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In a time where Utility Vehicles are being made by various manufacturers, what sets one apart? Where does one edge out the others? Here at Torqued Magazine we’ve always valued a product not only for what it was built to be good at. But also by the abilities it has that it wasn’t even specifically built for. We have to admit, we look for versatility when reviewing machines. And love it when we find attributes that most consumers would never use.
In a strange yet conveniently useful weather year here in Utah, we were given the opportunity to review the Polaris Ranger XD 1500 Northstar Edition. And luckily we had it for 3 months. Over the course of those three months due to a strange weather year we saw hot outdoor temps, torrential rain downpours, and deep snow. This odd weather pattern gave us the opportunity to thoroughly test this machine and everything it was built to be. We were able to use the air conditioner as well as the heater and the heated seats. And that’s how a review should be in our opinion. Shouldn’t you know in the sweltering heat you can rely on the A/C to keep blasting cold air the entirety of the ride? As well, when it’s freezing outside you definitely want to know that that heater can keep you from turning purple!
Lets jump right into this. When we picked up our test unit the tech at the dealership told us it’s the ultimate “Ranch Vehicle.” That gave us a wonderful idea, We transported it right to a Cattle Ranch and gave it the country shake down. We herded cows with it, we ran it through mud, we hauled hay in the back. The bed has a weight capacity of 1,500 lbs. We really wanted to see how the machine would act in it’s built for environment. We weren’t disappointed. In the dust filled air we stayed clean inside, all while the A/C blew crisp cold air. We took the opportunity to inspect the filtration system on the Ranger 1500 XD Northstar. It is really well built. It beams confidence that it’s going to run in extremely dusty climates and take on high demands and keep functioning perfectly. There is a initial air filter under the hood that is placed in a well protected spot that keeps it out of direct dust but still gets enough ventilation to feed the A/C system. There is also a good sized cabin filter under the dash the performs the final filtration keeping that cab clean and cool. The Ranch really showed us that the machine had the speed, durability, and towing capacity which is an outstanding 3500 lbs, to keep up with the rigors of “Ranch Life.”
I really want to pay homage to the doors on the Ranger XD 1500 NorthStar doors. We’ve tested multiple enclosed cabbed UTVs and by far the best and most robust have been the Ranger XD 1500 . Special tip of the hat to the gasket on those doors. We ride through some very dusty locations and this vehicle wasn’t spared riding through those locations as well. We had zero and I mean zero dust leaking into the cab through these riding locations. As well, these doors feature keyed locks. You do not get that on many of the machines we’ve tested either. The doors have powered glass windows and they also seal out the cold, the heat and the dust. This is exactly what you want from a enclosed cab UTV. That’s one of the main reasons you purchase one isn’t it?
Through our testing we decided this machine needs to show us it’s low end grunt. We wanted to see it climb. It has a fantastic AWD system with lockable differentials. The Ranger XD 1500 also features selectable drive modes. These drive modes feature Comfort, Sport, Standard and Tow/Haul. These modes are selectable via a knob next to the steering wheel. With the Steel Drive system that this unit has, these drive modes change how the transmission shifts at varying RPMs. This feature completely changes the ride. We were surprised by noticeable changes in how the machine feels upon accelerations, braking, and over bumps all with the change of the drive mode.
The interior of the Ranger XD 1500 Northstar edition is something that needs to be highlighted in the industry. It’s well thought out. Buttons are placed in logical locations. The creature comforts are top notch. A carpeted headliner, helps quiet outside noise. The dash has well lit indicators and the ride command keeping you completely aware at all times of how the machine is functioning. I truly enjoyed the ride command screen placement. The Ride command 7 in touchscreen is easy to use and the features are easy to understand as well.
I don’t want to leave out another item that honestly has to be one of our favorites.
