Ranger VS Gator XUV

[rockfj]

Hi,

I'm currently evaluating the trade between the Polaris Ranger and the new JD Gator XUV.

I would welcome any thoughts, comments and/or recommendations from anyone having any expreience with both.

Thanks,

rockfj

 

[gordon21]

The XUV is a safety-first work based design. Wider, stronger, excellent load capacity and tow rating. Sexiest or sleekest-no. Brute strength and durability-yes. I bought mine a month ago. I was going to get a HPX 6 months ago, but once I learned about the new features of the XUV, I decided to wait. I am glad I did.

The last two mornings it started up instantly when it was under under 30 degrees both days. That is a nice feature of the fuel injected engine. The other is great fuel mileage.

The primary driver will be my wife and the main passenger (other than me) will be my 4 year old grandaughter. I wanted the widest, safest UTV on the market. Top speed was not my goal. I got a lot of feedback especially from Rhino owners. They love their machines for their speed and narrow design. One posted here at TBN bragged about the fact that he had rolled his several times all with no major damage. Needless to say, I did not want a machine for my wife to roll over. His use/goal was more like a huge ATV. The Rhino was perfect for his needs. Fast, narrow, nimble and apparently very rugged.

Survey your true needs and then go look for those qualiities.

Wide=stable wide=problems on narrow trails (until you take the chainsaw with you, but that is another issue)

 

[jcmseven]

Rock,

I went through much the same dilemma when I was looking for a UTV. I looked very hard at the Polaris Ranger 700 XP before deciding to wait on the JD XUV. I am planning to post a review of the XUV in upcoming weeks, once I have had some seat time (now, mine has about 6 hours). I can say the following: for build quality, durability and ability to safely and easily haul loads, the JD is the hands down winner. It is a much superior machine in these areas. It also has a superior four wheel drive system, made better by the suspension, which is really nice. The Polaris is the winner in speed. It will outrun an XUV by some distance. The diesel XUV has 25 hp, which would equate to about 30-32 hp in a gas engine to approach the same torque numbers. The gas XUV has 23 or so HP, much less than the Polaris' 30 hp (500cc) and 40 hp (700cc) engines. The JD has a superior drive system to the Polaris, so it makes up some of the gap in efficiency but not the whole amount. The Gator also weighes about 200-300# more than does the Polaris, which is nice for durability but not nice for screaming performance. The suspension pieces on the Gator are much more durable, but again they are heavier. I personally felt the increased durability and workmanship of the Gator was worth the compromise in speed, but not every one feels this way. As far as size, they are quite similar in physical size, so not much difference there. Hope this helps.

John M

 

[Tractors4u]

I have not driven the XUV Gator so I won't pretend to be able to evaluate it's capabilities. I have however put 60 hours on my Ranger XP and here is what I have learned or done with it so far. In 60 hours of driving like a maniac at times it has not rolled over. Even when doing donuts with 27 inch tires it wouldn't even lift a wheel off of the ground. I chained a 5 foot 2 gang disc behind it and it pulled it. It did require 4 wheel drive though. I have carried full bed loads of dirt with it without the rear suspension completely bottoming out. I am not aware of the type of 4WD system the Gator uses but this is how the Ranger works. There is a 3 position rocker switch on the dash. Normally the vehicle is in 2 wheel drive with the differential unlocked. When I move the switch to the middle position it locks the rear differential. That is usually all I need. In the third position it engages the 4WD. In 4WD the front wheels only pull when it senses wheel slip from the back wheels. I guess this is to minimize steering effort when in 4WD and to minimize wear and tear. It works really well, I can tell you that. The suspension on the Ranger is great, and so far I have had no problems out of mine. The parking brake is kind of weak but it keeps it from rolling. The brakes in general work great. Slamming on the brakes will bring the machine to a sliding halt. The speed of the Ranger is nice, mine's top speed is 44 MPH, and the new 2007's are rated at 50 MPH. Rarely do I hit top speed unless I am running it up the road, but the get up and go is nice. It is also fuel injected and it has never hesitated to start even with temps down in to the teens.

