Driven: The 2024 Polaris RZR XP 1000 Ultimate May Be the Most Fun Thing on Four Wheels
Plush vinyl material covers the seats in the front and rear. You’ll instantly notice they match whichever paint and decal colors were chosen for your machine. Moving further around the interior, we find a seven-inch infotainment and navigation touchscreen complete with Polaris’ industry-leading Ride Command software that provides a better user experience than some automotive-grade infotainment setups you’re liable to find. There’s something to be said for a center screen with smartphone levels of responsiveness found on an off-road toy rather than a big luxury car, but it’s one of the brightest spots in this rig’s interior goodies. They really do make the RZR XP 4 1000 a nicer place to sit than you might think. The rear backup camera was crisp and clean in image quality as well.
Moving to the vehicle’s rear, we find a recreational-optimized variant of the Polaris Lock & Ride cargo storage system. Although it’s not as robust as what you’d find on the utilitarian Ranger, you’ll find it does a fantastic job of hauling light loads of cargo, drinks and snacks, and a spare full-sized wheel and tire around to the point you forget it’s even on board at times. We’ll also note that we stored a camera bag full of expensive, irreplaceable equipment in the rear Lock & Ride storage box during our test drive. Not only did it not move a wink during the ride, but the water bottles and energy drink cans in the cooler behind it didn’t even leak from the melting ice inside.
Add on the spare tire mount latch that disconnects and raises with a simple tug with your pinky finger, and it’s one of the most understated but brilliant pieces of engineering on the whole vehicle. Can you believe we haven’t touched the nuts and bolts yet? Thankfully, the RZR XP 4 doesn’t disappoint there, either. Sitting at the rear of the vehicle underneath the Lock & Ride hardware and a thermal protection cover sits a naturally-aspirated 999cc Polaris ProStar four-stroke, twin-cylinder gas engine with electronic fuel injection and 114 horsepower to play with.
For some context, a couple of entry-level hatchbacks on the market right now don’t make this much power. We’re looking at you, Mitsubishi Mirage. Heck, even the 2023 Kia Rio only makes six horsepower more. Like the Mirage and Rio, the RZR XP 4 1000 Ultimate sports a CVT transmission, albeit using rubber belts instead of steel ones. Sadly, this model doesn’t get the fancy SteelDrive CVT of the Ranger XD 1500. Then again, when all you want to do is have fun, you don’t need the extra transmission hardware driving up costs unnecessarily. The results are profound once you get this wicked engine and transmission combo out on the trail.