Riding in the mountains in an enclosed cabbed UTV at times can take away from the entire “UTV experience.” What do I mean by that? Riding a UTV is an experience that is completely separate from that of riding off-road with a truck, or a Jeep for instance. It’s highly immersive with sounds, smells and feels you just can’t get with those other vehicles. But, that experience can completely change when you’re in a cabbed UTV. The solution to this….. the Ranger XD 1500 Northstar comes equipped with a full flip up class windshield. And I absolutely love it. By flipping up that windshield you’re reminded, you’re in a UTV. You bring back those smells, sounds, and feels that make riding in a UTV great. And let’s give a round of applause to the construction and gasket on that flip up windshield also. When it’s down and in the locked position, it is very well sealed to the dust and the elements. It’s everything we could ask for in this type of a vehicle.
As we mentioned earlier, it’s been an interesting winter season in Utah this year. We mean it. We should have had snow way before we did. But again, it gave us opportunities to test all the capabilities of the Ranger in all different weather conditions. Some of those being full fledged rain and mud. We found ourselves in the mountains in a full torrential downpour of a rain storm. And in this rain storm is where we found the 2 things that we can honestly say were the only detractors we felt that this machine had.
The first being, that when the rain began to fall it was lightly sprinkling. It was enough of a rain that we turned on the windshield wiper. The windshield wiper on this unit has one speed. With a light rain coming down the one speed of the wiper blade was too fast for this rain accumulation and it caused streaks across the windshield. I wish the wiper blade would have at least 3 speeds to handle the varying speed to which the rain can fall. With that one speed it makes for a slightly annoying experience where you have to continually turn the wiper on and off and on again to try and avoid the streaks on the windshield from the one speed you have on that motor.
Our second detractor we noticed in the rain and mud is what we’ll call the rear end slide out. This machine has some weight to it, a good portion of that can be found in the cab setup. We found that when we were driving on loose dirt, snow, or mud at a pretty good clip, the rear end would slide out at times when we would hit an off camber turn. This occurred mostly when we would let off the gas and the weight of the machine would shift forward. We tested a few different PSI setups with the back tires to see if we could offset this and unfortunately that made no change to it. This isn’t a massive deal breaker, it’s remedied by some simple counter steering input to the steering wheel. We also had conversations with friends who sell Polaris machines for a living and they told us that the 4 seat Ranger does not slide out like we have seen with the 2 seater. Again, we only saw this in environments that with loose dirt, inherently slippery (mud, snow) with a good amount of tilt to the terrain.
We can definitely attest that this machine has been built to the hilt with features. The stock accessories that come on this machine are where it’s at. The front bumper is no slouch. It it very well built with D rings attached to get you hooked up to whatever it is you need to pull. The front bumper also contains some highly usable LED lights integrated into it. These came in handy many times for our night time adventures in the machine. These lights are well placed to put out light exactly where you need it for doing any night time work or riding with the Ranger. The front bumper also comes with a Polaris branded 6,000 lb winch with a synthetic winch rope. We had our fair share of time using this winch as we headed to the mountains after a snow storm. On that ride we encountered multiple trees that had fallen directly onto the trail and blocked it. With a simple let out of the winch, we were moving trees off the trail and getting back on the road. It performed flawlessly through all of those efforts.
The 7 inch touchscreen display for the ride command has a good presence to it. It has usable functions including gps, radio, back up and front facing cameras, and monitoring the Rangers systems. It has Bluetooth connectivity and features a JBL Pro 2000 audio system. No doubt you will get the inside of this machine dirty as you jump in and out after doing outside work. The ride command screen is built for hard conditions as it is dust, mud and waterproof. The JBL speakers are built with marine grade components and are water resistant. This gives a piece of mind not only when using the machine but also cleaning the inside cab out.
The Ranger XD 1500 is very capable at speed at well. We wanted to see how it felt going at a max speed. The machine is governed to a speed of 63- 64 mph. We hit this speed on a wide open fire road straight away. The unit was stable and had strong steering input the entire speed run. It assuredly holds up to the speed and can obviously get you to and from different parts of a ranch in a timely manner.
