Maybe Roustabout is not being ignorant.....might have just come off that way in writing??
But the main points here are just because they are slow and heavy, doesn't make them junk or a failure. It's all about picking the right machine for the right application.
When I go on 100 mile rides with my friends and their 1000 side by sides, I certainly don't take my RTV.
But when I'm at home and go for a 20 mile ride with the wife, it is almost always in the RTV.
Because even when I take one of the ATV's, we rarely go over 20 to 30 MPH on the trail anyway. We are out to look at scenery and wildlife.
And of coarse, no atv/side by side is going to live as long as an RTV if used to for regular heavy plowing, hauling and towing.