Defender XMR VS Ranger Highlifter

LennyR

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I tried hard to like them , rented One for a day , borrowed one for a day , and spent the day as a passenger in one cleaning some trails . Good quality for sure , but way way to utility for us . The seating position is brutal , especially for the passenger if they are over 5 ft tall, your knees are basically touching the dash constantly, seats are comfortable but kinda like sitting on a soft dining room chair , getting in and out of those monster doors is tiring as hell after a while, really not sure why they are that friggen big, and the mega short nose certainly adds to the excitement of steep downhills , and you better keep your winch cable hook on the roof cause as soon as you drop in a mud hole the entire front end is out of sight.
Not bashing , just an opinion . Nice machine but seems far more utlity/work than all day fun, and from my observations , they seem like less maintenance required , but part of the reason is guys just don’t use them the same way as some of the other brands, so many I see literally get treated Like a golf cart , not an off road fun mobile.
Great conversation starter though , comparing your heated and cooled seats, windshield squirters , AC, heater , stadium quality stereo, triple pane glass windows , voice activated window controls, make up mirror, ……. And on and on.
Good quality though 👍👍
 
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arff

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Not delusional I own both and am certainly not brand loyal. Bearings, bushings etc in my polaris rigs are garbage.
That is too bad. My hi lifter has 3200 km on original wheel brgs. I do grease them.
 

Eagle

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I agree mine have been good also. Grease goes along way..and keep your machine clean.
 

rhody605

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A bit tall.. lol. Too tall for the enclosed trailer. Also Barely fits in the garage.

So damn cold today it took 20 mins to start with a booster pack just to take it off the trailer.

Poor thing wouldn’t go into high gear. Only reverse or low gear. Frozen solid on the open trailer
 

tmo1620

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A bit tall.. lol. Too tall for the enclosed trailer. Also Barely fits in the garage.

So damn cold today it took 20 mins to start with a booster pack just to take it off the trailer.

Poor thing wouldn’t go into high gear. Only reverse or low gear. Frozen solid on the open trailer

Brand new machine? And it was that tough to start? That’s odd, I bought my 2018 general last year, over an hour east of Regina, was -30 when I picked it up, hauled it back to Saskatoon, stayed there for 2 days and then drove all the way to whitecourt, open deck trailer, warmest it got was -27 and it sat on the trailer for 3 total days, and windchill of 120km/h on the trailer for over 1100 km, fired right up when I got home, original battery……. No issue, I’d be choked
 

DaveB

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Brand new machine? And it was that tough to start? That’s odd, I bought my 2018 general last year, over an hour east of Regina, was -30 when I picked it up, hauled it back to Saskatoon, stayed there for 2 days and then drove all the way to whitecourt, open deck trailer, warmest it got was -27 and it sat on the trailer for 3 total days, and windchill of 120km/h on the trailer for over 1100 km, fired right up when I got home, original battery……. No issue, I’d be choked
All my Canned Hams (5 so far) sucked starting when colder than -15 or so WHEN THEY WERE BRAND NEW. I suspect a "break-in program" in the ECU...maybe...or maybe just tight engine tolerances. After a few heat cycles and some miles they all normalized. Worse one was the 570 Outty. Seemed to take forever and was always loading up at low speeds (rich). Finally I just warmed it up good one day, then ran the livin' shlitts out of it in low range for about 15 min. Been a great machine ever since.

And in staying within the topic of the thread....I am interested in this style of SxS myself....so good info.
 

beerwolf

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Ya kinda weird how the can ams are like that new. They also don't like to start when cold if you run premium fuel in them and throw away that factory battery and put an odyssey in. When I tried tracks one winter on the defender it would fire right up on the coldest mornings.
 

banditelectric

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You can am guys are delusional. I have rode in both alot.
Can am: less leg room for passenger, rougher ride, extremely noisy cab, power window switches always fail, can't run tracks in the winter without intake mods or you will blow belts, less power
Polaris: way more leg room, more power, fit and finish alot better. Got 4000km on a polaris xp1000 and it has never let me down.
Lol i've had the exact opposite experience....there is a reason i carry a "Polaris" tow rope in my Defender....its yanked more Razors and Rangers out of the bush than anything else. Plus still has original set up bushings and bearings in it at 4000KM.....anyone with a Polaris that can say that has never left the highway lol
 

arff

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Too funny. BRP Polaris arguments never end..
I have had both BRP and a lot of Polaris sxs’s
Both are good
Go riding.
 

imdoo'n

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All my Canned Hams (5 so far) sucked starting when colder than -15 or so WHEN THEY WERE BRAND NEW. I suspect a "break-in program" in the ECU...maybe...or maybe just tight engine tolerances. After a few heat cycles and some miles they all normalized. Worse one was the 570 Outty. Seemed to take forever and was always loading up at low speeds (rich). Finally I just warmed it up good one day, then ran the livin' shlitts out of it in low range for about 15 min. Been a great machine ever since.

And in staying within the topic of the thread....I am interested in this style of SxS myself....so good info.
didn't you use to say that real men don't ride SxS's. Dave? i seem to recall that , just sayin!
 
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imdoo'n

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I have a ranger & my biggest con would be that there are no grease nipples on the upper & lower a-arms. Would be nice to push out the water & dirt with fresh grease to help prolong the life of the a-arm bushings.
doesn't take much to install them, easy peasy nice n easy, makes a world of difference!
 
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