 

[TOMMYHPX4X4]

well to me the xuv is still a very new machine so it will be a few more months before all the bugs comeout to the surface. and if nuthing turns up then it's a great machine.lol i looked at the rearend of the xuv and as a welder and fabricator they done a botched job on the welding.all the connections should have been welded solid around and all they did was spot weld the top and the bottom and they left a 1/16 crack on both sides.. now alot of you who have a xuv and do weld will say hey i seen them welds and they are almost 1"long and a 1"long weld can pickup the weight of the whole xuvsure it can . but the thing about sealing off a weld is nuthing can get inside the tubing(water/mud)and rust the weld from the inside out not to mention after so long that rear end is gonna weigh a ton with all that tubing filled with mud and noway to get it out..when we made anything for offshore or any type of wet area we always made sure to weld it solid so it couldn't rust that way i can bet you that the next xuv will have a diferent design on the lower rear end meaning the engin cradle.

 

[Tractors4u]

.lol i looked at the rearend of the xuv and as a welder and fabricator they done a botched job on the welding.all the connections should have been welded solid around and all they did was spot weld the top and the bottom and they left a 1/16 crack on both sides...

I have not seen the XUV's or their welds, but I share the same welding philosophy. I guess I tend to over weld stuff, but I can't stand to see a partial weld. I always run the bead on out.

 

[aesanders]

I have been kicking the tires of both those units. I really like the performance of the Polaris. The Gator does seem like it might make a better work vehicle. I like the bench seat of the Polaris, and wish the Deere had that as my wife and daughter and I will be zooming around in it. The Ranger also has ton's of after market stuff and quick snap on items. It's pretty neat.

Both would do all the jobs I have for it, but the Polaris with it's top speed of around 50mph is just plain fun. I have some trails nearby that I plan on hitting hard once i decide to get it. When I started looking at these, it was just for tooling around the yard doing jobs with it etc., but after trying out the Polaris, my eyes are starting to open up to some of the fun that you can have with one of these vehicles

 

[mars1952]

Hi,

I'm currently evaluating the trade between the Polaris Ranger and the new JD Gator XUV.

I would welcome any thoughts, comments and/or recommendations from anyone having any expreience with both.

Thanks,

rockfj

Hi Rock: I have a 2007 Ranger XP 700 and I really like it. I haven't seen the JD Gator XUV yet and the specs on the JD site are thin. It would be nice if some one would post the complete JD Gator XUV specs. Here are the Ranger 700 XP specs One thing that I did notice is that the Ranger has 1500lb payload and the XUV has a 1400lb (not much difference. It looks like JD tried to directly compete with Polaris.
People often poo-poo the difference in speed and horsepower between a Ranger and a Gator but believe me it makes a big difference. You might not ever use the Rangers full speed but you will certainly use the extra horsepower. That extra horsepower really comes in handy when you have a full load or when you pull a trailer up hill. TBN members tend to get hung up on brand loyalty and think that they must get a John Deere or Kubota UTV if they have a John Deere or Kubota tractor. When ever I hear a guy praising a Kubota or JD UTV I look to see what brand of tractor he has.
Good Luck, Marshall
P.S. but I do wish that JD made trucks

 

[gordon21]

I have the owners manual handy for any specs not covered here.

Product Specification for XUV 620i 4x4

 

[TOMMYHPX4X4]

i ain't parshal to none of them .lol i look at how it's put together. and trust me i been lookin at them 700xp's very hard lately. but i already have a hpx . now with the new xuv that came out i like them too but i don't like the rearend how it's just thrown together .there was one at the dealer by my house and he took his and had them spray the whole under body including the engine cradle with a heavy duty bed liner and it sealed up all them open cracks and it looked really nice too.i tell you it would be a hard choice right now between the 700xp and the xuv if i was to be buying one right now.