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Tested: 2024 Polaris Xpedition Is as Fun as It Is Loud

Tested: 2024 Polaris Xpedition Is as Fun as It Is Loud

Yahoo11-10-2024

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The Polaris Xpedition side-by-side takes the formula for SUVs like the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco and shrinks it down to nearly the size of a two-door Mini Cooper S. It's illegal on the streets, but an absolute freak through the creeks, and its climate-controlled cabin takes the chill and dust out of the outdoors experience.
Polaris, which introduced its first side-by-side—the Ranger RZR—in 2007, has created arguably the most luxurious experience possible for a vehicle sold with a plastic steering wheel. Available in two- and four-door body styles, the Xpedition can carry up to five passengers, and it can be equipped with either a bed that dumps or an enclosed rear cargo space. The Polaris accessory list only makes the side-by-side more extreme, opening up possibilities like swapping its wheels and tires for a snow-conquering track system.
We tested a top-trim four-door Xpedition XP5 NorthStar. Pricing starts at $37,294 for the cheaper Ultimate five-seater, but our NorthStar commanded $45,794. Thankfully, the options on our test vehicle were few, but even so the total price ended up an eye-watering $50,274. Yes, that's more than a two-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, but the side-by-side has meaningful extras. Ours was packed with Polaris's roof-top tent, mounted on an aluminum Rhino-Rack platform atop the cabin. At approximately 7.5 feet tall, parking the whole shebang in our garage required removing the 146-pound tent, but it's an easy process that requires loosening four nuts—extra hardware might be required should you drop it on your leg.
There's also a handy in-bed Lock & Ride Max locking system that secures a full-size spare and two Maxtrax recovery boards, though it does eat up a significant amount of the 2.5-by-3.9-foot bed. The power windows, a 4500-pound winch with synthetic rope, a JBL audio system, and Ride Command GPS navigation were included.
Keeping the wheels spinning is a mid-mounted 999-cc ProStar parallel-twin engine with 114 horsepower. Every Polaris Xpedition uses a continuously variable transmission that keeps the engine, which can rev as high as 8500 rpm, comfortably in the powerband. Though great for keeping the bugs and dust out, the enclosed cabin traps the high-revving powertrain's migraine-inducing moan. After a few minutes of buzzing at full blast on trails, we found ourselves slowing down just to drop the revs and lessen the assault on our eardrums.
At wide-open throttle, the Xpedition shook our sound meter with 121 decibels of clamor. That's as loud as the 240-hp Can-Am Maverick R we recently tested and 15 decibels louder than the 493-hp Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Manthey that screams to 9000 rpm. Even at 50 mph, the Xpedition buzzes along at 91 decibels. Bring some earplugs.
On dirt, the Xpedition howled to 60 mph in 14.1 seconds, crossed the quarter-mile mark in 19.3 seconds at 63 mph, and reached a drag-limited 68-mph top speed on our dirt test track. Now, before you go pointing out that this gnarly off-roader is 1.3 seconds slower to 60 mph than the 78-hp Mitsubishi Mirage G4 we tested on pavement, know this: The speeds at which you can comfortably traverse dips in the Polaris would send the rubber duckies in your average Jeep Gladiator to the freaking moon.
