Best UTV for highway use and daily extended street driving

[CashAuto]

Okay so I’m new here and about to purchase my first UTV and need advice. I understand UTVs weren’t designed to be driven on main roads or highways, but they’re awesome, and if you can,,, why not!? So I can legally ride on pretty much every road where I’m located, including interstate highways (probably won’t make a habit of it) but I will take advantage of the ability to legally ride on the street OFTEN. So before we go further, I’m looking to buy something used in the $12,000ish range and I’d like people’s opinions. Obviously tires will be a big part of this as for making it off-road and road worthy, but other than that I’d like peoples opinions of what used UTV in my price range would best suit my needs/wants as far as handling, stability, ability to maintain higher rates of speed while being controllable on the street. I live near the beach, some mud, dirt, and pretty much everything. But in my small area i will be using this basically as my daily driver (cause I can). One more thing I’m contemplating is a four seater. With all you now now, what do you think would be the best suited UTV for my atypical usage and enjoyment. I’m sure some people will be against this and try to convince me it’s a horrible idea, but it sounds fun, enjoyable, and perfect for the beach area I live in and I’d prefer advise and construction criticism versus people telling me why I shouldn’t.
This is my first post and in advanced I would like to thank this community and the extremely knowledgeable member. Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts opinions and advice as to what would work best and be the most enjoyable UTV for this purpose! If you’d like to suggest your pick then maybe we can turn this into a poll of some commonly suggested options
Thanks a Ton
Cash

 

[Blue Coyote]

4 seats, road use, 12k - tough mix.
My thoughts-
YXZ - manual trans, low & stable, good speed capability.
Wolverine x4 - good power, 4 seats
Honda Pioneer 5 - hood power, 4 seats, but funky bench seat.
Teryx4 - 4 seats but not hi speed machine.
Old XP’s - can be had in 2 and 4 seat versions- but in that price range reliability can be iffy.
Suggest sitting / test driving some to get a better idea of what will work for your particular location.


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[CashAuto]

I should also mention I have my auto and recreation dealers license so I’ll be able to buy at auction prices vs retail, so that kind of increases what I’ll be able to get for $12-13ish compared to paying retail

 

[Blue Coyote]

I should also mention I have my auto and recreation dealers license so I’ll be able to buy at auction prices vs retail, so that kind of increases what I’ll be able to get for $12-13ish compared to paying retail

Would rather buy something from an “old guy” than anything at the auction.


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[///Airdam Clutches]

a 2015+ XP1000 4 seater. they are able to run 70mph for sustained periods of time better than any of the others mentioned. the vast majority of those mentioned wont run but 55mph maxed out. (viking, pioneer, teryx)

the 2014 XP1000 4 seater had a bad gear ratio trans, they burned belts much easier. they lowered the gear ratio in the trans for 2015 and changed the clutch cover to allow more air flow. this helped the machine and belt last longer. if its already got high mileage plan to replace the clutches and belt. the stock clutches are good for about 3000 miles at best before every moving part in the primary is worn slap out. they are not terribly expensive, just part of the deal.

when you start comparing cost per mile of ownership, their 6-7mpg fuel consumption, the cost of parts and how quickly they wear out, you might be better off buying a 4door jeep at auction and pulling the doors off and driving it. its street legal, has AC/heat, has a radio, ect ect and they dont wear $1000 worth of parts out every 2500 miles. depending on where you are, and what auction site you use, you would likely be better off getting a 90s model toyota 4runner, i see them run across copart running and driving with 200,000 miles and selling for $2500. they are easily 350,000 mile vehicles. pull the doors off and pretend its a RZR

 

[charlow230]

Sounds like yxz1000r is the answer for you, I drive mine basically everywhere I need to go since I live in a small town, 5th gear I run about 6k at 55 mph (full exhaust, tune, good air filters, 28 in" tires and it has no trouble at all, my Speedo reads incorrect from the tune amd tires so im actually doing over 60 most of the time and it has no troubles at all, it even sounds good and happy running that rpm, also an animal in the trails/mud/ whatever you need it for she can handle no problem coming from a guy who will never own another utv besides the yxz 1000 (mine is the 17 SS SE over 3200 miles)

 

[Bruce]

Anything without a CVT. They cannot run for a sustained time without blowing belts. They need to constantly change speeds.

I think the YXZ is your best bet.

The new Honda Talon is coming out..could also be an option.

 

[CashAuto]

Welll, financing is an issue now because of my short credit history and business loan. The only dealer I’ve been able to work with is a Polaris dealer that eats, sleepps and drinks Polar and keeps pushing the rzr. I told him i was park I love absolutely their lineup but I do plan to use on the streets a lot. Unfortunately he only sells Polaris and is the only person willing to work with my credit so to a recent business loan. Are rzr’s and xp’s really a bad idea for the purpose street riding? Do I need a manual vs cvt? I’m not looking to buy new, so I don’t understand why the can’t find what I want. When I was selling the for my previous car lot and didn’t have what a customer specifically wanted.... I searched auctions, contacted other dealers requesting to buy or trade inventory to get what my customer wanted. Occasionally I feel people are just so lazy/incompetent that they’d rather give up a sale than trying every possible option to make it happen.

 

[charlow230]

Thats a bummer, its a Damn nightmare trying to buy anything these days. Lots of dealers seem to be slacking on the drive to put someone into the machine they want. But I can say ive never seen a CVT machine ride roads everyday for very long before blowing a belt. I know a ton of yxz owners and they all hammer down the road 24/7 as well as me and never skip a beat. Im the only guy whos really had trans problems and all were operator error. Hope you find the right buggy man, dont settle for less. good luck!

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