UTV makers, whether it be John Deere, Kubota, Polaris, Bobcat, etc. step up and make a really high-performing UTV with a diesel. I, for one, would be really interested in that. Until then, for most of us who use these machines for a mix of activities and not 500 hours per year, gas appears to be the better power option, as the difference in fuel cost and consumption just does not seem to merit the theoretical benefit of diesel (and I would argue its current liabilities).
John M