Thankfully, the Xpedition approaches bumps and deep ditches like dentistry; despite the wicked sound of its drill, you won't feel a thing. The front suspension has 14.0 inches of travel, while the rear will extend an inch farther. Every Xpedition comes with 30-inch Pro Armor Crawler XP tires, but Polaris customers have already experimented with bigger 33-inch BFGoodrich KM2 truck tires (and, with aftermarket control arms, larger 35-inch rubber) to expand the Xpedition's 14.0 inches of ground clearance.
Instead of playing keep-up with how quickly the Polaris's shocks are traveling, the Fox Podium QS3 dampers adjust based on the position of the shock across three zones of travel—beginning, middle, and end. Each damper can be manually adjusted, but unless you're sending the Xpedition over jumps or approaching its 1160-pound payload capacity, there's no need to touch those dials.
The native Ride Command software on the Xpedition's 7.0-inch touchscreen saves you from having to rely on a dying phone battery for GPS, trail data, and other communication. If you're driving in a group, you can see each rider on the screen and send each other messages. All that goodness is baked into the software, and it works great to keep someone from losing the group should they fall behind.
Our off-road camping adventure took us along the Two Hearted River in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where we couldn't help but enjoy a few local brews at a rustic camping spot we promised a friend we wouldn't mention in specifics. While the roof-top tent fits two people comfortably, it does require extra effort to uncover, unfold, and set up its poles. We're splitting hairs here, but the "just open it" approach of hardtop tents—like the ones we've sampled from Roofnest—has ruined any other type of tent for us.
The Xpedition has a 12.5-gallon fuel tank with a claimed range of 200 miles, but during our time with it across the U.P., we averaged just 9 mpg, which limits total range to about 113 miles. Still, the bigger tank—most Polaris RZRs use a smaller 9.5-gallon unit—means fewer gas station stops on big trips. And once you start driving an Xpedition side-by-side, the muddy toys, big trailers, and tents start to make a lot of sense. We crisscrossed a few hundred miles of ORV trail and county roads between Grand Marais and Pine Stump Junction and would happily do it again.
A little more horsepower would be great, especially if your HQ is at a higher elevation, but the Xpedition is a delight to toss through the woods at any altitude. Depending on personal needs, sure, it might make more sense to snag a Wrangler or Toyota 4Runner at this price point, but that likely isn't the best solution for everyone.
After our adventures, we used a garden hose to clean the Xpedition's plastic interior. We scratched racing stripes down the sides thanks to a row of blue spruce trees. And best of all, had we encountered any mechanical issues, it's a 40-mile tow back to the trailer, instead of 400 miles home. It's a loud little rascal, but even that drawback is charming to some. Side-by-sides can make us feel like our favorite cars, trucks, and SUVS do—it's all about having fun. And in the Polaris Xpedition, having a blast is as easy as going for a ride.
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Hard Top vs. Soft Top: Which Jeep Roof is Best?
Hard Top vs. Soft Top: Which Jeep Roof is Best?

