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"If you like big ATV's that can pack an elk out with ease and isn't afraid of any kind of terrain, take a close look at the new Sportsman 700."

    Polaris developed an American- made 683 cc, even-firing parallel four-stroke twin engine that is the largest displacement engine ever put under the seat of a stock ATV. To handle this engine, Polaris redesigned the frame and transmission, beefed up the independent suspension, and added a bigger 30A-h 12-volt battery. The battery certainly needs to be bigger and better because Polaris did not include a backup starting system. When all is said and done, there is no doubt this ATV is big. One thing Polaris did not use during the designing of the Sportsman 700 was a bathroom scale. When you add big and strong you also get another thing- heavy! The 700 weighs in at a hefty 740 pounds dry, which is almost 50 pounds heavier than the Sportsman 500 and 140 pounds heavier than the Kawasaki Prairie 650 and Yamaha Grizzly 660.     When you jump in the saddle, one thing is really clear; this is a big machine. This thought was immediately reinforced while trying to lift the beast into the trailer.

Time To Go Riding

    Firing up the motor was a snap and you could instantly tell from the hum of the engine that this was not your typical Sportsman 500. After a slight delay in throttle response, the Sportsman 700 moves and it moves quickly. It isn't going to blow your socks off, but it definitely has more ponies under the hood allowing for a much improved throttle response.

    Because of the awesome traction the Rawhide tires give you, popping the front tires off the ground on pavement isn't a problem. After just a few moments in the seat you know you are going to have a fun, smooth ride. Polaris has always been on top with their rear independent suspension and they came through again on the new 700. The rear suspension is almost perfect, but you could immediately tell they had to stiffen the back up a bit to handle the extra weight. Everything we threw at it was soaked up in style. Unfortunately, the front end is not quite up to par, but will give you an excellent ride with moderate speeds. Because of the weight of the machine, the front end has to work overtime and can comfortably handle only so much at the higher speeds. There is some slight pushing in the corners at the higher speeds that also affect the handling. One of our testers felt the seat was too wide and wasn't quite as comfortable on long rides as it could be. This affected his ability to handle and control the ATV with his weight in turns and off-camber situations.

    Another of the first things you notice when looking at this machine are the cool tires. They almost look like after market tires and rims, giving it a clean non-stock look. Overall it adds that nice finishing touch and style that says, "Don't mess with me". This is a look that we liked and the tires performed as well as they looked. The deep lug tread design will get you out of most situations you dare get into; the combination of Polaris' On-Demand four-wheel drive system and the gnarly tires can get you out of any situation if you can hang on tight enough. We love the 4-wheel drive system and still feel it is the best out there, however, when the front wheels bite in lock mode it can become a handful if you are not ready. The deep-tread tires also aid in some great ground clearance and we did not encounter any problems going over the nasty stuff. They helped when blasting through deep snow as well. In case you encounter big rocks, Polaris has added a full-length steel skid plate protecting the undercarriage.

    When you have a 700 four-stroke engine and over 700 pounds barreling down a hill, you really hope you can stop. There were mixed feelings between our testers on the brakes. In general, all of us felt the single lever braking system was easy to use and still gives you the stopping power you need. However, in some of our test situations, like going straight down a slick-rock cliff, we felt the brakes and engine braking were overworked because of the machine's weight. We need to point this out, because if you plan to ride hard, and be in sticky steep situations, descending steep hills can get a bit scary. The engine braking cannot hold back the machine without skidding the back wheels, which in turn requires a lot of work on the left single brake lever.

Do You Want to Ride or Drive

    The Polaris 700 is big, and depending on the style of riding you like to do, there can be some benefits of having such a machine. For starters, this ATV has the biggest towing and rack capacity of any 4-wheeler. This means this ATV will be the one you want to use to pack out that big elk or haul that load of hay on the farm. We also feel this would make a great snowplow machine because of the weight, tires, and 4-wheel drive system. Big is good, but can also be a hindrance if you want to go full-throttle down the gully and up rock infested, off-camber hills that requires a lot of body English to keep all four wheels on the ground. For our style of riding, we like to go all out regardless of what the trail ahead looks like and we could see some limitations. However, there are some great benefits depending on what you are looking for in a big-bore 4x4 ATV.

Is Bigger Better

    Polaris has come up with a nice package and we like Polaris' commitment to staying in the game when it comes to innovation and pushing the limits. How much did we really like the new Sportsman 700? A lot! But if you will read between the lines a bit you can tell we had some concerns over the weight factor. For most riders this is not going to be a serious issue and the Sportsman 700 will perform flawlessly for you.

    Can the Sportsman 700 reclaim its throne as King of Quads in this heated battle of big bore utility 4x4s? It is going to be tough to beat, but we need to get a leg over the Yamaha 660 before we can truly start coming to any conclusions. The engine, brakes and handling would be improved if the Sportsman simply lost a few pounds. Polaris has gone all out to make this the biggest and strongest ATV on the market. If you need a little more getup than the Sportsman 500 and want to intimidate everyone in your hunting party, then this choice is a no brainer.The Score Sheet

Test Rider Notes

Specs / Rating