Shall we talk about the engine? The Ranger XD 1500 is outfitted with a 110 horsepower 1500 cc 3 cylinder engine. It has the low end torque you’re going to need to haul and tow your heavy payloads (105lb-ft). As we covered, the bed handles 1500 lbs with its electric lift bed. And the towing capacity is 3500 lbs. There’s plenty to get excited about in those numbers.
If you’re like us, you love adding accessories to your rig. Some machines can make this very difficult. Polaris is on the other end of the spectrum here. The Ranger has a well thought out 6 position pulse busbar system that sits right under the front hood. It has automotive style water proof connections that give you the ability to add accessories with out the worry of premature failure due to water or bad connections. Inside the cab there are a multitude of switch slots that allow you to add accessory switches next to the steering wheel or also above on the switch panel in the headliner above the rear view mirror.
The stock tires on these units are 30″ Kenda Cross Trails with 15 inch wheels. These tires did extremely well in all of our testing, Which included mud, snow, rocks, and loose dirt. We really tried to put this machine into every foreseeable extreme location one might get themselves into at any point during a riding season. I was highly impressed with the machine and the tires ability to handle deep snow. We found ourselves in at least a foot and a half of deep snow on multiple outings and not once got the inclination that we may get stuck. The stature of the machine gives it that secure feel as you power through all sorts of obstacles.
Have you heard about the Steel Drive Transmission? That’s right these units come with an industry exclusive steel belt driven transmission. This steel belt is designed to require less maintenance over that of a traditional UTV. It is a sealed system that rides on an oil film for longevity. This transmission setup is what enables different electronic drive modes. We’ve watch as Polaris introduced this system and it honestly is a functioning piece of art. There’s a significant amount of tech that goes into that transmission.
Polaris really thought out of the box when it also came to maintenance on these machines. We’re DIYers over here and Polaris has made things easy for us on this rig. One such item is the clean out for the radiator. There is a panel under the hood that is easily removed that gives you full access to the back of the radiator, which simplifies cleaning. There are also access panels to the top of the shocks as well. These are fantastic options to give the owner the ability to maintain their machine.
Here’s a list of Specs on this machine directly from Polaris.
XD 1500 NORTHSTAR STANDARD FEATURES:
- 110-hp ProStar 1500cc engine & STEELDRIVE transmission
- 3,500-lb. towing capacity & 1,500-lb. box capacity
- Factory-installed heating & air conditioning (HVAC)
- Electronic cargo box lift
- Pro Series 6,000-lb. winch with synthetic rope, Auto Stop, rapid rope recovery and wireless remote
- 30″ Kenda Cross Trail tires and 15″ wheels
- 3.07 rear drive gear ratio
- Lock & Ride MAX Accessory Integration
ULTIMATE TRIM INCLUDES:
- Enclosed cab with power windows and tip-out windshield
- Heated front seats
- JBL Trail Pro 2000 Audio
- 7″ Display, powered by RIDE COMMAND, with factory rear camera
- RIDE COMMAND+ Connected Vehicle Services
- LED cargo box light and overhead switch panel
- 12V cargo box power port
- Bumper D-rings and TopBar
Our Final Verdict: We can confidently say the Polaris Ranger XD 1500 Northstar is the “Most Purpose Built UTV” we’ve ever tested. And that purpose is “Getting the job done.” Whether that job is working on the ranch, or going into the mountains for an adventure. The Polaris Ranger XD 1500 shines at what it does. We wanted to see this machine in all the scenarios that we could possibly throw at it. And we did just that. It ate everything we gave it and it confidently asked for more. The build quality is second to none and the thought that goes into every feature is well appreciated.
If you’re looking for a machine the is built to handle everything you can give it and get the job done, we recommend giving the Polaris Ranger XD 1500 Northstar a serious look. You may find your new favorite co-worker.