Miami Herald

timean hour ago

  • Miami Herald

Hard Top vs. Soft Top: Which Jeep Roof is Best?

Asking whether a hardtop or soft top is right for your Jeep Wrangler is like asking whether vanilla or chocolate is better. It's mostly a matter of preference. However, as a soft top-wearing Jeep owner myself (and therefore having to maintain and endure it), I wondered if I should bite the bullet and convert it to a hardtop. As I did some research, dredged through several owners' forums, and compared pricing, replacing my soft top with a hardtop turned out to be more of a difficult decision than I expected it to be. While looking through some of the owner's pages I've joined on Facebook, I saw one commenter explain it simply: "A soft top is great until you run into some heavy rain. A hard top is great until you have to take it off." It seems simple: all-around, the soft top would be the better choice, right? The more I thought about it, the more the two choices seemed to even out. Here's what I learned in my research. I assumed ownership of my Uncle's Moab-bred in late August of last year. Until then, I'd never owned or driven a Jeep. My Uncle called and told me the Jeep was becoming too difficult for him to maintain, and offered to sell it to me at a very handsome price. I jumped at the chance after I fell in love with it about 10 years prior. My husband and I had to park it outside since we only had a one-car garage, but the weather in Bend, Oregon, is very mild. However, last year we endured a very cold, wet, and snowy winter. The soft top was not an asset then. In fact, until we moved into a place with a two-car garage, the Jeep had a "leaking" problem. As it turns out, the soft top did not appreciate having snow on top of it and would leak where the top met the door and onto the carpet. So, every time it snowed, I'd have to go out and push the snow off. If it snowed heavily, I'd have to do it more often to keep weight off it. Rain affected the Jeep very similarly. Light rain was fine, but heavy rain with high winds resulted in wet floors. I have all-weather mats, and the rain would largely collect there, but if you didn't, you could easily have a mold problem on your hands. Leaking, of course, depends on a variety of factors, like brand, the severity of the weather, fitment, age, and wear. But the fact of the matter is-it's not uncommon for soft top owners to report leaking. Hard tops can also leak depending on the same variables as the soft top, but they're a lot more resistant to leaks because they don't flex as much as soft tops do. They're heavy and made of sturdier materials, so heavy wind won't cause them to shift. Over time, a soft top can stretch from the constant tension, making leaks more possible, too. A hard top will hold its shape, no matter how long you have it on. It's also a lot easier to keep the cabin temperature steady since many hard tops have basic insulation while soft tops don't, so it's the preferred top for those who live in warmer climates and drive it every day. The heater or air conditioner may work perfectly fine, but without the sturdier seals of the hard top, you're just wasting gas to cool or heat the cabin by a few degrees. You likely have summer doors if you have a soft top, but if it's hot, it's hot-even if you're going 80 mph on the freeway with the top and doors off. One of the biggest, most prominent selling points is that you can remove the top and doors from a Jeep and have it be perfectly legal (as long as you have your driver's side and rearview mirror on, of course). That's one of those "Jeep things" that owners of other off-roaders just don't understand. Unless you have a new Ford Bronco, which advertises that owners can remove doors and tops. Anyway, if going topless in public, or on public roads and off-road, is particularly appealing, then a soft top is the obvious answer. A soft top is easier to remove, fold, or lower, as many brands and variations use zippers and velcro to keep it on the frame. In just a few minutes, and without tools, the top can be removed-even if you're on the trail. A hard top, thanks to its rigidity and weight, is a lot more cumbersome to remove, and unless you have arms like Arnold Schwarzenegger, you'll need a friend or a lift system to remove it. They don't fold like a soft top, so you have to have a relatively large place to keep it and remove it before you leave your house for the trail. If you have a garage, great! It can be kept safe there until you come back. If you live in an apartment like many do, you'll need a secure place to keep it since they're very expensive and you don't want to risk it being stolen. You have to commit with a hard top on whether or not you're going topless. With a soft top, there's a lot more flexibility, and technically better gas mileage too, since they don't weigh as much. There are also a lot more soft top styles to choose from, like safari style tops, sunrider tops, and bikini tops for partially open-air driving, for a lot less than a hard top. A hard top doesn't have nearly as many customization options aside from colors. There are one, two, and three-piece hard tops, but they're still difficult to remove by yourself and are difficult to store if you don't have a garage. If you're a sticker freak like I am, hard tops are much nicer to put stickers on for obvious reasons. Since hard tops are sturdy and heavy, there is a ton of aftermarket support for rooftop accessories. Roof racks, baskets, rooftop tents, bike racks, storage boxes, and