Polaris RZR800 and Phoenix Review

How many of you know of Polaris? Let me guess, not too many? Let me ask you another question, how many of you know what an ATV is? That is probably the most common term used and known by the people in India. For those of you that don’t, ATV stands for All – Terrain – Vehicle, i.e. a four wheeled motorised piece of machinery that can pretty much go anywhere on any terrain.

Coming back to Polaris, well the American company makes these toys for people to have fun with and to use around their huge ranches. In India Polaris made it’s entry in 2011 and has been selling nutter vehicles ever since. We got a chance to bomb around on their custom track, a.k.a Pick-up Fun Zone in Dharuhera off the Delhi-Jaipur highway and then later on on our own testing grounds.

Polaris’ playground or the “Pick-up Fun Zone” as they call it is a small, yet well built bash around track where the public can come for an arrive and drive. Here you can pay for kind of ATV you want to drive or ride and you can bum around on the track till the marshals say your laps are up. The track consists of a small slush pit, a steep ascend, descend and a few bunny hops. All in all its not too bad and can be quite fun. We rode the 200cc sport ATV’s to they full potential there, sliding around corners, kicking up loads of dust and realising how awesome of a toy the Polaris Phoenix could be.

The Phoenix is Polaris’ purebred play toy.

It comes with a 196cc air cooled engine and about 6.5” of travel in the rear. That allows the Phoenix to glide over gravel and dirt tracks pretty easily. There are only three modes to the gear lever, drive, neutral and reverse. The throttle is finger controlled and to my surprise the quad was quite responsive and peppy even with a hefty guy like me riding it.

The icing on the cake is the Polaris RZR800. It is a side-by-side, two-seater, car like maniac of an off-road machine that cannot travel in a straight line at all. The looks and stance are aggressive with those knobby tires, exposed suspension links, and flared wheel arches. The interior is completely utility based. The centre dial displays the speed, revs and gear. Apart from this dial there is a switch for the lights and another switch for locking the front differential. There is also an added bonus of a 12V power port so that a few accessories can be attached if incase you plan on using this for a rally of some sorts or need a GPS of some kind.

The RZR800 comes with a twin cylinder 796cc engine that produces 55hp on paper. Never mind the stats, all i know is that, floor the throttle from a stand still and this thing will get to 60km/h is just about four seconds. That is quite quick. It weighs practically nothing, there are no doors etc. Instead you have to buckle yourself up with a mesh barrier that basically prevents mud and other stuff flying into the cab and will act like a hammock if the RZR does topple. 

In two wheel drive this thing is most fun. You can drift through corners but be gentle with the throttle. Since all the power is going to the rear wheels and there is quite a bit of torque, combined with the miles of travel in suspension, the RZR tends to spin out and lean over quite easily. You have to keep up with he steering constantly to keep this thing in the direction you want it to go. Opposite lock is your best friend.

It’s great in the sense that you and a friend can go bash around in the jungle or over some dune and have a good time. It even has a tiny bed in the back where you can rubber tie a small bag with some extra gear on. The Polaris is designed to do this kind of stuff. It is meant to tackle high axle articulation ditches and scale slippery hills and it does it with a lot of ease. In four wheel drive the RZR sticks to the ground like a lizard does to a wall. It gives you grip through every corner but over-correct and the RZR can be very unforgiving. It is easier to topple this rally quad in 4WD than it is in 2WD. None of that should affect you though.

While driving this the key is to remember to feather the throttle, don’t step on it as if you are killing a cockroach but ease it and let the steering do its job while feeding in the correct inputs.

To sum it all up, if you have that little extra money, a farm house with some open land or a factory where you need to do some quick transport the Polaris range of vehicles are just perfect. Priced at Rs.14Lakh, the RZR800 is on the steeper side of the scale but can be quite helpful on a large plot of land. The Phoenix is priced at nearly Rs.

5 lakhs and that is a wonderful outdoor toy!