Polaris unveils mid-size utility side-by-side
Polaris Off Road has unveiled the 2026 Ranger 500, an all-new mid-size utility side-by-side aimed at bringing the quality and reliability of the American brand into the value segment.
To create the first of these – the UTE 570 HD – Polaris engineers in the US worked with their teams in Australia and New Zealand, consulted with farmers and tested prototypes on local farms, to come up with a product they say will cope with the remarkable abuse our farmers dish out to quads.
The UTE 570 HD has some key features not found on the Polaris quads sold to the huge North American recreational quad market – notably sealed driveshaft splines, greasable sealed ball joints and sealed suspension bushings; ‘HD’ features that will prolong the life of a machine likely to spend most of its life coated in mud and cow manure.
There are some obvious visual differences with the UTE, such as the seat backrest, the tipping tray with 180kg capacity and the mirrors, indicators and horn. These are all features farmers apparently told Polaris they wanted.
The UTE 570 HD shares many of its working parts with the new Sportsman 570 HD ATV, also due here soon. The new 567cc EFI engine, for example, which is up on power from the old Polaris 500. The new engine has heaps more poke and is more tractable up and down the rev range. It gives the UTE and Sportsman towing capacity of 556kg.
The two machines also share single lever braking, the ‘HD’ features mentioned above, the sealed front storage and racks, and the narrow seat and wide floor boards. The latter two are design features that reduce rider fatigue by reducing the angle of leg splay. A simple but effective consideration.
One feature the UTE has to itself, for now, is descent control, which gives far more control and engine braking than the average quad, engaging automatically when riding down slopes off the throttle. This and other features developed specifically for the UTE will eventually be rolled out to more Polaris products in regions other than Australasia.
The other big release that excited the New Zealand Polaris sales team is the Ace – a variation on the conventional quad that might take a minute for traditionalists to adjust to, but one that can do everything a normal quad does, plus offer a low centre of gravity and roll-over protection. Large scale farms with numerous staff, take note.
The Ace is a single-seat off-roader that you sit in, not on. It has a flat floor, which makes getting in and out of easy, a low-slung seat, foot pedals and a steering wheel. With the seatbelt on and the ROPS (roll-over protection structure) around you, the safety box is ticked.
On the move, you can’t actively ride the Ace like you would an quad, but you don’t need to. The low centre of gravity gives reassuring stability, even over rough ground.
Despite looking like something designed for fun rather than work, it has the same DNA as the Sportsman and is designed to be practical, with 10.6L of dry storage up front, a large cargo box with tie-downs at the back, a 260kg load capacity and 680kg towing capacity. It has a new 32HP EFI engine, the same AWD system as the work quads.
Pricing for the Ace had not been confirmed officially at press time but new examples are being sold at NZ$11,995 online.