cargo boxes are much easier to use and enjoy with a hard top since weight is better distributed. I found this to be the case when I was hunting for a roof rack to go on my own Jeep. When I did find a rack that went over, not on top of, my soft top, they were incredibly expensive and didn't support as much weight as the rooftop accessories for the hard top. That's because the weight isn't distributed through the whole chassis, but rather the support points of the rack. So, it looks like I'll be camping on the ground until I can muster up the cash for a hard top and a rooftop tent. They're also much quieter for long drives, too. I love the look of the soft top, but it's incredibly loud at highway speeds. Which isn't a problem for short distances, but after an hour or two, I start to feel myself growing very frustrated with how loud it is. Talking on the phone or listening to my music is a chore. If I had a hard top, it would be a much quieter ride. So, if you're like me and can't physically stand a long drive without talking on the phone or listening to music, a hard top may be the right answer for you. Hard tops are also more secure off-road, since branches or the shifting of gear can't irreparably damage the windows. Some hard tops can come with windows that passengers can open, improving ventilation. A soft top can be damaged pretty badly by branches. Worst case scenario, they can be torn, and then you'll have to replace a $300+ soft top. Camping and overlanding can be much more accessible with a hard top, but it severely limits your open-air options. So, if you go into Jeep ownership fairly confident you're never going to remove the top, the hard top is the best, no-nonsense answer for most Jeep owners. However, if you're dreaming of the freedom of open-air driving and don't plan on bringing much gear with you during your camping and overlanding trips, a soft top could easily work. This is honestly my biggest concern as a soft top owner. Modern Jeeps come from the factory with an anti-theft alarm system, but mine is from 2006 and does not have one. My Uncle's solution to curbing thieves in the Utah desert was to replace the center console with a Tuffy locking console, fit the glove box with a lock, and stuff the CB radio into a locking box. The rear door is also locked, and he put a locking box in the "trunk" that's bolted to the frame. That's all well and good, but thieves by nature aren't very intelligent, and if the doors are locked, they may try to get in by slicing the soft top and hopping in. Once they're in, they won't be able to steal anything from the glove box, center console, or trunk, but now the soft top is ruined. Insurance companies aren't likely to cover the soft top, especially if a lot of slicing happens. If you don't have a secure place to park it overnight, be careful not to leave any valuables inside, or your Jeep might become a regular target. While you can't stop people from slashing your soft top open and rummaging around, you can (and should) look into ways to keep your Jeep your Jeep by looking into GPS tracking devices, maybe installing a kill switch, or at the very least, a steering wheel club. Especially since older Jeeps are known for being fairly easy to steal. A hard top can help keep your car more secure since it can't be sliced open or removed unless the thief is inside the Jeep, so those investments are wise regardless of what kind of top you have. Soft tops, just like a convertible top on a car, involve regular and special care. If you want to keep a soft top from fading from a nice, rich black to an unsavory gray, you have to keep up with maintenance. That means using a special brush, with a special spray, and treating it with a UV protectant to curb sun damage. 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I have a sunroof in my Forester, and I rarely, if ever, have it open. Why don't I open it? Well, mostly because I don't like the wind noise at higher speeds, and I have very fair, Irish skin that burns easily. That means that unless I carry a hair tie, a hat, and sunscreen with me at all times (which I don't), the sunroof stays closed. When I went off-roading in my Subaru or our old 1996 Land Rover, I appreciated being able to close the windows if it got too dusty or windy, as well as the security of the closed roof. Therefore, for me, a hard top makes more sense. However, since my Jeep came with a soft top and converting it to a hard top is incredibly expensive, I'll be saving up for one instead and hoping no one damages my soft top. I also like the idea of a hard top's versatility with rooftop accessories, the improved insulation if I needed to use the A/C or heater, and the comfort of safety from the weather. If you're like my husband, who fully embraces that #dustylife and loves the open-air feeling of being able to remove or fold the top, the soft top would truly set you free, especially off-road. My husband once said he may not drive with the top down all summer, but he'd like the option to, so for Jeep owners like him, a soft top makes sense. A soft top is also the most cost-effective and easiest way to own a Jeep, since you don't need a lift system or a friend to remove it. So, which is best truly depends on how you envision yourself as a Jeep owner. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Aussies at 'risk' as dangerous road problem reaches record-breaking levels: 'Rapid growth'
Aussies at 'risk' as dangerous road problem reaches record-breaking levels: 'Rapid growth'

Yahoo

time15 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Aussies at 'risk' as dangerous road problem reaches record-breaking levels: 'Rapid growth'

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Denny Hamlin plays the villain in Michigan after FireKeepers Casino 400 win
Denny Hamlin plays the villain in Michigan after FireKeepers Casino 400 win

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

Denny Hamlin plays the villain in Michigan after FireKeepers Casino 400 win

BROOKLYN, MI – When asked if he had disdain for Michigan, Denny Hamlin said no. You would not know that from his post race gestures, though. 'My friend Travis … he was like, 'Man, it'd feel good if you won from that school up north right in their backyard,' Hamlin said. 'I said, 'Well, I'm going to do it for you.' And so I did it just for my buddy.' What he did for his buddy was do a little "O-S-U" chant and arm gesture as a nod to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Advertisement Hamlin might not hate Michigan, but he does love playing the villain, and this weekend was a perfect moment for that. He's on the back nine of his racing years, his company is under threat from his NASCAR lawsuit and he's waiting on the birth of his son. Hamlin had a million reasons to lose the race this weekend. Instead, he came from behind in the waning laps of the race to snatch the win from the driver who'd led most of the race right after the hometown kid suffered a flat tire. Amid yellow and red flags, Hamlin emerged victorious – much to the crowd's displeasure. He did not mind, though. 'Until the crowd shifts to mostly cheers or boos, I'm always going to antagonize the booers like that,' Hamlin said. 'Until you really get the switch, which I don't think I'm ever going to in my career, what else is there? … I got to find ways to have fun doing this.' Hamlin did not seem like the likely winner when the race began, either. Despite his starting third, many eyes were on points leader William Byron, starting fourth, or Carson Hocevar, whose hot stretch coming into the race was a topic of conversation around the pit lane. Hamlin was still in third after a relatively uneventful Stage 1 for him despite several lead changes ahead of him and a fierce battle for fourth and fifth behind his car. Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota, celebrates winning the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Brooklyn, Michigan. Starting in Stage 2, however, Hamlin's performance took a dive. Though he was second at the start, he began dropping down the race order, and while battling with Kyle Larson on Lap 58, he got loose and dropped five spots down to eleventh. It was a poor moment for Hamlin, who easily could have been buried down the order with the chaos of the restarts of the second stage. Advertisement Instead, Hamlin pulled himself back up the order, and by Lap 85, he had battled back to around the fifth position. He ended the stage eighth but he was still in the fight. As the third stage commenced, Hamlin was still back in the pack, at one point sitting around eleventh. He also sustained damage after a pit incident where he was stuck between two cars attempting to leave. As the laps ticked down, a comeback seemed increasingly unlikely. But he went to work, moving up one car at a time. By Lap 175, he'd reached fifth and knew that the drivers ahead of him were in much more dire straits regarding fuel then he was. Seven laps later, Hocevar went down with a flat tire and Hamlin was suddenly in fourth. Hamlin took down Ty Gibbs on Lap 185 and passed Kyle Larson one lap later. THE RACE: Denny Hamlin wins FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in epic finish Advertisement All that was left to do was wait. Byron was nearly out of fuel and was desperately conserving while attempting to hold off Hamlin. Hamlin waited for his opportunity and began an earnest battle for the lead at Lap 196. He passed Byron on Lap 197 at Turn 3 where he had identified Byron as vulnerable and claimed victory two laps later. Byron ultimately had to pit on the second-to-last lap, out of fuel. Hamlin also ran out of fuel – it was just on his second round of victory burnouts. 'I never will assume someone's going to run out,' Hamlin said. 'And I always am going to assume when I get there to challenge for the lead, they're going to go 100%. And I think that was the case, they told me over the radio (that) they told him, 'You got to go, you got to hold the lead, and (if) we run out, we run out.' That's the right strategy to do, which in turn made it more gratifying to me to pass him when he was going all out.' Hamlin may be 44, but he's not done yet. He's already achieved something only twenty drivers ever have in competing in 700 races, but he wants more wins. He's not done showing the kids what he can do, either. 'I'm racing guys that are, you know, some of them pretty much half my age,' Hamlin said. 'And they're so good, and they're really, really good, and so it's really gratifying when I know I can run with them, and I know I can beat them. … It just feels really good to, 20 years later, still feel like this is the best that I've ever been.' Advertisement Matthew Auchincloss is a reporter with the Detroit Free Press. Connect at mauchincloss@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Denny Hamlin plays villain in Michigan win at FireKeepers Casino 400

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